Hello to all birders!
I am new to this forum and to birding as well. I would like to get my first pair of binoculars. After reading all kinds of guides, reviews and forums I narrowed my choice to:
Bushnell Legend 8x42 Porro - these are quite cheap (you can get them online under 100 bucks), wide FOV, lightweight for the size;
Nikon Monarch 8x36 roof - even lighter, better ergonomics, cost twice as much, but they get raving reviews almost everywhere, can't go wrong with them, provided that I get I good pair (btw. how to do that when shopping online?).
I came across opinions that the Legends, as they are a Porro design should optically be equal or better than 2-3x higher priced roofs (Monarchs?), but I never found a real in-depth review of the Legend Porros. Has anyone experiences with these binoculars? Any advice is highly appreciated, as I cannot find them in stores around my area.
Thanks you!
Buy from a reliable dealer on line, so you can exchange. Recommend Eagle Optics or Optics Planet. I returned two to EO, kept my third choice. A good strategy would be to start from the cheaper one and see if you are satisfied with it.
I do not recall the Legends much at all. The 8x32 especially interested me at one time, never did get to see it.
You will get a better, and much wider, view through the Bushnell. The Monarch, for triple the price, gets you a slim shape and a little more durability, and throws in a fair amount of chromatic abberations (a bad thing) because of design/price limitations. Unless you absolutely need a smaller-siezd binocular, just about any porro prism binocular from $100-$300 will give you better optics.