Jerry/Pa

I' m looking for binoculars for 3-D. I wish I could afford the Swarovski' s or Zeiss but that' s not happening. I' m looking to be in the 300-400 range. From what I' ve read and through experience with all else equal the lens and coatings seem to make the difference in the better binoculars. I' m looking at the Nikon Monarch' s or the Pentex DCF-WP or DCF-HC. Can anyone recommend a binocular equal or better then the ones I' m considering in that price range? Thanks. JERRY

pdq 5oh

Jerry, I have a pair of Minox 8.5X42. Minox is a division of Leica. You can get these right around $400. from the camera dealers in NY City. They' re waterproof, nitrogen purged, and have coated optics. I looked at the Nikons and Pentax right along side of these. The Minox are much brighter and sharper. I can see the rings on most any target, in nearly any light. BTW, the 8.5 power is ok for IBO. There was a discussion on their forum awhile back, and the IBO rep stated 8.5 was legal.

buckskin73

I have owned Nikon, Bushnell, Baush & Lomb, Leupold, Tasco, Pentax, ETC.. Hands down the best optics for the money is Leupold. I have used both Zeiss and Swazorski scopes and binoculars. While they are a little brighter at very low light conditions and have great clarity all the way out to the edge of the optics, I don' t think the extra money demanded by these products is justifiable for the average shooter or hunter. I buy leupold almost exclusively. They are wonderfully clear, gather alot of light, and have a life time warranty. For the money, they can' t be beat. PERIOD.

Jason McCurry

We just had a big discussion about this subject last night at the range. Everyone had their binoculars and we compared them side-by-side with lots of different eyes, indoors shooting spots as well as outside while it was starting to get dark. Of the ones there, the upper end Leicas and the Swarovski EL' s were tops with the Pentax DCF-WPs next, Minox next after that, and Leupold after the Minox. There were several more after that, but those are the ones that stood out from the rest. For the price range you are listing, I don' t think you' ll be able to beat the Pentax DCF-WP 8x42 binos. You should be able to get them for around $325 if you look around. They had a $100 rebate on them for a few months, but I think that ended 1/31/03. The lens caps on those Pentax binos are pretty awful, though. Most people I know that use them use the factory cover for the ocular lenses and get something like the Butler Creek flip-up scope caps for the objective lenses. The Minox binos are close to as good, though, and shouldn' t cost all that much more. The lens caps might work better on them, too, which might make them worth it.

archerick

I just got a pair of Baush and Lomb Discoverer 7X42' s. They list for around $400 and they compare nicely to any other binocular in that price range. Check them out they may work for you.

ssteury

www.betterviewdesired.com
for your price range, the swift roofs appear to be the poor man' s swarovskis.

Jason McCurry

Yep. That site is mainly aimed at birdwatchers but it has a ton of useful info on glass that can be used for hunting, too. Check out this page on that site for binocular info, particularly the Pentax section, and they don' t even cost nearly as much as the $500 the article says they do.

http://www.betterviewdesired.com/new_roofs.htm

VAboy

For the money, the Pentax 8x42 DCF WP' s are great. I have a pair of these as well as Swarovski 8x30' s, and I find myself grabbing the Pentax more often than not.
Just a word of caution. If you buy them from a website, check with www.resellerratings.com and www.bbb.org first. I paid for a pair of the Pentax from a seller in NY and got burned.[:@]

Jason McCurry

Yep. Make sure they have a full warranty from Pentax, not the seller and that the seller has a good rating on one of the sites like Reseller Ratings (http://www.resellerratings.com) before you buy.

Jerry/Pa

Here is a follow up to my message. I didn' t think buying binoculars would be this difficult. The hardest part of my search was finding a place that had the particular binoculars I was looking for in stock. It was no good if they had just one cause I was trying to compair one to another. The most common and ones I looked at where the Pentax, Nikon, Leica, Brunton,Steiner and Swarovski. All in a 8x42. I found the 8x42 slightly more clear and a bit sharper then the 10x42. The upper end Leica, Steiner and swarovski where the best but out of my price range. I did use these as a comparison to the rest though. It came down to the Pentax and the Nikon. They where so cloce to the Leica that I could justify the extra $400. After looking at them both a couple different times I didn' t see any difference in sharpness or clarity. Both have coated prisms,fully multicoated lenes and water and fog proof. The difficulty was buying them for the right price and without waiting for back odered double talk. I wanted to buy them locally but most couldn' t come close to the internet prices. I was leaning towards the Pentax DCF-WP but the new Nikon Monach' s where equal in every aspect and the best delivery time. I end up with the Monach' s from an internet supplier(Advanced Photo Scource) for $238 total including shipping and was pleasently suprised with there customer service. I was a little reluctant with buying over the computer and uneasy waiting thru the weekend. Come Monday afternoon they where delivered sooner then promised and exactly as advertized. After getting them and looking at them really close they' re outstanding for the money. I' m glad I took the time and completly satisfied with these Nikon' s. Thanks for all the imput. JERRY