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Is this a reasonable ~£100 8x40 bino shortlist?


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I previously owned cheap 10x"50"s (the sort that are really more like 10x40) that went out of collimation. I now want something a bit higher quality and I fancy dropping down to 8x40 for a bit less weight and shakes and a bit more field of view. I anticipate using them for scouting star hops and panning the Milky Way more than for hunting specific faint fuzzies. I've budgeted £75-125, plan to try them out before I buy, and am looking out for Black Friday deals (although here in the UK the "deals" are mediocre, it's more like Light Grey Friday...)

Celestron Nature DX 8x42, Celestron Outland X 8x42, Pentax SP 8x40, Olympus 8x40 S, Opticron Adventurer II WP 8x42.

The Pentax and Olympus advertise a great 8.2 degree field but I wear glasses for astigmatism so I'm not sure about the eye relief on them. Hence the others which advertise longer eye relief.

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I have a pair of Tasco (Japan) 8x40’s which are optically great and are fantastic for sweeping the sky. Before these I had pairs of Pentax WP S 20x60’s and Opticron Oregon 15x70, both of which required to be mounted. It’s good to have sharp lightweight binoculars that doesn’t tire your arms. Looking at the ones you have selected I would choose the Pentax.

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Thanks both.

In the end I got none of those. Wex had only one in my price range on display and Currys had none so I made the drive out to Sherwoods Photos where they had a bit more choice. I got a pair of Hawke Vantage 8x42. I also checked out a Hilkinson pair and couldn't see much difference optically. No super-wide field but plenty of eye relief which is going to be what's more important.

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