Binoculars Wide Angle

Need CC advice on a pair of binoculars. I am leaning toward Nikon 10x40. The use would be for birds, whales and wildlife. I have a 8x40 pair but I'm afraid it is not a wide enough field of few. Any advice is accepted, but need to keep the cost under $200.00

I have a pair of 7 x 35 that I love ... ditto on how I use it

7X35 tends to be the marine standard, it takes the vibration of the ship out of the image. To the original poster, I think would will be just fine with your 8X40's unless the new Nikons would be an upgrade in the quality of the lenses.

7X35 tends to be the marine standard, it takes the vibration of the ship out of the image. To the original poster, I think would will be just fine with your 8X40's unless the new Nikons would be an upgrade in the quality of the lenses.

Thanks for your input. I tried both just an hour ago at a local sports store and tne Nikon 8x42 and the 10x50 would be an upgrade and cheaper. Everyone keeps telling me the 8x40 would be better, but my eyes don't agree. The 10x50 had the best view for me and that's what I go by. I may try the 7x35 soon. I don't need them until late June. so no big rush. Thanks again!

Hi,

I like the Nikon Monarch 8X42 that we took to Alaska last summer. Now on amazon dot com for $229.

Need CC advice on a pair of binoculars. I am leaning toward Nikon 10x40. The use would be for birds, whales and wildlife. I have a 8x40 pair but I'm afraid it is not a wide enough field of few. Any advice is accepted, but need to keep the cost under $200.00

Having a 10x40 will not give you wider angle than the 8x40 you already have. I do like the better magnification with 10x power. That's why we get both. One spec to look for when getting a new binoculars is to check the field of view. We took a few pairs with us so everyone in the group can have his(her) own. The 10x42 summit has 305 ft FOV and the 8x42 VISTA has 380 ft FOV. This way, we got ourselves covere for both higher power and wider angle.

Having a 10x40 will not give you wider angle than the 8x40 you already have. I do like the better magnification with 10x power. That's why we get both. One spec to look for when getting a new binoculars is to check the field of view. We took a few pairs with us so everyone in the group can have his(her) own. The 10x42 summit has 305 ft FOV and the 8x42 VISTA has 380 ft FOV. This way, we got ourselves covere for both higher power and wider angle.

we did the same for our trip.

We took two sets of 10x50 on our cruise, and were very happy with them.

I have both 8x42 and 10x42 Zen-ray. The 8 power one is significantly wider to my eyes.

Just bought a pair of 7 X 50's at Khols on sale.. Hopefully they will help us on our upcoming trip... We leave in less than a week. The pair I bought are Emerson.. probably not great quality but the price was right and I don't know if we will ever use them again...

Field of view goes down as power goes up. Your 8X40 pair is almost guaranteed to have a wider field of view than a 10X40 pair. From recent experience I can also tell you that the ship vibration makes a 10X set of binoculars very giggly. Usable, yes, but not at all ideal. 10X is fine on shore, but 8X would be better on the ship.

From recent experience I can also tell you that the ship vibration makes a 10X set of binoculars very giggly. Usable, yes, but not at all ideal. 10X is fine on shore, but 8X would be better on the ship.

I agree. At 10x I rest my elbows on the railing to minimize shaking.

I have been using my 10x for quite often recently. I found if I take some brief breaks between using bincoculars, my hands become more stable. I will take the advice to rest my elbows against railing when using them on the ship

Need CC advice on a pair of binoculars. I am leaning toward Nikon 10x40. The use would be for birds, whales and wildlife. I have a 8x40 pair but I'm afraid it is not a wide enough field of few. Any advice is accepted, but need to keep the cost under $200.00

An 8x40 will have a wider field of view than a 10x40.

cannot decide between these two models.

VISTA- http://www.zen-ray.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=262

SUMMIT- http://www.zen-ray.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=264

Both of them have 393 ft viewing angle, which is good wide angle for us. ZRS is about 0.8 oz lighter than VISTA. The price difference is $70. What else is there that makes ZRS better than VISTA. Can we see the difference to warrant extra $70? We don't mind spending the money if we can get quality product. Any experience or recommendation? Thanks

Betty

cannot decide between these two models.

 

VISTA- http://www.zen-ray.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=262

 

SUMMIT- http://www.zen-ray.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=264

 

Both of them have 393 ft viewing angle, which is good wide angle for us. ZRS is about 0.8 oz lighter than VISTA. The price difference is $70. What else is there that makes ZRS better than VISTA. Can we see the difference to warrant extra $70? We don't mind spending the money if we can get quality product. Any experience or recommendation? Thanks

 

Betty

We had similar question before. After doing some research, we decided to get summit one. I have also got a pair of Nikon Monarch since both of them have better coating for brightness under foul weather. I have zero knowledge in optics. But to my eyes, the summit is visibly better than Monarch. I got the 10x though. If the 8x is made the same quality as 10x ( which I will assume so), you gonna like it.

The VISTA is good enough for me. But DH claimed he's more comfortable with summit. I like the wider angle 8x from VISTA anyway, so we never had to fighte it over.

cannot decide between these two models.

 

VISTA- http://www.zen-ray.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=262

 

SUMMIT- http://www.zen-ray.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=264

 

Both of them have 393 ft viewing angle, which is good wide angle for us. ZRS is about 0.8 oz lighter than VISTA. The price difference is $70. What else is there that makes ZRS better than VISTA. Can we see the difference to warrant extra $70? We don't mind spending the money if we can get quality product. Any experience or recommendation? Thanks

 

Betty

I have tried both binoculars. The VISTA is surprisingly good. But the ZRS is better. Since we take binoculars out almost every weekend, it is worthy spending extra to get the ZRS. If you only use them once and then will leave them in closet, VISTA should be sufficient. I recently sampled a pair of Leica Ultravid binoculars. That was quite a Wow experience.

thank you for the advice. I will ask DH to make a decision which one he wants.

if you are doing inland tour, you may want to consider 10x42. I heard 10x is better for those faraway critters that can be seen during the land tour.

Hi,

I like the Nikon Monarch 8X42 that we took to Alaska last summer. Now on amazon dot com for $229.

These Nikon Monarch 8X42 always get great reviews by users.

We just ordered a pair of ZEN ED 8x43 ($359). It came with a FREE pair of VISTA binoculars. We chose 8x42 VISTA

http://www.zen-ray.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=254

This is the FREE VISTA we got. http://www.zen-ray.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=246

that's a great deal. I got my 8x43 ED2 for $400.

We just ordered a pair of ZEN ED 8x43 ($359). It came with a FREE pair of VISTA binoculars. We chose 8x42 VISTA

 

http://www.zen-ray.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=254

 

This is the FREE VISTA we got. http://www.zen-ray.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=246

wow. that's amazing. thanks for the heads-up.

I have the option to take 2 different pairs of binoculars on my trip. One is a larger style (not huge, but big) and the other is almost a pocket size. When I look through both pair, I can see no difference in the magnification or the field of vision. Both are Swarovski Optik. The larger pair says "EL 10 x 42" 6,3" and there is a degree sign after the 3. I can't find any specks on the tiny pair.

Is there any benefit to lugging around the bigger ones? Or can I just take the smaller ones since I can't tell a difference in viewing anyway??

TIA,

Cheryl :)