My binoculars since I began birdwatching in earnest (about 5 years ago) have been a pair of Steiner Predator 12x40 binoculars that were given to me by my grandfather who no longer needed them for hunting. They have worked well for me but they are VERY bulky, pretty heavy, and most importantly, have the fatal flaw of having eyepieces that you have to focus individually. They have served me well, but the plastic rubber coating is starting to get worn off in some parts and... well, I think it's probably time I got a new pair that's more suited to birdwatching.
But what to get? It seems like there are so many different brands and models!
Here are my requirements:
- My research indicates that I would probably like a 10x binocular, I think. I'm used to using a 12x, after all.
-I need EXCEPTIONAL waterproofness. This is extremely important to me! Right now I live on a tropical island and when I travel I am often in tropical rainforest or other humid climates, not to mention getting caught in the rain all the time!
- Price is not THAT big of an issue for me right now - but I don't know how high I should really be willing to go. Does most expensive really = best? I don't want to spend a mint on something that ends up not working well for me.
- Lightweight would be nice, since I travel a lot and I travel light (backpack only). But I've been hauling around these Predators which weigh about 1.5 lbs, so I'm used to something pretty heavy.
-Lastly, this is a bit of a tricky thing - If I want to buy bins in the next 2 years I'm not likely to have a chance to try them in a store - unless maybe I can find someplace in Japan to look. As I mentioned before I live on a small island and there are no such things as outdoor stores here!
Thanks for any help! I appreciate it!
The big wrinkle here is price... $2000 binoculars are NOT five times better than the best $400 binoculars, but some people are willing and happy to chase the incremental improvements and "status" of the alphas (Swaro, Leica, Zeiss, Nikon EDG). So it really depends on (1) how flexible the budget REALLY is and (2) how picky you REALLY are.
Pretty much any good bin today will be fully waterproof so I doubt that is a concern.
You have a few possible paths:
1 - if you aren't super picky, get one of the best $200-250ish bins (like Zen-Ray ZRS HD, Theron Wapiti LT) which will get you great performance for the dollar and satisfy 95% of people. You could even get a couple of these to try different styles and brands and figure out what you like, even if there isn't an active craigslist used market on Guam you haven't sunk that much money into it. These models will be fully multicoated, waterproof/fogproof, phase coated, modern reflective prism coatings, etc. and will provide superb optical performance (especially for the $$).
2 - if you want a little extra, get one of the best $400-500ish bins (like Zen-Ray ED3, Vortex Viper HD, Kruger Caldera, etc) and call it a day. These bins are so close to the alphas optically that you have to be really picky to find differences (mostly in size of sweet spot, field flatness, and/or edge performance).
3 - get an older alpha on the used market, which probably won't exceed option 2 in terms of pure optics but will get you the robust build and cachet of an alpha... I'm thinking Nikon Premier LXL, older Swaro SLC, Leica Trinovid BN ($800-1200).
4 - go balls out and get an alpha if you can truly afford it and want the best of the best.
You might want to spend some time perusing review sites, especially the larger comparitive "shootout" reviews that are more subjective (birdwatching.com, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, etc) as well as Allbinos.com which strives for highly quantitative and objective scoring. If you look at the 10x42 rankings at Allbinos you can see that the most expensive (Swaro SV, Zeiss FL, Nikon EDG, etc) ARE truly the best, but there are many significantly lower priced offerings that come pretty darn close.
I think eitanaltman summed up things very well. If you do get to Japan I'd urge you to try out available pairs for yourself. The top Kowa's are worth serious consideration as well as the Nikons. They are alpha class IMO. Pentax has some pretty good as well as lighter options as well.
David