I guess they are what I expected, I was just pleasantly surprised by the massively increased range (I think the fact both eyes are used also helps as more information is available for the brain, if I close one eye and use it like a monocular the distance clarity doesn't seem so good, despite image quality staying objectively the same). I am also very pleased with the quality of the lense caps and case for them.
Here is a link to an album with a comparison picture and a number of pictures taken with my digital camera through the monocular/binoculars:
Obviously when taking a picture through the binoculars I only used one lense, so it can't capture essential differences in image quality between mon- and bi-noculars.
the first picture is a reference with three main houses, this was taken at full zoom with the camera, but with no external optics attached. These houses, or parts of these houses are often the subject of later pictures with the optics, all should be explained in the image notes anyway.
It's also worth noting that with the Vortex I often couldn't get the camera to get a fully clear picture at full zoom, in any pictures where the edge of the image is circular as opposed to filling the whole rectangle that is because the camera is not fully zoomed in. In the clock pictures, the Vortex one looks blurred, in real life the writing on the clock wasn't blurred on either, but the zoom of the clock in both pictures is accurate, so a much more detailed/closer up image with the binoculars on that is accurate. The Vortex was in general much harder to focus with the camera and hold steady and get a good picture through, so some slight blurring/image contrast loss on the Vortex pictures is due to that rather than the optics themselves.
Hmm, interesting .... the B&S binos you got are not as big as I thought they would be. The optical quality seems very good for the price paid. Perhaps I should take a look at their smaller binos (like the 8x32 sierra or their 8x25 Sahara models).
Is this too good to be true? Fully multicoated binos, nitrogen filled, waterproof 8x32 which look very similar to the B&S ones for only $35 shipped in the US?.... too good to be true imho.... Amazon sells those for$84.97...
Wow, they do look like the Barr and Stroud ones and it seems a few of the old Bresser models are now sold under the Barr and Stroud names so it may well be the same thing. Those 8x32 Bresser Condors are £130/$200 in the UK so they seem the real deal. The price does seem too good to be true though, have you looked into Meijer's reputation as a seller?
Also use code RETMENOT15 or BLUESKY for 15% of everything.
Unfortunately shipping is over £20 for me, they only do UPS international.
I also can't seem to select paypal as a payment option.
They seem very harsh on Customs and Import charges too. If I select to pre-pay import duty it adds on £24.15 to a pair of binoculars which are only £18.
What we really need is someone in the US who can buy two pairs and for a small/reasonable fee + postage costs forward us one each via basic USPS postage with each package marked at under $20 value ;) (which isn't asking too much as they come down to $23 after discount codes anyway!)
Although now it has let me know that discount codes can't be used on international orders.. Which means they would stay above the import duty threshold at that price.
So, If I were to buy direct from them I would be charged for: £20 binoculars, £20 shipping, £4 import duty + £10 customs charges. I'm assuming it would be similar charges in Germany?
It still adds up to a decent deal but with their strict no returns or exchanges policy I would rather get the Barr and Stoud versions for £76 within the UK with the 10 year warranty etc.
However, if someone in the US could get them with free domestic shipping and the 15% discount (so for $23 shipped) and then forward them to me for under $15 via USPS with the package marked as under $20 value to avoid any customs or import charges then I would happily make the total up to $45-$50 for their trouble.
I am tempted to write a PM to someone ;-) ... but my gut tells me I should leave this one out... that it is listed at ali isn't exactly reassuring either...
I looked through same Nikon Sporter EX 8x42 yesterday. Pretty nice for the low price that they are sold for (around €100).
In good sunlight you can probably see quite well with it, and the large magnification might compensate for the low resolution of the lenses. But in the shade or when the sky is overcast, not to mention at night, you'll probably see very little if at all.
I tried some zooming monoculars and binoculars and I found they really are a step down from fixed magnification ones. Just look at the field of view angle of 3.6° at 10x and 2.0° at 32x. The 25mm vortex has 6° at 10x and the 36mm has 6.2° 10x.
I was following this thread and just wanted to show the result from that.
I subscribed to an ebay search for the Nikon Prostaffs a week ago and couple of days ago when I woke up around 5 in the morning to prepare to go camping for 4 days I see my first ebay mail concerning that.
It was 70 bucks = shipping for a brandnew 10x25 Prostaff with the "make offer" option. I offered 60 bucks hoping I could have some possible awesome deal that I could update / pay while in the car with some friend's android.
Seller responded within 10 minutes and bang I got it for 60$. Had to add 10$ extra for shipping and CA tax so paid 70$ for the item all included and it arrived yesterday, just as advertised in new condition! That's for half of what they sell at amazon.com!
Best binoculars I ever owned. Had only some Russian military ones before and some sh*tty quality Chinese optics.
These are nice compact binos you bought there... and the price looks like a steal. I think those are sold under the name Nikon 10X25 Travelite EX outside the US. Magnification would be a little high for my taste on such lightweight binos... but maybe you drink less coffee than I do. ;-)
lol, I actually was interested in the 12x25 version originally but then came this steal deal and solved everything.
I have no problem holding them steady and would like even higher magnification basically but the loss of light and angle are also to be considered.
And yes, the link you provided shows what I own now. Hehe, it makes me happy seeing the Euro price since I just moved to Los Angeles 2 months ago from Austria and everything is soooooooo much cheaper here plus no Zoll (no customs taxes)! I got the thing for 50-60 Euros brandnew.
It’s been a while but having recently got my $46 Nitecore EA4w from fasttech I was pleasantly surprised to find that the holster for it is a perfect, snug fit for the Vortex monocular. It fits like it was made for it, in fact even better than it fits the EA4 itself.
There’s another reason to get one if you haven’t already
It took me a while to notice your post, but you are right my EA4W pouch fits a lot better than the one that came with the Vortex monocular. I searched for similar pouches and maybe without the outer seams. BTW I went the cheap route with the binos and bought some compact Nikon Sport Lite 10x25 5° for ~33€, which is good enough for me.
Hi, Check this link out, since you didn’t mention what power and what use for your monoculars. This site has lots of them and there are reviews of many, by people who purchased them.
