binocular recommendations

I searched the boards and have only found information about binoculars from 2007 & 2008. Does someone have any recent suggestions about the type of binnoculars to take on our cruise??? We are interested in searching mostly for wildlife. Would appreciate any suggestions from 2009 cruisers. Thanks much.

If you are looking for wildlife you will want some good glass. I have been a hunter all my life and will only use leupold. Their gold ring is the best and has great low light capablities. Some of the best prices are at bearbasin.com

If you are looking for wildlife you will want some good glass. I have been a hunter all my life and will only use leupold. Their gold ring is the best and has great low light capablities. Some of the best prices are at bearbasin.com

Thanks so much for your response. I will check out Leupold on that website.

check the zen-ray binoculars. My DH has been bugging me to get him a pair of ZEN ED2, which was rated same quality as Swaroviski binoculars. But we are pretty happy with their ZRS binoculars.

here is a review

Agreed...Zen Ray are VERY NICE and reasonable.

Thanks so much we will check the Zen-rays out also. :D

I would stay with some something in the 7X or 8X if you are planning to use them aboard ship or even while moving. These strengths tend to take the motion of the ship out of the equation. You can spend something like $500 plus for Fujinons to as little as about $100 for the Zens...I would find something that works for you.

For marine life observation, you need 7x-8x power. For land observation, 8x or 10x will be good choices. I had similar question before and went ahead and got some pairs of zen-ray summit after listening to the recommendation from members. They are fantastic for the price. The 10x42 summit is $175 with two 10x25 monocular on their site now.

I love my leupold binoculars! I bought them at cabelas and they work great. I also can recommend cannon image stabilizer binoculars too. They also work great!

I searched the boards and have only found information about binoculars from 2007 & 2008. Does someone have any recent suggestions about the type of binnoculars to take on our cruise??? We are interested in searching mostly for wildlife. Would appreciate any suggestions from 2009 cruisers. Thanks much.

Just wanted to say thanks for asking this question. I would have never even thought to ask this.

This thread is a recent and lengthy discussion on binoculars for Alaska:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=578690

Most people will recommend the Zen Ray binoculars but they are pricey for me since I'm not the outdoorsy type and don't know if I'll ever use them other than this trip. I got a pair of 8x42 Bushnell waterproof binoculars for $30 shipped on eBay, whereas the Zen Ray Vista 8x42 are $115 and Zen Ray Summit 8x42 is $205.

I remember someone posted a $15 off coupon (code SAVE15?) for VISTA. So the 8x42 VISTA is $100 with free monocular. It's a steal for its quality.

Thanks everyone for your response. Atleast now I have some idea of what to look for. I really appreciate it. We have looked at a few binoculars since my last post. Hubby likes the Leupold. I think I might try the zen ray vista or summit. Thanks again for your help.:D Greatly appreciate it.

I'm a hunter for 40+ years now, and have used quite a few different kinds of binoculars over the years. A couple of years ago I was hunting with a friend that had some good Leupold binoculars, while I was using some inexpensive and lightweight Pentax ones. I could not figure out why he was consistently seeing game when I was not. When I looked through his, the difference was startling. We concluded the big difference was the type of binoculars. His was the traditional binocular which looked like this:

You can see that the effect of this type gives you a much wider spacing between your eyes than the actual distance. This extra spacing greatly improves your depth of field and distance perception. Unfortunately this type of binocular (Porro Prism) is going out of fashion and is being replaced with the more sleek and and compact roof prism type like this:

So when you are picking binoculars, there is a trade off decision which needs to be made. Do you want lighter and compact, with some compromise to the optics, or are you willing to carry a heavier and bulkier pair with superior optics. I would really suggest you try each type and see which one you like.

In the end I decided on the porro prism type. While Leupold has a range of products from lower quality to very high quality, I find them very overpriced for each quality range (same in hunting scopes). I got a higher quality Bushnell pair, and like them a lot. No it does not have the status of a Leupold, but they are very functional. Some other things to look for in getting a quality pair:

- FULLY multi coated optics (if they just say multi coated only, it means only some lenses are multi coated, and not all)

- Brightness is largely determined by the size of the exit pupil of light. You can estimate this by dividing the objective lens size by the power. Larger is better, but above 5 or so, is not likely to be useful to most, especially older people. The ability of your pupil to open up and accept all the light decreases with age. An 8x40 has an exit pupil of 5, and an 8x50 of 6.25. A younger person may see the difference, and an older one not.

Here is a good link that explains the technical aspects of binoculars.

In the Bushnell line, if you want the depth and distance perception advantage of a porro prism, you may want to consider this model:

Legacy WP

Hope that helps some.

I'm a hunter for 40+ years now, and have used quite a few different kinds of binoculars over the years. A couple of years ago I was hunting with a friend that had some good Leupold binoculars, while I was using some inexpensive and lightweight Pentax ones. I could not figure out why he was consistently seeing game when I was not. When I looked through his, the difference was startling. We concluded the big difference was the type of binoculars. His was the traditional binocular which looked like this:

 

 

You can see that the effect of this type gives you a much wider spacing between your eyes than the actual distance. This extra spacing greatly improves your depth of field and distance perception. Unfortunately this type of binocular (Porro Prism) is going out of fashion and is being replaced with the more sleek and and compact roof prism type like this:

 

 

So when you are picking binoculars, there is a trade off decision which needs to be made. Do you want lighter and compact, with some compromise to the optics, or are you willing to carry a heavier and bulkier pair with superior optics. I would really suggest you try each type and see which one you like.

