Jerry/Pa

I' m looking for binoculars for 3-D. I wish I could afford the Swarovski' s or Zeiss but that' s not happening. I' m looking to be in the 300-400 range. From what I' ve read and through experience with all else equal the lens and coatings seem to make the difference in the better binoculars. I' m looking at the Nikon Monarch' s or the Pentex DCF-WP or DCF-HC. Can anyone recommend a binocular equal or better then the ones I' m considering in that price range? Thanks. JERRY

IMN23D

Minolta Activa 8 x 42

ssts3d

Wind River Olympic 8x42 awesome value

WHuffman

Try the Alpen' s. Very clear and durable. They are in the price range you are looking at.
Good shooting
Wayne

New2Archery

Any recommendations around the $100-$150? Three to four may be a little hard to persuade my other half.

Ben

Matt / PA

New2Archery,
Check out....Nikon Sporter I 8X36
They are a super clear roof prism design with many of the features of some of the more expensive binos.
I was all set to drop $300-400 but I ended up buying myself a pair of the Team Realtree camo version of these. I was comparing them side by side to the Bushnell Legend 8X42, Nikon Monarch 8X42, and even a $1300 pair of Brunton Eternas..........I honestly couldn' t see the difference. They all had the same roof prism design (although I' m sure the big $$$ models have special coatings etc.)
For the money I couldn' t pass them up........they were every bit as clear and bright as those other models at a fraction of the price.
I' m a believer in " You get what you pay for" , but in this case I just couldn' t justify spending the $$$ on the more expensive models even tho I was prepared to, I looked very hard and couldn' t find a difference in visual quality. They come with a nice strap and an ad-on weather shield that attaches to the strap to protect them when shouldered.
Cabelas lists these binos in black for $199 or so I think, but I know right now there are a few pair of this exact model on Ebay for $149 " Buy it Now" .
I' m VERY pleased with mine, and the extra couple hundred $$$ I saved I am putting toward some other " needed" toys!

Dusty Britches

I just bought from Sportsman' s Guide on-line a pair of Brunton Tech Light, 8x32. I really like them. They retail for about $200, but I got them for $70 plus shipping. Waterproof and fog resistent and light. They rival Nikon' s Monarch' s.

TexDarton

I would highly consider getting a pair of 8x42 Opti-Logic binos. They are by far the nicest clearest pair of binos you can touch for under 500.00(they cost about 325.00 or so) I would be more than happy to get you in touch with them so that they may anwser any technical questions that you may have. Good luck
Danny Gomez

Jerry/Pa

Thanks everyone for your imput. I' m leaning towards the penteax dcf 8x42 but I' m having a hard time finding a local dealer that have them in stock so I can do a comparision between them and other 8x42 of the same quality. I' m probably going to Pro Bass in Balt. to make my final testing.

Texdarton, I' ve never seen those classes anywhere. Do they compare to the Pentax with phase coating and fully coated lenes? What is the web site? Thanks.
JERRY

Jerry/Pa

Here is a follow up to my message. I didn' t think buying binoculars would be this difficult. The hardest part of my search was finding a place that had the particular binoculars I was looking for in stock. It was no good if they had just one cause I was trying to compair one to another. The most common and ones I looked at where the Pentax, Nikon, Leica, Brunton,Steiner and Swarovski. All in a 8x42. I found the 8x42 slightly more clear and a bit sharper then the 10x42. The upper end Leica, Steiner and swarovski where the best but out of my price range. I did use these as a comparison to the rest though. It came down to the Pentax and the Nikon. They where so cloce to the Leica that I could justify the extra $400. After looking at them both a couple different times I didn' t see any difference in sharpness or clarity. Both have coated prisms,fully multicoated lenes and water and fog proof. The difficulty was buying them for the right price and without waiting for back odered double talk. I wanted to buy them locally but most couldn' t come close to the internet prices. I was leaning towards the Pentax DCF-WP but the new Nikon Monach' s where equal in every aspect and the best delivery time. I end up with the Monach' s from an internet supplier(Advanced Photo Scource) for $238 total including shipping and was pleasently suprised with there customer service. I was a little reluctant with buying over the computer and uneasy waiting thru the weekend. Come Monday afternoon they where delivered sooner then promised and exactly as advertized. After getting them and looking at them really close they' re outstanding for the money. I' m glad I took the time and completly satisfied with these Nikon' s. Thanks for all the imput. JERRY