Hello. First time poster here, so be gentle :-)
I'm looking to spend about $300ish on optics. They are not for birding specifically, but that would be a component. The immediate need is a June trip to the 4 corners region of the US (Grand Canyon and Zion National Parks, etc). Users would be 2 adults and 2 children ages 7 and 10.
The only binoculars that I've ever owned is what must be the very low end Bushnell 10x50 porros, given to me as a gift. I think they cost $50 about 6-8 years ago. They seem sort of useful, but I can see a significant amount of what I think is called chromatic abberation and barrel distortion. They seem to almost immediately begin to cause eye strain as well. So, while I may not know much, I know enough to look for something better, and I've spent some time reading on this site and others to try to educate myself a bit.
My question for the group is twofold.
First, do you think I would get the most utility from two binoculars or from one along with a small scope? We'll be spending a lot of time outdoors on our summer trip (tent camping no hotels), so the scope seems like a good choice to just leave up whenever we're in camp. It also solves the problem of shake for the kids. On the other hand it is obviously less portable.
The second part of the question deals with specific product selection. I gather that in my price range there's absolutely no point going for roof prism binoculars, so I'm limiting myself to porro choices only. I'm thinking of:
Well, you could just about get everybody their own Yosemite. The big advantage there is the binocular has a small enough IPD to be used by kids, in fact the Yosemite was designed with kids in mind. If they have something they can use, the will be more apt to use it and life during viewing opportunities will be much calmer. The Vortex Raptor has not yet hit the shelves, probably won't for another week at best. This should be a lot like the Yosemite. Vortex says they speced it to beat the Yosemite, but what else would one expect them to say?
CameralandNY still has closeout Stokes Sandpiper spotters for $200, which is a heck of a buy. Much as I like Zen Ray binoculars, the Sedona spotter is just OK.
Michael, Welcome to Birdforum! 'Try before you buy' (if you can) is always a good idea, since choosing binoculars is a very subjective exercise. Personally, I'd go for portability as the main criterion. For $300 you could afford a mid-size bin for the adults plus a more compact one for the youngsters. Pentax 8x36 DCF HS (roof) for around $150 (very good optics, superb ergonomics, 23oz & 6.5' fov) or, for a wider view, a Nikon 7x35 Action EX for about $130 (all-weather, sturdy, 28oz & 9.3' fov). Smaller/lighter choice could be a Leupold Yosemite 6x30, or perhaps a Pentax Papilio if you like extreme close-ups of tiny wildlife like ants/butterflies (addictive!). When my son and I did the 'Grand Tour' (Grand Canyon, Bryce, Zion, Monument Valley, Lake Powell, etc) five years ago we had just the Nikon 7x20 Travelite III (aptly named) because I had a Nikon F80 (bought in Scottsdale) to lug along too. There were times when a larger binocular would have been handy, but the little Nikon sufficed; my Nikon 60 'scope, although relatively compact, just wasn't on the list, but then our mode of travel was flying half-way across the world, unlike yours. I doubt you'll need greater than an 8x magnification, unless you believe you must have an option for longer-range viewing. Have a memorable holiday!