best binoculars

[TheFishBox]

What are the best binoculars you have had in your hands. By best I mean clarity and brightness. I have 10/42 leica geovids but am going to get a terrapin so I figured I could get rid of my leicas and get some new binos without the range finder. What I want to know is, will new binos impress me or not.

 

[mildot1960]

What are the best binoculars you have had in your hands. By best I mean clarity and brightness. I have 10/42 leica geovids but am going to get a terrapin so I figured I could get rid of my leicas and get some new binos without the range finder. What I want to know is, will new binos impress me or not.

Of Coarse new Binoculars will impress you All the Leupold Binos from the Cascades upwards are good and their New McKinley BX 4s are are durposed to be the Dogs Dangley Bits
As I have stated Else where Once you get into certain Brands and Price Range it the Boils down to the Name you want because the Human Eye cant Tell the Difference Because as Many people have said and Know that most Brands have their Lenses made at the same Place, I would Put my Leupolds up against anyother brand and the fact that they are Mil-Spec Rated Tells me that they are good, I would not Sell them for 10x what I paid for them Because I have almost got my Kit the way I want it,

Vortex are getting a very good rap at the moment and Bushnell have been winning all the top prize's for the last 2-3 years or more, The thing with Swarovki, Lieca and Ziess is alot of users buy them By their Rep and because their Mates have got them and for Snob Value but the Truth is Most Peoples eyes could'nt tell **** from Clay and Our eyesight starts to go south after we hit out mid 30s, The Point I am trying to make is with all High end gear the Quality is Very Very close and as I said theres a cut off point where our eyes just cant tell the difference and it will be Brand and Features that will make you happy,

Hope this helps,, Johnl

 

[ArizonaWildernessHunter]

The only 3 binos that I have looked through that would outdo the Leica Geovids you have would be the new Leica Geovid HD-B (unless somehow you found a pair in stock and then bought another rangefinder), the Leica Ultravid HD 10x50, or the Swarovski EL HD 10x50 WB. All 3 of these have excellent clarity and a larger field of view. Light gathering is great with the Leica Ultravid HD 10x50 or the Swarovski EL HD 10x50 WB. I have not tested the new Geovids for light gathering since I am on a pre-order list & only got to look at them a couple times at the store.

Based on your new purchase though I would look at the Leica Ultravid HD 10x50 or the Swarovski EL HD 10x50 WB for non-rangefinder binos.

 

[ArizonaWildernessHunter]

Of Coarse new Binoculars will impress you All the Leupold Binos from the Cascades upwards are good and their New McKinley BX 4s are are durposed to be the Dogs Dangley Bits
As I have stated Else where Once you get into certain Brands and Price Range it the Boils down to the Name you want because the Human Eye cant Tell the Difference Because as Many people have said and Know that most Brands have their Lenses made at the same Place, I would Put my Leupolds up against anyother brand and the fact that they are Mil-Spec Rated Tells me that they are good, I would not Sell them for 10x what I paid for them Because I have almost got my Kit the way I want it,

Vortex are getting a very good rap at the moment and Bushnell have been winning all the top prize's for the last 2-3 years or more, The thing with Swarovki, Lieca and Ziess is alot of users buy them By their Rep and because their Mates have got them and for Snob Value but the Truth is Most Peoples eyes could'nt tell **** from Clay and Our eyesight starts to go south after we hit out mid 30s, The Point I am trying to make is with all High end gear the Quality is Very Very close and as I said theres a cut off point where our eyes just cant tell the difference and it will be Brand and Features that will make you happy,

Hope this helps,, Johnl

I have Leupold HD 10x42 Gold Rings and think they are some of the best binos that were made for the money but I know from experience that they haze up when the sun gets onto the lenses before a Leica or Swarovski bino. This problem can last for up to 30 min in the morning and evening when the sun is really bright out here in AZ. The Leica or Swarovski binos can almost be dangerous if you pan to fast into the sun coming up or going down. If they still made the Leupold HD 10x42 Gold Rings I would recommend this to a lot of people. The new BX-4 McKinley HD binocular seems to be the replacement to the Leupold HD 10x42 Gold Rings but I have not tested them out yet.

