Binocular recommendations?

[Blue Thunder Pilot]

I'm looking for recommendations of a fairly decent pair of binocs, probably 8x42, for viewing my mini.

DISCLAIMER: I will not be flying BVLOS, flying behind buildings and obstacles, or trying to set personal best altitude or distance records.

I would just like to admire my mini at a slight distance now and then, and not anywhere near the edge of the VLOS envelope. Even though the drone would be at a distance easily acquired by eyeball and readily visible without any aids or tech, I realize that using binocs even for a few seconds is an FAA violation. But it's one I'm considering. With any luck, I'd have a TRUSTed copilot, making the above moot.

A very quick look turned up a pair Celestron 8x42 Outland X Binoculars. Celestron once make some decent stuff but I don't know if that's still the case. I prefer a roof prism set instead of the traditional porro prism. So does anyone have a recommendation for some decent binocs?

If anyone has a link or two to a good review site, that would be appreciated also.

 

[snowghost]

My wife got me Nikon M Series 10x42 waterproof for "bird watching", spotting airliners flying over the house. I've used it as a VO for my flying buddy. Easy to instantly capture your target. Very lightweight and great optics.

 

[dronerdave]

Consider getting a good pair that have image stabilization. Makes a big difference IMO. Can't say which is the best or the best for the price, but my company issued me some Canon's for doing tower inspections and I really like them.

 

[baristabob]

I'd recommend checking out monocular. Lighter and, for me, easier to line up

 

[Bill Kennedy]

I'm looking for recommendations of a fairly decent pair of binocs, probably 8x42, for viewing my mini.

DISCLAIMER: I will not be flying BVLOS, flying behind buildings and obstacles, or trying to set personal best altitude or distance records.

I would just like to admire my mini at a slight distance now and then, and not anywhere near the edge of the VLOS envelope. Even though the drone would be at a distance easily acquired by eyeball and readily visible without any aids or tech, I realize that using binocs even for a few seconds is an FAA violation. But it's one I'm considering. With any luck, I'd have a TRUSTed copilot, making the above moot.

A very quick look turned up a pair Celestron 8x42 Outland X Binoculars. Celestron once make some decent stuff but I don't know if that's still the case. I prefer a roof prism set instead of the traditional porro prism. So does anyone have a recommendation for some decent binocs?

If anyone has a link or two to a good review site, that would be appreciated also.

Celestron still make good stuff. I've one of their Astromaster scopes and it's great for the price. I'd be happy to try their binocs on that basis.

 

[Faster]

Another vote for a monocular, easy to carry and easy to use with just one hand while having the RC on the other.

 

[Starz]

I have some Nikon products and have found them having very clear image.

 

[Defens]

I have some Celestron 10x42s, lower end priced (I think around $120) they are okay, but not terrific. For the price I think Burris offers slightly better optics - I have a set of those, too. Vortex makes some great optics in all price ranges from a couple hundred up to a couple thousand.

I also have some mid-priced Nikons that I got for my wife - pretty decent optics, and I got her 7x35 so a bit wider field of view so easier for her to spot things.

Just about all the binos that cost less than $400-500 will have some chromatic aberration, (color fringing) etc. making it a bit harder to pick out fine details (like a tiny drone!). But they all do the job. If you're comfy with Celestron, no reason to not stay with that brand. I have one of their astronomical scopes and it does a nice job, without breaking the bank.

 

[Faster]

Swarovski, Vortex, Leica, Bushnell, Burris, Nikon are some good brands. I use a Sig Sauer Kilo2000 rangefinder because is the same I use for my long range shooting.

 

[rhberg]

I have an 8x42 from Oberwerk, a small company in Ohio-- they are great and not too pricey. Made in China, but each is inspected by the company president, especially for collimation.

 

[55Kevy]

I bought a Vortex Viper 8x42 several years ago for birding and love 'em. Great optics, good ergonomics, At the time they were top rated mid-price bins.

 

[maelstrom]

I have some Celestron 10x42s, lower end priced (I think around $120) they are okay, but not terrific. . For the price I think Burris offers slightly better optics

It depends on the model/range. I have an excellent pair of Celestron Granite binoculars (9x33) which are very high spec -
metal body, extra low dispersion (ED) glass elements, fully multi-coated optics, BAK-4 prisms with phase correction and dielectric coatings!

For the OP, take a look at The Best Binoculars & Binocular Reviews Website. They have in-depth reviews for everything from budget to ultra-high end models - look in their "Best Binoculars 20xx" sections for the best in each price range.

 

[Ned Bogan]

I have a pair of Nikon Aculon A211 10x42 binoculars. A friend of mine has a pair of Steiner binoculars. He's very happy with his and I'm very happy with mine, although his are clearly a far better pair of glasses than mine. I paid less for mine (sales tax included) than he paid for the sales tax alone on his. I highly recommend the Nikon Aculon A211 10x42 binoculars.

