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M@ximu$
newbie
Reged: 05/23/08
Posts: 1
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Sabir! You should search Nikon binoculars and others optics on www.opticsbestbuy.com. There are a good quality binoculars at a reasonable price. With a wide variety of options, it is easy to find a model for you.
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sabir
sage
Reged: 06/23/07
Posts: 455
Loc: Pune (India)
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Hi Maximus!! … Thank you for your reply & links and welcome to the CN family!! 
I would like to thank every body for their help and guidance in helping me pick a pair of binoculars!!
I have been researching all day today on what I should go in for, but all I have managed is to thoroughly confuse myself!!  ... Please don’t get me wrong; all your help and suggestions have in fact have been instrumental in guiding me so that I don’t land up with something I regret. The only conclusion I have been able to come to so far is that picking a pair of binoculars is FAR more difficult than picking a telescope or eyepieces! 
The Pentax PCF WP II has nice features like Hallelujah has pointed out but it lacks FOV as Charen, Kenny and Ron point out. The point Ron makes about ‘not knowing where you are half the time’ is a very good one. I plan on using these primarily for Astronomy (80%) and occasionally for terrestrial, and hence the decision for 10X50’s. If only the Pentax had a greater fov, my problems would be solved!
Kenny, I have no idea regarding the different types of focus types. All I have ever seen are the ones with the knob in the middle, which raise and lower both Ep’s simultaneously. It would be great if you could educate me a bit about the individual focus type and its pros and cons
Hallelujah, thanks for posting the link for the Garret optical Ultras! They look identical to the ones I posted a link for and the Orions and are also marginally cheaper than them!,but I was unable to find any reviews for them or their bretherin. Doug makes a good point about the weight. What is the max weight an average person built can handle for handheld bino usage?
This leaves me only with the Nikon action extremes...I’m some how not too convinced about them. I’m also contemplating about waiting for a while (long while) and collecting enough for a Fujinon FMT-SX 10x70. Sadly, I donot have the luxury of trying before I buy, so I dont want to spend $200 and not be Happy  These seem to be the gold standard and seem to do every thing well. There’s also this scheme on telescopes.com called ‘bill me later’ that is currently offering to defer payments for upto 12 months!! Any body used this or aware about this??...are there any catches??... this scheme has got me thinking about the Fujinons!!
Sabir
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SteveV
member
Reged: 11/26/06
Posts: 67
Loc: Southern Ore.
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Nice wide FOV, easy to look through for extended periods, can't beat 'em:
Swift 820's
Swift Audubon - BVD
Swift Audubon - Nils Review (older 804's)
Swift Audubon - CN (older 804's)
10X bino's quickly become a chore to hand hold! 8x40's (or there abouts) being more versitile.
Edited by SteveV (05/27/08 07:18 PM)
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KennyJ
Reged: 04/27/03
Posts: 10029
Loc: Lancashire UK
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Hello again Sabir !
To enable the good people here to help you in this difficult decision , I think you need to decide for yourself , then disclose to us , whether or not you intend to HAND - HOLD these " first binoculars " !
For example , in your last post , you mentioned the Fujinon 10 x 70 -- which , superb as I'm sure it must be , in it's class , is NOT a thing anyone would want to be holding in their hands every day and night of the week !!
As wonderful an instrument as I'm sure it must be , for astronomy , under very dark skies , tripod mounted , it is a rather SPECIALISED instrument , and certainly not one you would want to be carrying around your neck in the daytime for a spot of spontaneous bird watching , for example .
You say your intentions are 80% for astronomy -- for which I happen to regard Individual Focusing ( I.F ) a GOOD thing -- but again , bear in mind that MOST 10x I.F. binoculars also tend to be on the HEAVY side -- and not really designed for hand - held use .
At risk of apparant contradiction , however , I only have one set of I.F binoculars , which happen NOT to be TOO heavy for hand - held use , and also happen to have a TRUE field of view ( 7.2 degrees ) wide enough so as not to easily " get lost " under the stars .
I wrote a review of it , which contained a few points about the I.F function which you may find of interest .
You can see the review here :
http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=1633
Good luck !
Kenny
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Two eyes and a preference to use both
Zeiss 7 x 42 BGAT
Captain's Helmsman 7 x 50
Nikon 10 x 42 Superior E
Swift Audubon Kestrel 10 x 50
Helios 15 x 70 Observation
Strathspey 20 x 90
Televue 76 APO
Zeiss 85 Diascope
Helios 102 f5 refractor
Various eyepieces barlows tripods mounts etc.
Panasonic Lumix DMC - TZ5 digital camera
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sabir
sage
Reged: 06/23/07
Posts: 455
Loc: Pune (India)
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Oops!! That was a BIG Typo! 
I meant Fujinon 10 X 50 ... Is this still too heavy to hand hold?
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ronharper
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 02/14/06
Posts: 964
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Sabir,
The 10x50 Fujinon, at three pounds in the unarmored version, is a half pound lighter than the Resolux types, but is considered by some people to be too heavy.
For me, it is not too heavy to hand hold, and is so optically outstanding that it's worth a bit of extra trouble. Reclining with it in a big comfortable chair with armrests relieves the burden, and is one of the greatest pleasures that I have discovered in astronomy. But it is large even for a 10x50, too heavy to carry around you neck for long, and the individual focus eyepieces are borderline impossible for typical birdwatching where you are constantly adjusting (10x takes a lot more adjusting than 7x). It is a pretty much a specialty astronomy instrument, but a great one. They come up for $400 on Astromart occasionally, and are so rugged they are a good bet used.
No, choosing a binocular is never easy, especially with our help!
Ron
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Penarin
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 11/22/04
Posts: 1084
Loc: Orion, IL
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If you're in the market for some 10x50s, I don't see how you can go wrong with either of the two you mentioned in your original post.
As you can see from my sig, I have the Pentax 10x50s, and have had them for a few years now. They are our general purpose binocs- my wife and I use them for hiking, nature, astronomy, etc.
The rain / fog proof feature has come in handy more than once. I don't mind being out in the rain, and it's nice to not have to worry about your binocs if a shower blows in.
Just my 2 cents.
edit-
This is the report that helped me decide on the Pentax 10x50s-
http://www.cloudynights.com/documents/nikon.pdf
(page 8 in particular)
But please note that the review there is for the Pentax PCF WP 10x50, and by the time I made my purchase, the available model was Pentax PCF WP II. Which is a nice little "oops" on my part, but I'm still quite happy with the WP IIs...
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Meade 6" f/8 refractor
Orion Atlas (EQ6) mount
Oberwerk 25 x 100IF
Pentax 10x50 PCF WP II
Orion Outsider 8 x 40 WA
Edited by Penarin (05/27/08 03:57 PM)
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