[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

But it's a very basic entry level pair of birding bins.

Nikon Monarchs entry level.
When you discard them, I'm calling dibs!

Regards
Sutripta

[Sudipto-S-Team]

Originally Posted by Sutripta

Nikon Monarchs entry level.
When you discard them, I'm calling dibs!

Regards
Sutripta

I mean among serious binoculars. I am not discarding them any time soon because I love their light weight and bright image even in relatively low light.

[jacs]

My first investment in binoculars went for a Bushnell Powerview 20x50. Got a deal from ShopClues for INR 1600 and went for it. It came with covers for optics, a reasonably good bag and a not so good strap.

Its heavy and build quality looks good for the price. Since this is to accompany me in DSLR bag, weight seems to be a disadvantage. Otherwise looks good. I am getting used to it and do not have any experience to give a rating yet.

[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

I mean among serious binoculars. I am not discarding them any time soon because I love their light weight and bright image even in relatively low light.

I think you should quickly graduate to say a swarovski. While I wait with bated breath, rubbing my hands in anticipation!

In my opinion, the Monarchs might be cheaper than the snob value binos, but are in no way inferior.

Regards
Sutripta

[AltoLXI]

My son who is 12 years will be starting his summer vacations very soon. Instead of him spending time playing games on mobile, I thought it would be better if he can "build" a telescope during his vacations.

Read that it will take at least 3 weeks for grinding, polishing of mirrors and assembling the telescope.

1. Is it advisable for letting a 12 year old build the telescope as it involves chemicals as well? I would not be available in house for most part of the day, and can only provide the guidance.
2. Aware that a couple of associations conduct the workshops in Bangalore for building the telescopes. Has anyone attended these workshops and built the telescope? I would have loved to send my son there as the volunteers there can provide professional guidance, but cannot as I will be away in office on all the weekdays.
3. If anyone has built on their own, please share your experiences.

[del.guy22]

I have a Zhumell telescope that I got from.USA. Have seen one comet, Saturn, Mars, Jupiter etc. Without.

It's as good as compared to orion.

[ariesonu]

Originally Posted by AltoLXI

My son who is 12 years will be starting his summer vacations very soon. Instead of him spending time playing games on mobile, I thought it would be better if he can "build" a telescope during his vacations.

Planeterium in Mumbai sells KITS that can be assembled and are pretty good. See you can get similar options of e-comm sites.

Regards-Sonu

[Gany]

For building telescope - Check out at Bangalore planetarium. There used to be a science & astronomy group operating out of the basement (BASE), they used to have folks building telescope. I used to frequent once a month many, many years ago when traffic was not a nuisance in Bangalore Not been there in more than a decade now!

[shankar.balan]

I ve got an old and beautiful pair of Nikon 7x50 field glasses which I ve used extensively on travel at many places in the world.
Superb clarity.

[itwasntme]

Looking to buy a set of good binoculars for general use during outstation trips and for planespotting at home. Budget is a max of~9K.

From various articles, I see that the recommendations are generally for 10x42 as anything heavier/longer seems to be tiring to hold up and track moving objects.

Bewildering range on Amazon for a newbie like me. Brands are Pentax, Nikon, Bushnell, Zeiss, Celestron etc. Any tips will be highly appreciated.

[subhraDS]

8x42 is better suited for prolonged period of use.
Please consider compactness, weight, coating on lenses, close focussing distance and eye-relief if you wear specs.
Roof prism binoculars are compact and lightweight, easier to carry around.
Nikon prostaff 3s series (better coating) and celestron outland x are good budget binoculars.
Though I see the prices are on higher side, these were under 10k few months ago, maybe offline stores can provide a better price.

If the budget can be stretched I would suggest to go for nikon monarch 5 series or zeiss terra ED for better performance and sorted ergonomics.

Regards,
Subhra

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by subhraDS

8x42 is better suited for prolonged period of use.
Please consider compactness, weight, coating on lenses, close focussing distance and eye-relief if you wear specs.
Roof prism binoculars are compact and lightweight, easier to carry around.

Excellent advice, thanks. Unfortunately, budget is a maximum of 9K even after stretching. What would you recommend within it?

[alpha1]

How's Nikon Aculon series? Appears to be quite budget friendly as well as ticks all the right boxes.

Similarly what about the Olympus DPS series?

Both appear to have great reviews. And knowing Olympus & Nikon - trusted names in the field of optics.

[subhraDS]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

What would you recommend within it?

If possible, please do a price check with Nikon authorized dealers(Fotocircle, FotoBest Whizz at Forum Mall) or reputed sellers like jjmehta/gaffarbhai&sons/videolinks for the Prostaff 3s one. Amazon price is really inflated at this moment.
If not available you can go with the Celestron Outland X series (please check offline prices as well, I got one under 8k 2 years ago) and it comes with good quality BAK-4 prisms.

Originally Posted by alpha1

How's Nikon Aculon series? Appears to be quite budget friendly as well as ticks all the right boxes.

Similarly what about the Olympus DPS series?

Both appear to have great reviews. And knowing Olympus & Nikon - trusted names in the field of optics.

Nikon's Aculon series and the Olympus DPS have their own limitations, both are made of Porro prisms, making the structure not-so-compact and relatively heavier compared to the Roof ones.

Been using the Olympus DPS 10X50 for the last few years, though it is popular, less expensive and a good one for beginners it has few issues, mostly related to build-quality. Nikon Aculon is marginally better though.

Missing weather sealing(nitrogen purged/waterproofing) making them prone to fungus attacks on lenses and fogging up when it is raining/foggy outside.
Though one can clean the lenses as the structure is not complex, but if the environment is not entirely dust-free there is a risk of dust/moisture accumulation.

and eye relief to a range of 10-12mm, ideal should be >15mm for people who wear specs.

as I am into birdwatching and the weather is never good when you encounter a desirable species, I have missed many sightings with the Olympus one mostly due to fogging up of the lenses. and I had to always fiddle with my specs and the binocs frequently. also for long treks, it is difficult to carry even when not in use due to the weight.

Please consider all these things while buying one. seeing through a binocular is really a great experience and worth the money spent.
There are many options available, a quick glance at the spec sheet will surely help if these factors are considered.

Thanks,
Subhra

[riteshritesh]

I have an inherited pair of a brand called BINOX, which could probably be around 30 years old, but still work fairly good. I will soon move in a high rise and plan to buy a new pair to spot the Sewri mudflats and the Mumbai Sealink view.
What I wanted to check is, do people with glasses use binoculars with glasses on or off. I normally adjust the viewer by taking my glasses off. This is for the snug fit that the eye sockets offer.