quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
Why high powered?

yeah , what he said

I have Steiner 10x50's which although very nice clarity are all too heavy, my Kahles 10x42 are comparable in clarity and much lighter.

I have been very happy with Nikon's Monarch series. They are very good and not terribly expensive by binocular standards.

They make a 10 power.

quote:

Originally posted by mdblanton:

quote:

Originally posted by Minnow:
Vortex Viper HD 10X42 are a good choice for all around use. The Vortex lifetime warranty is great.

Bought a pair last year. Great quality glass, nice and crisp. I don't think any other brand can beat them at that price point.

Michael

Yep. Love my Vortex.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
I have been very happy with Nikon's Monarch series. They are very good and not terribly expensive by binocular standards.

They make a 10 power.

The Nikon Monaarchs are hard to beat, although I prefer the 8 power model.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:


The Nikon Monaarchs are hard to beat, although I prefer the 8 power model.

So do I. But the OP wanted at least 10 power. Most people are not well served with 10 power binos. I have a pair, but only use them for astronomy. On land, I use 7x or 8x.

I have some Nikon Action 10X50's that I have been happy with.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
Link to a very reliable source of information: Cornell Labs

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/...oculars-for-birding/

Last year, I bought these Celestron's based on that article. I've been happy with them, and I keep them in my truck.

Can't help you. I scrimped and saved back in 1999 and paid over $900 for some Swarovski 10x42's for a three week hunt in Alaska. They now cost over double that. Buy once, cry once. I can use them for hours and not suffer eye strain.

Good binos are a lifetime investment. I bought a pair of Swarovski 7x50's some 40 years ago and they are still great glasses. I also have my dad's Leitz 7x50's that he picked up in Germany almost 70 years ago. Those are still almost as good as my Swarovskis. The better binos are much easier on the eyes when looking for long periods.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:


The Nikon Monaarchs are hard to beat, although I prefer the 8 power model.

So do I. But the OP wanted at least 10 power. Most people are not well served with 10 power binos. I have a pair, but only use them for astronomy. On land, I use 7x or 8x.

I have the 10x42 Monarchs, and they are hard to beat for the price. I certainly would not go any higher than 10x if you intend to hand-hold them. I occasionally use my wife's 8x, but really prefer the 10x42's.
 

I will start off with asking what do you expect to use them for? 10X power binocs tend to be too big and heavy to pack on an all day hunting trip. Most birdwatchers I know like 10X or 8X because they don't hike miles in a day (usually). Roof Prism tend to be lighter and more compact than porro prism but have a very slightly less distinct image than porro prism. Roof prism binocs need phase coating or P coating to get that last bit of clarity to match porro prism. Phase coating is unique to roof prism, if the saleperson tries to sell you a porro prism binoc with phase coating they don't know what they are talking about

If you want 10X get at least a 40mm objective lens, 50mm is better. An exit pupil of 5 is a good all around size for brightness, clarity, and eaee of viewing. Ditto on henryaz comment on 10x is max if you expect to handhold them.

Get multicoated (a green color to the lens) rather than single coated (a blue/purple color to the lens). Blue is good, green is better

Vortex, Nikon, Leupold, the upper quality Bushnell are good brands and I've seen what I call decent quality for $200 to $250 and up. Leica, Swarovski, Zeiss are premium brands and the least expensive I can recall is $800.

http://m.cameralandny.com/prod...5D%5Bon%5D=relevance
Good price on discontinued models.

i give up , how do you keep a forum in suspense?

i have 3 sets, military surplus steiner 10x50's..VG clarity and built (and look lol, like a tank) , Leica 10x50's ( around 2k$) exec optics and lastly a basic set of smaller Steiners , my small steiners, i got free when i bought their high end 3-18x50 scope for my rifle and i like them alot because they share the same reticle and submissions

quote:

Originally posted by Neel:
I have Steiner 10x50's which although very nice clarity are all too heavy, my Kahles 10x42 are comparable in clarity and much lighter.

My first quality set of binoculars were the Steiner Marine 10x50's, paid $400 way back in the 80's for them. So clear and strong, but the weight (not size), ruined all the fun in carrying them. Sadly sold them several years ago, and just recently gave up the hi power binocular quest after finding two wonderful lower powered binoculars that are easy to carry and so clear.

Kowa 6x30 and Vortex Vanquish 8x25, the Kowa's are the best and ones I carry most.

So based on experience, I would suggest Steiners.

You will, of course, need to find the best candidates and try them outside. Most stores will let you choose two or three and accompany you outside to test.

I tested the Brunton Eterna and Nikon Monarch ones a few years ago. I ended up with the Brunton as I felt they provided a cleaner image. I've used them at night when doing some volunteer work with good success.

You also need to be aware of the numbers, and the relation they mean with respect to the power and aperture. I believe mine are 8x42. If the second number is lower, you will get less image at night.

I went through this drill about a decade ago. Found 10x to be too unwieldy as I couldn't hold them steady enough. Sold them off. Spotting scope handles higher magnification needs.

Ended up investing in the excellent Swarovski SLC 7x42 (Swarobrite Neu) as my prime bins. They are heavy but my Mad Dog bino harness obviates that. Have the following available for use as well: Pentax DCF-WP 8x32, Minox BD IF 6.5x32, factory restored vintage Leupold Gold Ring IF 9x35 porros, and tiny pocket Pentax UCF-Mini 9x21. The later two I find I can hold quite steady... go figure.

I also was curious about older porro prism bins that had extreme wide fields of view. After going through numerous brands/models, many highly regarded, I ended up retaining Kronos BPWC2 6x30 (12.5* TFOV) and Binolux 7x35 (11* TFOV) LiteWt EWA porros. Holger Merlitz did a nice comparison review of those Kronos against Hensolt DF and Zeiss Jenoptem models. Both the Kronos and Binolux provide very enjoyable extremely immersive views despite not having the latest state of the art lens coatings and features.

As an aside I've found the 6, 6.5, and 7X binoculars to provide the best overall experience. Granted I may be able to eek out a bit more detail with higher powers but to do that requires some effort to hold the optics steady enough... not always easy. The lower powers also tend to give wider fields of view and are just plain more relaxing to use making them my preference.

quote:

As an aside I've found the 6, 6.5, and 7X binoculars to provide the best overall experience.

it would be great to find some 5X40's