Whats the difference between a $100 pair of binoculars and a $300 or $400 pair? I currently use a $100 pair of bushnell's for deer hunting and am looking to upgrade, however i can't afford something like a zeiss or swarovski. Is a $300-400 pair worth the upgrade? If so, does anyone have any suggestions for binos in that price range?

Thanks

Yes, there is a difference. More difference between your $100 pair and the $300-400 bino's than between the $300-400's and the high dollar stuff, IMO.

Even going down to the $200 range you can find some very servicable bino's. Nilkon is good, Leopold is good, I have a pair of Minox 8x42 that I paid $150 for that are as good as the 2 pairs of Leopold bino's I have.

Try looking thru the differnt posts here about what bino to get, lots of good sugestions and links to vendors.

+1 for Goatbrother's comment

"More difference between your $100 pair and the $300-400 bino's than between the $300-400's and the high dollar stuff, IMO."



Good place to start; Shop by price

http://www.opticsplanet.net/binoculars.html

Just don't do what I did, I bought a $75 pair of Nikons and LOST them the first day in the field

I went back and searched but I think they were picked up by another hunter. Glad they weren't a $400 pair

Ron

Nikon Monarch ATB's are hard to beat for the $ IMO...

If you spend much time glassing with your style of hunting it is well worth it to upgrade.

I think the ATB is a good value at somewhere around $300. I bought a pair for my wife to carry around, and the darn things are pretty good.
There are some mid-priced Leupolds that get great reviews. As I have never looked through them myself I don't have an opinion on them, but the serious birdwatchers love them. Check out a birdwatcher site if you want the straight scoop on binoculars and camera lenses (those people are serious!).

First off I wouldn't even look at roof prism models at that price range.
I would go straight to Porro prism models.Porro prism have their advantages over roof prism in alot of areas and are often over looked.
But the main advantage is price.At over half the price of a quality roof prism you can get some extremely great binos in the porros that will last a lifetime. Stiener Nikon Pentax all make some great porro prism models at the 300 dollar price range, and if you compare them to the same priced roof prisms, and even some roof prism models in the 400 and 500 and 600 dollar range, they just make sense.If I was on a 200 -300 budget and couldn't wait, Porro Prism would be the optics I'd look at.

Look at the Nikon Monarch they will serve you well.

Please do yourself a favor and do not look through Swarovski, Leica or Zeiss. Once you start glassing with the high end optics, nothing else can compare.

VHS vs. DVD

Once you get up to the $1,000 range, you're talkin' Blu-Ray.

I,ll second that ,,, 10 x 42 run under $300.