Long range bino,from bulletin) reply

[gatewood]

The writer mentions Zeis,swavoski,leica & Nikon but another alternative with comparable glass and clarity is Stiener. As a captian running offshore fishing boats for years I have relied heavily on stiener binos with great success. I also have a buddy that is a Fish & Wildlife Officer and after using mine also purchased a pair, After using his nearly every day for about 3 years the focus adjusment started to become loose. When he called steiner and told them about the problem they told him to send them back and they sent him a new pair within 2 weeks. Great customer service, but the big selling point for me was the eye cups once you've put the steiners up to your face you'll never own anything else. Before you buy a new pair of binos try the stieners, you wont be sorry. The model that I use is the 10x42 Merlin, the Predator is supposed to be fiscaly the same but a little more rugged, but the Merlin was about $300 cheaper and having them on the boat all the time I would rather a $500 pair fall overboard than a $800 pair. Just My Opinion

 

[dennisinaz]

Most of the Steiners are glued together and non-repairable. I have used just about everything and they pale in comparison to the Swarovski and Leicas I have. It's not even a horse race.

Vortex will have a new 15x glass out in April that is extremely good, as is their new spotter.

Long range binoculars start at 12x and go up from there! When you spend hours on end looking through them, you learn to appreciate the real good ones!

Sorry I can't drink the Steiner kool-aid. My marine binocs are Fujinon. The Polaris series are extremely good but they are porro-prisms which people somehow think are inferior.

 

[NateHaler]

Fujinon makes some OUTSTANDING long range binoculars. As to porro prisms, all other things being equal, they provide a better image than roof prisms. But, porro prisms cannot be made truly as waterproof.

Roof = waterproof, and some users like the more compact size

But, an equivalent porro prism gives a better picture.

Check out this Fujinon binocular for a real big eye experience,including your own when you see the price tag): http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/206822-USA/Fujinon_7125151_25x150_EDMT_SX_ED_Binocular.html

The non-ED version can be had for about $6.1k.

 

[dennisinaz]

Fujinon makes some OUTSTANDING long range binoculars. As to porro prisms, all other things being equal, they provide a better image than roof prisms. But, porro prisms cannot be made truly as waterproof.

The Fujinon Polaris series are completely waterproof- I have submerged mine on the bottom of a swimming pool overnight and they didn't leak a bubble! That's why they are individual eye focus. You apparently cannot waterproof porro glass with standard center focus.

There are 3 big advantages to the porro prism design.

1) They are easier and cheaper to make to the same standard as a similar sized roof prism because there is one less light bend in them.

2) They give an improved depth of field or better depth perception.

3) They can be used by people who would not be able to use many of the large roof prism designs because the iterpupillary distance can be much smaller than a roof prism. I have a number of friends that cannot use my 15x56 Swarovskis and I cannot use the 12x50 Leicas.

I can, however, use the 16x70 Fujinons, as well as the 50x100mm Fujinons! Man, would I love to have one of these whoppers set up on my back porch!

Another really nice BIG glass is the Kowa highlander. You couldn't do this in a Roof prism design either.