 

In the end I decided on the porro prism type. While Leupold has a range of products from lower quality to very high quality, I find them very overpriced for each quality range (same in hunting scopes). I got a higher quality Bushnell pair, and like them a lot. No it does not have the status of a Leupold, but they are very functional. Some other things to look for in getting a quality pair:

 

- FULLY multi coated optics (if they just say multi coated only, it means only some lenses are multi coated, and not all)

- Brightness is largely determined by the size of the exit pupil of light. You can estimate this by dividing the objective lens size by the power. Larger is better, but above 5 or so, is not likely to be useful to most, especially older people. The ability of your pupil to open up and accept all the light decreases with age. An 8x40 has an exit pupil of 5, and an 8x50 of 6.25. A younger person may see the difference, and an older one not.

 

Here is a good link that explains the technical aspects of binoculars.

 

In the Bushnell line, if you want the depth and distance perception advantage of a porro prism, you may want to consider this model:

 

Legacy WP

 

 

 

Hope that helps some.

Thanks so much for taking the time to place this valuable information on CC. I really appreciate. I guess the wisest decision is to try out the product at the sporting goods store. :D Thanks again. Appreciate the information.

I remember someone posted a $15 off coupon (code SAVE15?) for VISTA. So the 8x42 VISTA is $100 with free monocular. It's a steal for its quality.

we had it for our trip. will take it for our 2010 cruise again

If you were interested in the porro prism style of binoculars, then it looks like you could get a good deal. The model I have, Bushnell Legend, has been replaced with the roof prism style, and I see some still have stock of the porro design and are clearing them out. This is the model I have:

Bushnell Legend 10x50 Porro

I paid $175 for it last year about this time, so $122 seems like a good price. The Legend line is near the top for quality in the Bushnell line.

10X may be a bit more power than you want. 8X is certainly another good choice. Will be easier to hold steady, is more compact, and slightly lighter. The field of view is an excellent 430', compared to the 340' for the 10X. The zen-ray vista 8x42 is 380'.

Bushnell Legend 8x42 Porro

On thing to keep in mind is that for equal quality you have to spend a lot more $$'s for a roof prism binocular than a porro prism. So if you are comparing similar priced binoculars of each design, then the porro is likely to be significantly higher in quality. You may not want to know this much about binoculars but here is a good summary of what to look for.

Binoculars a Basic Guide

If you do order from an on line supplier phone them first to make sure they really have stock. Also, you may find these same models on e-bay for a good price too.

To extended travel like cruise, I always tried to pack light and take essential items only. Although I have the ZEN ED2 binoculars, which gives me Leica quality view, I never took it for my trip. The weight is 27oz, a bit heavy for me. I always take the ZRS binoculars. For 23oz, it is much easier on my neck too. There are two binoculars that are highly rated. The new Nikon Monarch III, and new ZRS. Another good binoculars with similar quality is Leupold Mojave.

I think the previous poster's suggestions are good examples of the differences between going porro prism and roof prism for binoculars. The generic thought is that you have to pay a lot more to get quality from roof prism, compared to porro prism. So here is how I see they compare. All are quality binoculars with fully multi coated lenses, and all are waterproof. All are 8x42 and have the same exit pupil diameter (5.25mm). The advantage of roof prism is said to be weight, and the advantage of porro is better quality at lower cost.

Roof Prism Models

Nikon Monarch ATB

Cost - $280

Wt - 21.5 oz

Field of View - 330'

Zen Ray ZRS

Cost - $205

Wt. - 23.2 oz

Field of View - 393'

Leupold Mojave

Cost - $417

Wt. - 23 oz

Field of View - 340'

Porro Prism Model

Bushnell Legend

Cost $115

Wt. - 24 oz

Field of View 430'

So, huge difference in cost, almost insignificant difference in weight, and a huge difference in FOV between some models. Also this does not measure the 3D imaging superiority of the porro prism, which I think is really important for viewing wildlife.

To me not a convincing case for going to a roof prism design. But then I'm an old fart that believes in the old saying - Be not the first to try the new, nor the last to throw out the old. Right now the old is looking pretty good.

Just took Ron's advice and placed an order with Amazon for Bushnell Legend's he listed above -- price just a couple dollars less than what he had listed!!!

Glad to be of help. You won't have the sleekest, lightest, binoculars on the boat, but I think you will really appreciate the wide field of view, 3 dimensional imaging, and excellent optical quality of the porro prism design.

copied from another thread. There is $15 coupon for VISTA (code: SAVE15). It also comes with a free monocular. We paid around $125 for ours. It is a very good deal.

Just want to add my thanks -- a very useful thread!

I was looking at some 8 x 50 nikon, are these good for our upcoming cruise to alaska, some say 7x or 8x for ship (which i don't understand) and 8 x 50 for shore?????? help pls? will I go wrong if i buy the 8 x 50? just went shopping today for them but haven't purchased yet. thx