binoculars

J

jmeirhofer

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What binoculars do you use? I have generic pair of 7x50 from west marine and they seem to be a bit lacking. Not very bright optics. Depth of field does not seem that graet...

Just curious what everyone here uses.
 
West Marine's "Riatea" model. They float, supposedly, and seem to have really good optics. If you catch them on sale, they go for $100 or so. They are really hard to beat for the money. I don't know who makes them for WM, suspect Fujinon is the manufacturer, but have no proof.
 
I have two sets of Steiners, one is about 18 years old. Bought another pair last year. Nothing comes close in clarity AND ruggednes.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Big Bliss

I have two sets of Steiners, one is about 18 years old. Bought another pair last year. Nothing comes close in clarity AND ruggednes.

Click to expand...


I guess that is truly in the eye of the beholder. I went with the big Fujinon 7x50 FMTR-SX Polaris after comparing on-the-water with Steiners and others. They are heavy buggers, but the low light performance is great, and people who use them for the first time always go "ooh! these are nice!" . Mine have had 5 years of very heavy on-the-water use now

As for ruggedness, my Dad has a pair of old Fujinon Mariners that he found by the river mouth after a flood, tangled up under a big washed up tree limb. Had one of the eye cups knocked off, but work great otherwise.
 
I use a pair of 7x50 Fujinon, but last yr. switched to a pair of Cannon stabilized, which 'for me' make quite a bit of difference.
 
My hands aren't very steady so I opted for the Nion Stabil-eyes, 16 x 32 I believe. Having used my B-I-L's stabilzed Canons quite a bit , I felt the Nikons do a bit better job of stabilizing . If you are steady enough to appeciate non-stabilized boat glasses, I would highly recommend Steiners with their impressive brightness in low-light conditions and great feature of focus once for your eyesight at infinity and everything at varying ranges stays nicdely in focus.I'm not sure if that last feature is present in all Steiner models, but it's a very valued feature. A compass model can be handy: http://www.steiner-binoculars.com/binoculars/marine/395.html

Keep in mind 7x magnification is generally considered the max for use on boats if the set is not stabilized. "waterproof" marine binocs are much lees likely to fog internally.

But .... I find I very seldom if at all use the binocs during a typical season . However, when you really want them it's worth it to have a decent pair & frustrating to have only a cheap one.. I use the ITT NV monocular a bit more than the binocs but of course for different purpose.

Fujinon makes some great binocs, and at least some of their models can also be focused for infinity and still have everything else in focus at different range.
 
Fujinon Techno-Stabi Binoculars 14x40, and love them.....can use them running at cruise speed with excellent results......
 
Vortex - lifetime warranty. 8x32 Viper. A lot more compact and lighter than 50's. My boating needs do not require the low light capability of the 50's.

You want to stay in the 7mm to 8mm size on the primary lens unless they are stabilized.

Bob
 
Canon Stabil-eyes...17x50. I love them, but kind of expensive and heavy. Still worth it for me..
 
quote:
Originally posted by Big Bliss

I have two sets of Steiners, one is about 18 years old. Bought another pair last year. Nothing comes close in clarity AND ruggednes.

Click to expand...


I have Steiners and their clarity is good.

I tried to buy a set of Fuji stabilized ($1100) 6 years ago and waited over a half a year and never got delivery. I finally gave up and bought the Steiners. No one ever told me why I could not buy them at that time.
 
Bought the captain a new pair for X-Mas. They're Bushnell Marine Binoculars, 7 X 50, waterproof and float. We'll see how he likes them this season.

Lady C
 
Still using my 7 X 50 Steiners after 20 plus years. At dusk etc they will pick up any available light.
Ron
 
I have a pair of Steiner Commander RS 2000 and a pair of Bausch & Lomb 7x50's. Prefer the Steiners but I'd give anything to find my father's old no name USN issues. Never saw anything like them since. They were very powerful and always in focus with no adjustments. They actually were stolen once and we recovered them. We were able to identify them by looking backwards through the front lens. There was a chip on the inside of the left eyepiece. The chip was not noticible through normal view.
 
I've had several kinds and sizes. The one's I liked best for out on the BIG water, were the 10x50 Automatic self adjusting.
I ruined a pair by not keeping them in the nice felt container though.

7x35's are best optics, but the wider field with the 50's is the better choice.
 
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