binoculars

Any of you chaps got any recomendations on a pair of bins ,ideally a pair that is light and not to big ,wanted for putting in the fishing bag

I tried a pair of Olympus 8x25's for around £100 recently. They also had a zoom.

Quick to focus, very light, and and fit in the pocket. Small objects at 100yds distant were excellent.

Last year I bought a pair of Olympus bins which I can recommend:

Olympus 8 X 21 DPC I

Field 6.4 degrees

Weight 180 gms

size 100X 80 X 50 millimetres

No zoom but can be focussed

Cost me about £50 from Jessops

You can buy other types of bins more cheaply if you look around, although they may not be as compact.

I used to use a monocular (a miniature telescope a few inches long) but it's easier and clearer to look at objects through binoculars.

What's wrong with Leica Trinovids?

Some years ago I bought a pair of Nikon Travelite 8x25 binos for the bag and they have been excellent-sturdy,very,very light and nice to use.(I think they,or similar are still made).Basically for general use but good for seeing fish move(as long as the distance is reasonable)and bird-watching etc.

Also bought a pair of 10X25 for trying to spot fish moving at greater distance but the x10 magnification was hopeless with such a small lens size of 25.Obviously if you increase this to(say)35 then the price usually goes through the roof and up goes the weight so it does depend to some degree on what you have to spend.

So I would say no bigger than x8 mag.very light,waterproof if possible but this pushes the price up!

I am certain many makes would fit the bill but I chose Nikon because weight was the main issue and they were the lightest by far anda professional told me Nikon lenses are second to none.

Not too many specialised shops about nowadays so I went to the RSPB Centre at Sandy,Bedfordshire who have a good selection and who let you walk around the Reserve for a while to try them out.However you may buy them cheaper online.

One thing for sure-I wouldn't be without mine!(I'm also told you can see what bait people are using on the opposite bank....)

Have a look at http://www.birdforum.net/where there are plenty of adverts for binoculars and scopes, some second hand ones, as well as new stuff

Good advice is to try bins before purchase. I tried Zeiss and just could not get on with them same with Alpin Optolith.

Found a pair of Pracktica 8 X 21 in TK Max priced around £12 and not 'cheap tat' brilliant for carrying about fishing or walking. 8 X 21 DCF field of vision 122m/1000m weight 264gms. (reduced from approx £40-£50). Brought them as I had previously bought a pair for my wife and knew I would get on with them, so in this case being packaged and not able to test was not a problem.

One of the best purchases I have ever made.

Try out different bins and make sure that they suit you, its a bit like walking boots the best ones are the ones that fit best, name and price are not the most important factor. Why pay £125 for a pair of Meindl boots that cripple your feet when £50 Hi Tecs are super comfy.

thanks for the info chaps ,i think try before you by sounds the deal for me

The Monk uses Leica Trinovids, notto look through but to enhance his street cred.

He tells me they are good pullers!/forum/smilies/wink_smiley.gif

If you don't want to spend nearly £900 on a pair of Trinovids...

take a look at the Bushnell Natureview. you can get them for around £100. I've had a set for a few years now. very nice set of bins.