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JoeF
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 03/18/05
Posts: 1193
Loc: 'Sunny Loftus' - N E England
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I'm on the verge of retiring my much used and venerable Miranda 10x50s which just don't cut the mustard anymore! (£19.99 at Dixons circa 1985)
I'm looking for a mid-range (£200-£300) pair and have decided I would prefer roof prism for portability. Preferably they will excel at medium to long range wildlife viewing at dusk. They will also be used for birding, astronomy and anything else I can think of. Ruggedness and waterproofness are fairly critical as I want binos that can take the odd knock and still last for years.
I like the look of the Opticron 10 x 50 Countryman BGA T PC Oasis and some of the Bushnells and Vikings also look OK. Has anyone got any comments on these makes or ideas of other models I may have overlooked, and am I asking too much for the money?
I'll be buying in the UK so suggestions for any other types should bear this in mind. Oh and £300 is absolute tops!
Thanks
Joe
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Orion Optics 200mm f6 & Accufocus on GP/E Mount
Opticron BGA 10x50 Binos
NELM 5.2 rural skies
Under tripod canine footwarmer
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Bruce MacDonald
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 01/12/06
Posts: 1126
Loc: Devizes, Wiltshire, UK
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Opticrons are supposed to be a good medium quality brand here in the UK. Perhaps Kenny or Stephen Tonkin may like to chip in here. Helios is another respected brand; SCS Astro has Orion Vistas for sale at £189 plus a tenner for P&P.
Glad to see you got your money's worth out of the Mirandas. Me, I'd like a pair of Prinzlux 12x50s like I used back in the 80s...
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Bruce MacDonald
Devizes, Wiltshire, UK
Per Mare Per Terras
Schneider (dkl) 10x80 Flakfernrohr, Canon 10x30 IS binoculars, Synta 80mm f/5 refractor, Televue 24mm Panoptic
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KennyJ
The British Flash
Reged: 04/27/03
Posts: 20139
Loc: Lancashire UK
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Hi Joe ,
I COULD probably waffle on for hours here , but just to give you an idea , how about checking one of these out ?
http://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/detail.php?id=1709
There is a review of this Helios 10 x 50 phase corrected roof prism model in the CN Binocular mini - review section , by fellow member Stephane ( brt209 ) who co - incidentally followed up that review with a very good observing report to the main CN binocular forum only last week !
Good luck !
Kenny
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Milton Wilcox R.I.P
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JoeF
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 03/18/05
Posts: 1193
Loc: 'Sunny Loftus' - N E England
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Thanks,
I decided not to let 'analysis paralysis' take over so yesterday a pair of Opticron 10x50 arrived. These are the new models with phase corrected prisms and Oasis coatings. I've only briefly looked at the stars when clouds permitted but they do seem good with Aldebaran being very tight and a bright glowing orange. Daytime views are much brighter and crisper than the old Mirandas (as you would expect) and the FOV is actually slightly better. There is some minor CA and some edge of field distortion though this is only apparant when looking into branches and trees. Close focus is also very good, so despite the the slight CA and distortion which is probably apparant with most binocs I'm very, very pleased with these. The also look the business too!
Hopefully soom I'll be able to post a '1st light' in the Bino forum.
Cheers
Joe
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Orion Optics 200mm f6 & Accufocus on GP/E Mount
Opticron BGA 10x50 Binos
NELM 5.2 rural skies
Under tripod canine footwarmer
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KennyJ
The British Flash
Reged: 04/27/03
Posts: 20139
Loc: Lancashire UK
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Good for you , Joe !
I'd been wondering if you'd arrived at a decision yet .
Looking forward to your first impressions / review .
Good luck and clear skies ,
Kenny
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Milton Wilcox R.I.P
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grbrown
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/09/05
Posts: 645
Loc: Ampthill, UK, 52:02N 0:30W
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Joe,
A few months ago I spent ages agonising over buying a pair, albeit smaller than you seek. My wife and I have Trinovid roofs for our normal bins (10x42 and 12x50), but wanted something for use around the house and garden.
This a round-about way of saying that I discovered that roofs generally have a narrower field of view than the porro type.
My analysis, which may help anyone doing 'armchair' research, can be found at:
http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/1161529/page/5/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1
and scroll down the third page to find my results.
There are lots of bins out there and using a similar technique may help produce a short-list!
Edited by grbrown (03/28/07 05:54 PM)
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KennyJ
The British Flash
Reged: 04/27/03
Posts: 20139
Loc: Lancashire UK
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Graham ,
As I hope all CN members are aware , very unfortunately , our friend Joe has FAR more serious matters to attend to at the moment than choosing a pair of binoculars .
See thread on Off Topic entitled BYE FOR NOW .
All my prayers and best wishes are with Joe , his wife and family at this troubled time .
Regards , Kenny
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Milton Wilcox R.I.P
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