£8 Lidl Bresser binos on sale from Thursday...but alas

[BrixtonAstronomer]

Hi all

Thought I'd flag that Lidl are going to be selling Bresser binos for £8 from Thursday.

Unfortunately, unlike on previous occasions when they've sold (quite critically acclaimed for the price) 10x50s porros, this time the offering is 12x32 roof prism.

http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/SID-9E3247A1-920DFCA7/www_lidl_uk/hs.xsl/our-offers-2491.htm?id=223&ar=1

What do people think? Will the miserly aperture on these mean that they'll be totally useless for astronomy or worth a punt?

I'm a little annoyed as I missed all the previous chances to get Lidl binos and was waiting for it to come round again.

Alex

[Mr Spock]

32mm is a bit small and x12 is difficult to hand hold, but for eight quid they're a real bargain.

[allcart]

Yes could be worth a punt.

[Naemeth]

Could be worth a punt, but they seem to be sale from Monday the 17th .

[russ]

Excellent, Mum is into bird watching and i was struggling to come up with another affordable present for a her birthday. Now i know   Probably get a couple of pairs, they should be good to keep in the glove box. Thanks  

[BinocularSky]

I've had some very similar binoculars in the past. Really lousy for astronomy: very dim, mushy image. Just about tolerable for terrestrial as long as you've never looked through anything better, in which case, their shortcomings lurch out at you. Also very little inertia, so tricky to keep steady -- you'd probably see more with a 8x or less, merely because the shake doesn't blur out the detail. (But that's only one opinion, and not based on an identical binocular, so happy to be corrected...)

PS: Nice to see you back on here, Russ!

[russ]

Thanks Steve

[Tonys]

I'd agree 12x32 is not so good for star gazing as the magnification is too large for the lens diameter and 12x can be shaky (for middle aged me certainly so). 10x50, 8x40 or 7x35 would be much brighter, 7x50 even more so, the latter so long as your eyes pupils can open up enough to take in all the light.

[BrixtonAstronomer]

Could be worth a punt, but they seem to be sale from Monday the 17th .

You are indeed correct. It is Monday not Thursday. The magazine was dated Thursday but the binos will be available from Monday.

I'm a bit split about getting them. On the one hand, they're likely to be awful for astronomy (aside for maybe looking at the moon) but on the other hand they are £8!

I'll maybe wait until Lidl go back to doing the 10x50s and 8x60s that people were so complementary about.

[Russko13]

Not interested personally but if anyone's curious to how they perform I'd say go for it for only £8, you could try them out and give them to a child in the family without a pair of binoculars and make their day!

[Sneezy24]

Just about OK for garden bird watching, pretty awful for astronomy or shipping - I know, I took a pair on a cruise last year, wish I had taken my Bresser 10x50 which for £12.50 were excellent! Ended up using the 8x40 pair supplied in the cabin, which had been well used, but I got tremendous views of Orion nebula just off the coast of Italy.

[hippie]

Save your money You aren't going to see much with them,

I Brought something similar to those years ago they fogged up within a few day,s of buying them! .

[BinocularSky]

... you could try them out and give them to a child in the family without a pair of binoculars and make their day!

Really, please don't. 12x is too much for most adults, never mind a child. Sure-fire way of making them believe that binoculars are difficult to use. (IMNSVHO, of course)

On the batphone, so expect weird autocorrect

[Ptarmigan]

wait until Lidl go back to doing the 10x50

Yes, patience is the watchword !

I was so excited when I saw the thread title thinking I would be able to get another 2 of the excellent for the money 10x50s for my daughter and friend, , , 

[nytecam]

Plenty [2 dozen] in my local Lidl  @ Chessington @ £7.99 today and appear similar to those marketed 2-1/2yrs ago when I posted on WildAboutBritain...

"Saw these compact 'straight-through' pocket bins with case at Lidl's today for £7.99 - spec..
robust, rubber-coated, aluminium alloy casing
32mm BK-7 lenses 12x magnification = 2.7 exit pupil
viewing range up to 84m wide at 1000m distance :variable dipotre setting
polyester pouch with belt loop, cleaning cloth and instructions
Weight approx. 270g Size (cm): 4.5 x 8 x 13
3 year manufacturer’s warranty  These are Rocktrail binos ...." but didn't test them.  Current ones marked Bressler with 5yrs warrantee - still worth a punt

[Sneezy24]

12x32 are useless, I have a pair. Just about OK for garden birdwatching, nothing more.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[NolascoCM]

Hello everybody! I have 2 of these (bought at Lidl - Portugal, for 12 Euro each, in 2014, or 2013 - I'm not sure) and don't think they are so bad/useless - I keep each in the glove-box of my cars and use them frequently, although not for astronomy (I really never though using them for that ...).

I must add though that I had to experiment several in the shop to choose these two, as there are differences between units; one of mine is almost perfect (with good light and steady grabbing, naturally) but the other (and the others in the shop that I didn't buy ...) is troublesome to focus precisely, due to a - slight - slack on the focus mechanism. Also the eye-cups of one unit can't hold in the folded position while there is no problem with the other ...

My conclusion: I would not buy these online (even at the Lidl's price), but in the event that Lidl will carry them again I'm sure that I 'll not resist buying them again (at least one more).

[Run45]

>7x35 would be much brighter,

ahh ... was hoping for cheap 7x35  for my little one ...don't think my 5 year old can hold those 12x binos steady enough ...

thanx for the update though

[Run45]

oops ... just realized the thread was started 2014 ... ;-)