We all hate these questions...
I know nothing about the bino market, so what's the best bang-for-buck binos in the UK?
I want them for birding and I'd prefer the 10x range.
I carry a heavy camera most of the time, so the binos should be relatively small and light.
I'm a cheapskate, so £100 or less.
I'm not precious about brandnames.
On a related note - are scopesnskies any good?
Appreciate some guidance as to what's good (and good value), what's bad, and where to get 'em from please.
Derek
I would say that for best value in the UK you should look at Opticron. Excellent value andsuperb after sales service.
For the best view when spending less than £100 go for porro prisms. I currently use Bushnell Legend porro 8x42. Not sure of they do a 10x. They are heavy and large so probably not for you but for the price (£100 or a bit more) they are fantastic.
For even better value go secondhand. You can get some real bargains and higher quality for the same spend as new.
For small & light, have a look at Leupold Yosemite and Vortex Raptor. Both have good reviews but are only available in 8x or 8.5x max. You might find that your happy with 8.5x as a compromise. Personally I don't like 10x because it shows up too much handshake.
So, Martin, not only are you neurotic and obsessive, you also get the shakes when using a 10x binocular, as well as tending towards an unnatural fascination for cameras? I well recognise these symptoms and my diagnosis is that you have 'optico-collectomania' (if you will forgive the use of technical/medical jargon) which is a not uncommon affliction affecting 'gentlemen of a certain age'. I know, I've been there; in fact, I'm still there and enjoying every minute of it...