Hello Everyone!
I am ready to upgrade my son's Sportstars 8X25. I've narrowed it down to three but can't make a final decision. The short list is as follows:
Nikon Monarch 8X36
Eagle Optics Ranger SRT 8X32
Zeiss Conquest 8X30 B T*
Can anyone here offer suggestions? Is any one of these three clear ahead of the others (or worse than the others)? I am currently leaning towards the Eagle Optics, because of the wide field of view and the close focus.
They all fit the general criteria I have:
-relatively light weight
-water proof & rugged
-Good recommendations for the most part.
-Budget of ~250-450.00 dollars
-decent coatings
He's almost 10 years old, but he has been birding for 2 years already (he's very serious about it), and I would hope that the binos last him 10 years.
Thanks for comments/suggestions.
Elias Zuniga
Nikon Monarch 8X36
Eagle Optics Ranger SRT 8X32
I like both, can't go too badly wrong, both good for the money.
I like the optical quality and feel of the Nikon 8x36 Monarch much better than the Eagle Optics 8x32, but I guess I'd agree w/Tero that they're in the same league overall. The EO do offer a VERY close minimum focus (~3.5 ft) if your son enjoys watching insects. I don't have any real, comparative experience with the Zeiss 8x30 Conquest, but they are the only 2/3 or full-sized roof prism that offers a 54 mm interpupillary. That doesn't sound like a big difference from the 56 mm of the other two, but if your son's IPD is under 56 mm, then it could be an important consideration. Measure his IPD by having him look through and adjust his current binos, and then measuring the IPD that he sets.
--AP