Binoculars
 

What size binoculars do you all think works best on the lake? Thanks.

All depends what your comfort level with binos is...remember, the higher the power the less field of view and increased motion while holding them to see what you’re looking at. Generally, the 7-8 power are great for all around use and the 10 and up power are great for tripod use as you can focus on something with decreased movement of the image. I use 8x32 (high quality binos) and find them easy to use and adequate for viewing most anything. The “32” number is the diameter of the objective lens where he larger the number the more light they let through for low light conditions. You can get away with the higher 10 power for general use but remember the image will tend to to be more shaky in unsteady conditions. That said, I like 7-8 power for all around use.
Lots of great options for binos today. Everything from Leupold, Nikon, Bushnell, Vortex, is good quality then you get into the European brands like Leica, Zeiss and Swarovski for higher end and more expensive binos. Many more high end brands out there...too many to list here!
With optics, you get what you pay for...beware the Chinese products which have flooded the market!

Bought these on Amazon. They're awesome.

whoops



https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Marine Binoculars
 

I think 7X50 is best for marine use, large field of view. I purchased the Steiner Navigator with the compass. They have an auto-focus feature, anti-fog, waterproof. They are awesome.:)

https://www.amazon.com/Steiner-Navig...navigator+7x50

Wo! Little pricey...

Several years ago I went on-line (could have been binoculars.com) and bought bushel 7x50. I saved 30% based on pricing I saw in a sporting goods store. I think shipping was free & I had them within a week.


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Compact 8 X 25 Nikon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For casual use, a bit less pricey

So there's no real consensus. Is it just an individual preference thing? We have had different ones and have never been really happy with any of them.

Yes they are a little expensive but they really are very nice, I wanted a pair of Steiner's ever since I was stationed in Germany, a lot less pricey then! They are virtually indestructible, and perform well under adverse conditions, i.e. a marine environment. You can get the Navigator without the compass which brings the pricey down to $290. I purchased them from another outfitter on-line and spent about $460 three years ago so it is best to shop around.

Tough to beat Steiner optics!

I personally prefer 10X50. I have a pair of Nikon that I got for a song at Sam’s Club a few years ago. They have served me well and the optics are very good.

Dan

"Magnification 7x is the marine standard, with a wide, stable image for tracking other boats, buoys and bridge numbers even in rough water. "

The brand and features you get are up to your preferences. I like the Steiner's but I will admit they are a little heavy. But the anti-fog and auto-focus are great features. It lets you focus each eyepiece to your vision once, then keeps images sharp from 20 yards to infinity.

I have heard that West Marine sells a good 7x50 Marine binocular at a reasonable price.

I would like to try some 10X50's are they hard to stay focused on your your subject or do you get some shake?

That’s the mark of a cheap binocular. If you ever try a quality optic, you’ll never want to put them down. Of course, if the purse strings are tight, you have to go with what the pocketbook dictates. There are options but only you can “see” what’s right for you. If you ever watch videos where people depend on their optics like expensive safaris or glassing for game high in the mountains you will likely see only a few of the names like Swarovski, Zeiss, Leica, etc.
Looking through optics for hours at a time with an inferior glass will take its toll.
You get what you pay for with optics...

They say for marine use, on a moving boat you want 7X50. This works well as anything with more than 7 magnification is difficult to hold still while a boat is rocking or moving. The 50 objective lens is good for low light use.

I often wear glasses, so it's very important to me to have a good amount of eye relief, but much more important to me is an adjustable eye cup!

Unfortunately these days it is very hard to find adjustable eye cups on new binoculars! Now they all "feature" fold over rubber eye cups. These tend to break and tear after a couple of years.

I think the rubber fold over eye cups are much less expensive to manufacture, and a lot of people don't think about this at the time of purchase. Even most very expensive binoculars have this problem.

Luckily I found a pair of West Marine branded binoculars that hat adjustable eye cups, but I think they discontinued this model.

If you want binoculars for boating, get 7x50 in the best you can afford, and try them yourself. Image quality can vary greatly from model to model. If they are not for boating use, 8x40 is a minimum, or better maybe 10x50 if you have steady hands.

You obviously will get some shake as with any power binocular. The amount of shake is dependent on the boat you are in as well as the conditions of the water and how much you had to drink the night before!:D:D For the most part, we use the binoculars to look at various things such Eagle nests, other birds on the water and things on the shore. We also use them from our camp off the deck so for us the 10X50 were a nice compromise for both land and water and I have no issue with the shake of the 10X while on the boat. The trick with any binocular, as you know, is quality of the glass and the objective size.

Dan

I have two pair
 

Two pair: each are 7 x 35. One has eye cups, one doesn't. I do wear glasses, progressive lenses.

The one with eye cups work... somewhat. They are ok at anchor or drifting in relatively smooth water, or at home.

Second pair has no eye cups, but does have an adjustment on the right lens that goes from "-3 to +3" . By adjusting the lens, I can use the binoculars without glasses. Work good while moving on the boat, but I have to take off the glasses and then put them back on again.

Neither one really meets my needs while under way. If I need to use the binoculars, I usually come off power.

What I do like is having them to look at the wildlife while out on the lake (leave it alone guys!!), like watching a loon chick from a safe distance, or searching the tree tops for eagles, etc.

Dave

The best binoculars I had (sadly, I dropped them) were a pair of, I believe, Bushnels with a zoom lens. The low power was great for a wide field of view with minimal shaking. If I was interested in detail, a single lever let me zoom in. At the higher power, it was generally better to brace them against something.

I never found binoculars particularly satisfactory with my heavy prescription glasses. However, now that I've had cataract surgery, I'm glad you all have reminded me to dig out a pair for Saturday's ball game.

Here's a zoom pair for sale on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/BARSKA-10-30x...lars+zoom+lens

These are cheap and the reviews are so-so. There are several other brands and prices available. [Selecting binoculars has become as complicated as buying a camera.]

I was in Japan two months ago and went into a camera store and could not believe the amount of binoculars that were in stock. They covered a complete wall and then a few aisles to boot! I needed binoculars for my boat and stuck to a 125 dollar limit. I tried different binoculars for at least an hour and kept coming back to one pair of binoculars that just felt the best. I focused on people entering the store from the back of the store. I ended up buying a Kenko 10 X 30 YKT-012 model made for Yodobashi camera store. I think you can buy a Kenko Ultra vision on Amazon for around the same price. Excellent binoculars- I recommend them and over MANY others that I had tried.