 

[mildot1960]

I have Leupold HD 10x42 Gold Rings and think they are some of the best binos that were made for the money but I know from experience that they haze up when the sun gets onto the lenses before a Leica or Swarovski bino. This problem can last for up to 30 min in the morning and evening when the sun is really bright out here in AZ. The Leica or Swarovski binos can almost be dangerous if you pan to fast into the sun coming up or going down. If they still made the Leupold HD 10x42 Gold Rings I would recommend this to a lot of people. The new BX-4 McKinley HD binocular seems to be the replacement to the Leupold HD 10x42 Gold Rings but I have not tested them out yet.

Hi, With My10x50 Mk4s I have not noticed the hazing issue but that could be because they are all Black inside, and they are even better that my Steiners and I like the narrower field of View, So far I can not find fault with them But I have tried and from the Specs the McKinley BX4s are the only one's that come close. I dont think you with have to miss out on Quality, Light or Lenses with your choice when you compare the vast improvements people like Vortex have made and People Like NightForce are nothing short of Incredible, When the only Choice's were S&B, US Optics, Zeiss, Lieca and Of coarse Leupold, but what these New Comers have done is not only given us Cheaper Optics but the are forcing others to raise their Game So the New Standard of Optics have reached new Highs so to make anything better is really causing some Head Scratching for the makers and the End User's, Them with Ideas and us with Choice's.

John

 

[ArizonaWildernessHunter]

Good to hear you don't have any hazing. That just shows how much technology has improved. Too bad Leupold was crazy and d/c the mk4 binos. I thought that getting a pair with the TMR Reticle would be nice for target shooting or maybe even judging antler size. Maybe the mk4 spotting scope would be handy for this.

 

[mildot1960]

Good to hear you don't have any hazing. That just shows how much technology has improved. Too bad Leupold was crazy and d/c the mk4 binos. I thought that getting a pair with the TMR Reticle would be nice for target shooting or maybe even judging antler size. Maybe the mk4 spotting scope would be handy for this.

I could be Wrong about the Hazing but thats only because I have not used them where and when it can happen but I will test them and let you know along with my steiners and and a Very expensive pair of Yatching Binoculars that Tasco made Back in the 90s.

Heres a Link that might help I dont know if this is a recent advert but check them out and let us know I can get the MilDot version for around $448.00/£295.00.

this place has all 3 types,

Leupold Mark 4 Tactical 10x50 Binoculars with Mil Dot Reticle, by www.scopesonline.com

hope this works now I need the sunshine and the clouds to go.

John

 

[mildot1960]

I have Leupold HD 10x42 Gold Rings and think they are some of the best binos that were made for the money but I know from experience that they haze up when the sun gets onto the lenses before a Leica or Swarovski bino. This problem can last for up to 30 min in the morning and evening when the sun is really bright out here in AZ. The Leica or Swarovski binos can almost be dangerous if you pan to fast into the sun coming up or going down. If they still made the Leupold HD 10x42 Gold Rings I would recommend this to a lot of people. The new BX-4 McKinley HD binocular seems to be the replacement to the Leupold HD 10x42 Gold Rings but I have not tested them out yet.

Today I have Spoken to Swarovski and Steiner and they say that the Haze up issue is caused by the atmospheric conditions like Humidity and the raising of the tempreture and light reflections of the sun on the surface of the Lenses and although Modern coatings can help reduce this effect it can not be wiped out completely because it is a Weather Issue not an Optical Fault as it can be seen with the naked eye on bad days in the same respect as mirrage as it is mirrage and no matter what brand of Binoculars you buy Hazing will always be pressent, and as these two companies are two of the market Leaders I tend to agree with them, but ofcoarse on scopes and Spotting scopes the use of the sunshades really wipes it out because the Sun cant reflect on the Lens.

I'm please to get that one sorted, But I'm glad you raised that point because looking back on some of my Optics I have noticed it on the cheaper Brands NOT cheaper Binoculars ie Basic Steiners and High end Steiners both help to combat this,

John