 

[jordan fry]

Celestron have a few 8x32 binoculars like these Nature DX 8x32. A decent binocular specially for hikers and nature watchers. Excellent optical quality.
I've been using this bino for a long time.
I also have some Pentex 10x25's but they will not fit into a pocket unless you have some large pockets.

 

[jphoto]

After many decades of using standard binoculars, I got a Canon 10x30 IS II and a Canon 12x36 IS II. The 10x30 changed the world of binoculars for me because of the stabilization. You see SO much more when the image isn't shaking. So I got the 12x36 too, used on eBay. Good too, the additional magnification is nice, but not a game changer, and there is slightly more CA in the image. If I had to only have one, the 10x30 would be the choice. Smaller, lighter, etc. And yeah, they cost a lot, but WAY worth it. Stabilization is one of those features that once you've tried it, you can't go back. The detail in the night sky is just awesome, and we do most of our star gazing on a boat (no telescope works on a boat!).

One comment on monoculars. The way vision works is, two eyes provide better accuity than one. You'd think twice as good as one, but it's much more than that because of how vision works with the brain to combine visual input from two eyes. Same thing with ears...two is more that twice as good as one. The cost, weight and size savings of a monocular have to be weighed against the performance of binoculars.

 

[dronerdave]

After many decades of using standard binoculars, I got a Canon 10x30 IS II and a Canon 12x36 IS II. The 10x30 changed the world of binoculars for me because of the stabilization. You see SO much more when the image isn't shaking.

I agree, there's a huge difference with stabilized binos and most people that have looked through mine agree.

 

[snowghost]

After many decades of using standard binoculars, I got a Canon 10x30 IS II and a Canon 12x36 IS II. The 10x30 changed the world of binoculars for me because of the stabilization. You see SO much more when the image isn't shaking. So I got the 12x36 too, used on eBay. Good too, the additional magnification is nice, but not a game changer, and there is slightly more CA in the image. If I had to only have one, the 10x30 would be the choice. Smaller, lighter, etc. And yeah, they cost a lot, but WAY worth it. Stabilization is one of those features that once you've tried it, you can't go back. The detail in the night sky is just awesome, and we do most of our star gazing on a boat (no telescope works on a boat!).

One comment on monoculars. The way vision works is, two eyes provide better accuity than one. You'd think twice as good as one, but it's much more than that because of how vision works with the brain to combine visual input from two eyes. Same thing with ears...two is more that twice as good as one. The cost, weight and size savings of a monocular have to be weighed against the performance of binoculars.

I looked into the Canon and people posting on Amazon say that the shell deteriorates into a sticky goo. Have you had any issues?

 

[scro]

I have a lightweight and easy on the wallet Opticron T4 8x25 monocular. Image quality is very good for what it is. I've never specifically used it for spying on my drone mid-flight but it would probably serve that purpose well.

The reasons why I went for a monocular rather than binoculars:
- Very compact and light - I use it when hiking/biking etc.
- For what I use it for I don't need the depth perception that binoculars offer

 

[jphoto]

I looked into the Canon and people posting on Amazon say that the shell deteriorates into a sticky goo. Have you had any issues?

Not a bit. But I store mine in a very nice cool dry location for most of the year. However, in the summer months they live in a cabinet on my boat, so neither cool nor dry. No sticky goo though. Perhaps it's a cleaning issue (I've never cleaned mine). Probably worth checking with Canon Support on that one. And phone calls work better for that.

 

[jphoto]

I have a lightweight and easy on the wallet Opticron T4 8x25 monocular. Image quality is very good for what it is. I've never specifically used it for spying on my drone mid-flight but it would probably serve that purpose well.

The reasons why I went for a monocular rather than binoculars:
- Very compact and light - I use it when hiking/biking etc.
- For what I use it for I don't need the depth perception that binoculars offer

Got it on the light and compact, but binoculars do not offer depth perception, they offer accuity improvement because both eyes are in use.

Depth perception is based on two things: convergence of two eyes with slightly different images due to the difference in angle to the subject, and what is essentially focus feedback, you can tell where you eye focusses. The difference in angle as a 3D component fades after 30-50', when the angle is too small and the left and right images are virtually the same. In binoculars, because the target is always farther than 50', the angle difference between eyes to the subject is mostly too small to provide much useful difference image, even though the actual lenses are spaced farther than human eyes. The focus distance feedback is bypassed by the focussing of the image in the optics. So mostly, the advantage to binoculars is the improvement in accuity by the use of both eyes. There are, for example, binocular eyepieces on monocular telescopes for the same reason, though the trade-off there (and the reason they aren't used much) is they split the light path reducing the total light delivered to each eye by less than half.