Binoculars

[fireflymd]

I have decided to purchase binoculars for our trip to Alaska, and have decided I would like it to be waterproof, lightweight, 8x42 or 10x42.

 

Any preference between the 8x42 and 10x42? It appears that the 10x will have more shaking as an issue, but some feel the increased magnification is worth it.

 

I have been looking at Nikon, Pentax, Olympus and Zen-Ray. Very hard to choose, since some of them are not available to try in local stores.

 

Would like to spend no more than $250.

[JJPacer]

Many of the wildlife will be a good distance away. So, the more powerful the better.

[fireflymd]

The Zen-rays are very well priced, but I am having difficulty seeing the difference between the $215 Summit and the $139 Vista (both 10x42).

[Putterdude]

The marine standard in binoculars is 7X or 8X, 10X tends to be just to strong to use on the ship as they will be affected by the movement of the ship and looking thru them from a ship can contribute to motion sickness.

[fireflymd]

The marine standard in binoculars is 7X or 8X, 10X tends to be just to strong to use on the ship as they will be affected by the movement of the ship and looking thru them from a ship can contribute to motion sickness.

 

 

Thanks, I am actually planning to purchase both 8x42 and 10x42.

[swcjlc]

For my upcoming cruise I bought 8x42 nikons. I bought a high end pair from amazon, that the next model or two had already come out. So the were discounting them heavily.

 

I am quite happy with them.

 

 

Edit : they were monarch 3. The 7 series came out and drove down the price of all the earlier models

[fireflymd]

I purchased both the Zen-ray Vista 8X42 and 10X42--they look like great binoculars, well made and with the Christmas discount from Wayfair the final price was a bargain.

 

Now I just hope the four of us won't be fighting over them! But I will likely be taking lots of photos. And we have a small Minolta 8X25 (not waterproof, though) that we can bring.

[WalleyeLJ]

I purchased both the Zen-ray Vista 8X42 and 10X42--they look like great binoculars, well made and with the Christmas discount from Wayfair the final price was a bargain.

 

Now I just hope the four of us won't be fighting over them! But I will likely be taking lots of photos. And we have a small Minolta 8X25 (not waterproof, though) that we can bring.

 

Firefly,

If your camera has a viewfinder (can be just a bit harder to track if you have to use the LCD screen), image stablization, and a decent (10x+) zoom range, you may use that more that the binoculars. If you have all that and one of the newer cameras with even more zoom (20x-30x+), even better. I had a really nice pair of marine binoculars that I haven't touched since I took up image stablized digital photography. Plus, the advantage of capturing whatever you want to go back and look at to ease the sadness after you leave Alaska is fantastic...:D.

L.J.

[fireflymd]

Firefly,

 

If your camera has a viewfinder (can be just a bit harder to track if you have to use the LCD screen), image stablization, and a decent (10x+) zoom range, you may use that more that the binoculars. If you have all that and one of the newer cameras with even more zoom (20x-30x+), even better. I had a really nice pair of marine binoculars that I haven't touched since I took up image stablized digital photography. Plus, the advantage of capturing whatever you want to go back and look at to ease the sadness after you leave Alaska is fantastic...:D.

 

L.J.

 

Oh, that's good to know. I have an entry level DLSR, but have not spent enough time learning how to use it. It does have a viewfinder and image stabilization, but it looks like I only have 5.5x zoom (55-300mm lens). Hmmm....now I may have to look at a longer lens.;) But first I have to really look into how to use this camera because my indoor pictures are way too reddish. Luckily most of my pictures in Alaska will be outdoors.

 

Does my camera need a raincoat? I just realized I have a waterproof jacket, but my camera doesn't.

[Northern Aurora]

My birdwatcher husband subscribes to the magazine "Birdwatcher's Digest." I've never needed to look at their website, but the magazine frequently has reviews of binoculars.

[Catocop]

O

Does my camera need a raincoat? I just realized I have a waterproof jacket, but my camera doesn't.

 

My husband took specially-made rain coverrs for his camera and lens (they looked like a plastic bag cut apart and fitted with elastic). It didn't rain much on our excursions - he only used them when we took the Eaglewings speedboat whalewatch out of Victoria.

 

You might want to post this in the camera forum.

[fireflymd]

My husband took specially-made rain coverrs for his camera and lens (they looked like a plastic bag cut apart and fitted with elastic). It didn't rain much on our excursions - he only used them when we took the Eaglewings speedboat whalewatch out of Victoria.

 

You might want to post this in the camera forum.

 

Thanks, I'll check out the camera forum.

[knorrisb07]

I have Canon 7D with 100-400mm zoom eyepiece. The view through the view finder is a little underwhelming. I think all DSLR owners know what I mean. :) But it is very handy to fire the shots away when the objects are far. I always carry my 10x binoculars withe the 7D camera when I was out there.