For the money, go with Nikon Monarch 5 or 7. The 7 series is better, but a few bucks more. Their HD series kills anything out there for just under $1K and are on par Swarvoski's. I have looked through Nikon, Zeiss, Swarvoski, and Vortex...low end to high end. I would go Nikon every time. Vortex Razor are subpar to the Nikon HD as far as optical clarity and the Nikon 7's are the best cheap optic you can find.

I concur with bendable and UTsig. Looking at an eagle nest 200 yards out you realistically need image stabilization and image quality and in a binocular that adds weight and cost. A spotting scope would be much more suitable for your stated purpose.

guys, he is talking $300 max. Preferably less. Lets not recommend glass that cost twice to ten times that much.

200 yards is nothing to watch an eagle nest from 8x or 10x bino's.

I really like my Vortex binoculars. If you are military or LE you get a nice discount.

here is a good spotting scope, and on sale for $149 https://cameralandny.com/shop/...n=1439161&query=7121

a buddy sent me a pair of 16 x 50 binos as a gift,
his thinking was more power /better binos.

I think I've actually used them 4 times in 20 years.

not worthless , but very close to it

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
a buddy sent me a pair of 16 x 50 binos as a gift,
his thinking was more power /better binos.

I think I've actually used them 4 times in 20 years.

not worthless , but very close to it

Not sure what you would look at with those L. But they would be useless except if they were mounted on a tripod pretty much.

Thanks for the great suggestions guys. I ended up getting the 10x50 Vortex Optics Diamondbacks. I just want something I can leave in a drawer by the back door and grab and go once in a while. Well under my price range and should do the trick.

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:
Thanks for the great suggestions guys. I ended up getting the 10x50 Vortex Optics Diamondbacks. I just want something I can leave in a drawer by the back door and grab and go once in a while. Well under my price range and should do the trick.

Great choice. That's a lot of bang for the buck. I wish Vortex would add a lug for mounting them on a tri-pod. At 10x they are hard to keep steady for any length of time.

Enjoy.

Jim

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:
Thanks for the great suggestions guys. I ended up getting the 10x50 Vortex Optics Diamondbacks. I just want something I can leave in a drawer by the back door and grab and go once in a while. Well under my price range and should do the trick.

You should enjoy those! Let us know how you like them after some use.

quote:

Originally posted by Minnow:
You should enjoy those! Let us know how you like them after some use.

Good news and bad news. The binoculars are just what I was looking for. Super clear glass with great magnification and I can easily adjust the focus without my glasses on which I prefer.

The bad news is the day the binoculars showed up the eagles have not. Bad timing for me since they have been there every day for the last month. They nest close by because I have seen them roosting across the lake at 9:00 which is dark enough to not be able to use a camera. I'm not sure if they fly at night but most birds don't, they might? I needed a pair of binoculars either way and I'm confident the eagles will be back.

Thanks everyone!

just remembered ,
I did watch two eagles sitting on a young deer,
with 8 x 30 binos,
but they situation was perfect.

afternoon sun lit them just right ,
the back round was a solid green field,
and no mirage