Nikon or Pentax

[Iain L]

I'm about to buy a pair of binoculars, however I'm undecided on which to go for. I am looking at the Nikon Aculon 10x50 and Pentax XCF 10x50. I have found both of them at £60, but I just can't decide which way to go. Any advice as this will be my first decent pair of binoculars.

[Alfian]

Firstly I would have a good read through Steve Tonkin's good advice and buyers guide on his BinocularSky website:

http://www.binocularsky.com/binoc_choosing.php

As to your choices, these comments on cloudynights regarding the Pentax XCFs are not good, which is  surprising given how good the PCFs are, which is I think the point that is being made.

http://www.cloudynights.com/topic/239894-any-pentax-xcf-10x50-experiences-to-share/

By contrast the review on Allbinos of the Nikons seems to suggest that they are not substantially worse than the Nikon action EX and that would suggest to me that they are not so bad at all for the price.

http://www.allbinos.com/286-binoculars_review-Nikon_ACULON_A211_10x50.html

On the other hand you could look at the Olympus DPS1 which many people seem to like at the price:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Binoculars-Telescopes-Optics/Olympus-118760-Binocular-10x50-DPS-1/B0000AKGX3

However just to get back to the beginning, with Steve's experience I doubt if you would go far wrong with one of his recommendations namely:

http://www.binocularsky.com/reviews/Opticron_Adventurer_10x50.pdf

[Iain L]

Ok, I've decided to leave the pentax bins alone, I do like the sound of the Olympus ones. There's only £5 between the Nikon and Olympus.

[Iain L]

I've just ordered the Nikon Aculon 10x50

[Alfian]

Let us Know what you think  when you get to grips with them.

[Iain L]

Will do, just ordered stargazing with binoculars. Looking forward to some dark skies.

[Stormbringer]

4 hours ago, Iain L said:

I've just ordered the Nikon Aculon 10x50

I have the Nikon Action 12x50 bins and find they are great

Again let us know how you get on with the Aculons 

[gtis]

5 hours ago, Iain L said:

I've just ordered the Nikon Aculon 10x50

Hi where did you order them from has I have being looking at the Pentax 

now being put of by the reviews 

[Iain L]

1 hour ago, gtis said:

Hi where did you order them from has I have being looking at the Pentax 

now being put of by the reviews 

I found them at a cash converters. I think argos still have the Nikon Aculon for around £80.

[Stormbringer]

22 hours ago, Iain L said:

I found them at a cash converters. I think argos still have the Nikon Aculon for around £80.

make sure you give them a good going over fore you buy also check out binocular skies guide here

it really is a good guide in what to look for in bins

http://binocularsky.com/

[Iain L]

Well, what a day! First I bought a new to me scope and now I have just received the Nikon bins that I bought last week. They came with the carry case, which look new and unused. There's not a mark on it or any debris inside the case. The bins themselves look new, no ground in dirt, scuffs or marks. On first look, I could see a slight smudge on on elf the lenses, but that cleaned off easily.

 

I've only gave them a very quick look through for now, I can see some CA on objects that are fairly close, but with  some fine focusing that nearly all disappeared. Objects appear nice and bright and look very sharp.  The bins themselves are not as heavy as I was expecting and are comfortable to hold, however I have not done more than a couple of mins holding so far. I hope that the skies clear for tonight so I can see how they perform. All the photo's were taken using my phone.

[Alfian]

Astronomical observation is a more stringent test than terrestrial views but for a £60 binocular with a 6.5 degree fov they look quite promising.  It will be interesting to see how they perform under the stars.

[Iain L]

Just waiting for a clear night, whenever that will be!

[Stormbringer]

look a decent set of bins there 

all you need now is clear skies so you can really try em out  . we have fog and cloud here today

[BinocularSky]

23 hours ago, Alfian said:

Astronomical observation is a more stringent test than terrestrial views but for a £60 binocular with a 6.5 degree fov they look quite promising.  It will be interesting to see how they perform under the stars.

Indeed. Always difficult to tell from a photograph, but it looks as though sharpness starts to drop off about half way to the edge (not that this is necessarily too much of a problem with hand-helds, as we tend to move the entire binocular and look only at the centre field anyway)

[Iain L]

If the skies stay clear then I'll try tonight. The images may not be great as I will be holding the bins in one hand and will be using my phone to take some pictures with the other hand. 

[dannybgoode]

The Aculon 10x50's are very nice and work very well for astro (I have a pair). For the money they're excellent. 

I tried the 12x50's also and for some reason thought they were horrid.