I'd like to get a good pair of binoculars that are small enough to easily take with me and good enough that I won't feel tempted to upgrade them. I'll take them biking, hiking, concerts, sporting events, etc. I'd like them to be waterproof and preferrable rubber armored. Porro's are out because they just are compact enough.
I've checked on-line reviews and researched the forum posting here.
I get the impression that the Leica Ultravid 10x25 is generally considered the current champion because of great optics and unsurpassed ergonomics. Unfortunately it is about $650.
Questions:
- The Zeiss Victory, Nikon Premier, Leica Trinovid are about $450. Is one generally considered better than the other or is it just personal preference. Are they noticable lower quality than the UltraVid or is mainly an ergonomic issue or a very subtle difference that many people can't distinguish?
- Are there any other 10-25 that are less expensive that I should consider? Such as the Zeiss Classic which is about $350.
I find my Nikon ATB 10x25 reverse porro bins are pretty decent and meet your criteria for $150 or so. However, I much prefer my Zeiss Conquest 8x20 bins at $290 as they have a wider FOV and are easier to hold steady. They are also sharper, lighter, and much more compact. However, they are not rubberized.
US pricing is obviously different to UK. I bought Leica 10*25 Ultavids earlier this year and am very pleased with them. I did look at Zeiss and Swarovski as well and thought all were excellent. I could not detect a lot of difference between them and went with Leica becuase they had the right feel to me.
If the difference in pricing had been significant though I suspect I might have chosen one of the others.