Sports / Concert Binocular recommends needed

lightyearsaway

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Nov 2, 2012
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Hey guys, not sure if this fits into the personal gadgetry forum, but... anyway..

I am looking for a small, but high quality pair of binoculars for concerts that are being held in outdoor sporting event venues. The concert I will be going to is being backwards held in a baseball stadium, why on Earth they picked this sort of of venue I will never understand, no seat is good and I didn't want to stand. Although the baseball field is not huge and I am not sure how far back they will set up, but I am sure it will be quite far. I have a pair of 8x25 travel binoculars from Nikon, they are great, but in darkness the pupil is too big, so the exit pupil is a bit too small. It works, but...

I would rather not buy a regular sized pair of binoculars for several reasons, size, not easy to conceal, heavy, etc.

I was considering to buy the 10x30 from Nikon but the only big benefit I see is that they are waterproof, which is something I need. But the exit pupil is not any better than the 8x25s I already have. And I am not sure that the 10x is really going to give me all that much difference. I think to 10x30 would probably be a good fit? What do you guys think?

Any suggestions you have let me know.

I will bring both pairs with me to the concert as their are two of us going, so it would be nice to have two different magnifications, but not totally different as I will need these for other indoor events in the future and do not want to get too crazy.

Thanks.
 

mightysparrow

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Palookaville, USA
Judging from reviews of other people (not personal experience):

Meopta MeoPro HD 8x32 (if you can afford them) are a great value
Wingspan Optics Spectator 8x32 are supposed to be quite good for a binocular costing under $70 at Amazon
Amazon currently has the Wingspan Optics ProBirder Ultra HD 8x32 on sale for $90
People seem to like the Celestron Nature DX 8x32
 

alpg88

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get zeiss terra, they are now cost around 300, i had about a dozen of binoculars, nothing gives clarity, sharpness and depth as zeiss, they come in different sizes, 8x25 is available.

i got my 8x42, and after using it for 1 day in the field, i never touch any other binoculars again. and i had some good ones.

i wish i got zeiss before, i would not spend so much money on binoculars i tried but did not really like. thou in my defense, Terra model is relatively new, before you could not touch the Z for less than a grand.
 
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alpg88

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People seem to like the Celestron Nature DX 8x32

i have this one in 10x56. it is not a bad piece, pretty bright and clear\sharp, in the center, but edges are blurry a bit, it bothers me some, but others may not care. however i have no idea if other models do the same.
 

Nimitz68

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Judging from reviews of other people (not personal experience):

Meopta MeoPro HD 8x32 (if you can afford them) are a great value
I second this. I have a pair of Meopta MeoPro HD 10x42 and absolutely love them. Meopta dropped the price on these at the start of this year from $799 to $499 and I received an additional 15% off so I paid $425 for a $799 pair of very high quality binoculars. The HD 8x32 can be currently had for about $344 (possibly less depending where you find them).
 
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mightysparrow

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get zeiss terra, they are now cost around 300, i had about a dozen of binoculars, nothing gives clarity, sharpness and depth as zeiss, they come in different sizes, 8x25 is available.

i got my 8x42, and after using it for 1 day in the field, i never touch any other binoculars again. and i had some good ones.

i wish i got zeiss before, i would not spend so much money on binoculars i tried but did not really like. thou in my defense, Terra model is relatively new, before you could not touch the Z for less than a grand.

I have Zeiss 10x40's that I bought 25+ years ago. I will never replace them, given what the equivalent model costs now, even though the new versions of similar models from Zeiss, Leica and Swarovski have a much closer minimum focus range. I did not mention Zeiss due to the cost - but yes, they make some of the best of the best binoculars.
 

alpg88

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yea, they used to start from 1000, the best one, Victory model is few grand. but Terra series is around 300. very reasonable price for high quality binoculars. it cost less than half as much as a decent cell phone.
 

lightyearsaway

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Thanks all, I ended up going with a pair of Nikon 8x30 Monarch 7s. They are pretty clear, waterproof and have a slightly larger exit pupil than the 8x25s I already have. Nikon has a no fault warranty policy also.

I feel that 10x is going to be too much. And very difficult to use in many places. After using these I can already feel eye strain at a distance, and I cannot image a 10x pair would be even more difficult to use.
 
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