Which Model would you buy?

[ozstriker22]

I've been looking for Bino's for a long time to use for very early morning mule deer spotting/glassing over some long distances in the Deserts/Mountains of California. I've decided I don't want to use a spotting scope for extended amounts of time - I would rather use High Powered Bino's.

I had my heart set on Minox 15x58's.

But... The best price I could find was $799 from a NY optics shop that strung me along for over 3 months before I decided to stop doing business with them. (I wish I'd seen the post "Before you buy Optics"... before I bought optics! Same guys I dealt with! I think HotBuyElectronics should be re-named B.S.Optics). So now it seems like the best price I can find for US warranteed Minox 15x58's is about $1,150. And that's about $250 Outside my $$$ range.

That leaves the following contenders (Arranged largest Objective first):

1) Steiner BigHorn 15X56 $599. Probably find on ebay for $400

2) Canon Image Stabalized 15x50 - $899 Bino.com

3) Zeiss conquest 15x45 - $749 at Binoculars.com, or $579 best price from reputable Non-Dealer Authorized seller.


Please tell me what you would buy, and why?!? I'm open to other sugestions, but I don't want to end up with eyestrain after 3 or 4 hours of glassing!


Sincerely,

Jesse

 

[wmidbrook]

Hey, I'm right there with you...been eyeballing 15x bino's too. Fujinon H series 15x60s--they've got a doubler available for it too.

But, I've read in the archery forums where a few guys don't like the Swarovski doublers at all.

I really don't want to spend a dime without looking through any spendy optics side by side so I'm waiting for the Cabela's to open in Reno--they should have all the major names available for the consumer to compare. There's a cabela's brand for 15 x as well.

15x is powerful enough where a tripod would be a must.

Steiner Bighorn brands--looked through the bighorn 9x40's and am not impressed. But, maybe they have better 15x60s.

Zeiss conquest--may be a great bet. I'm just worried that the bell objective would be too small @ 45...maybe not.

Cannon, I bet you sacrifice lense quality just for the stabilization feature although I do not know this as a fact....just hazarding a guess there.

Minox makes good products. I did compare Minox to Leica side by side. The leica was a little clearer but not by much.

 

[HOGHUNTER714]

I had a chance to look through some 15x70's (pretty sure they were that high) this past deer season. HOLY SMOKES those things really bring everything in REALLY close. A fellow JHO'er had them and we were glassing DEEP into a canyon. I think he said he paid about $750 for them. They are way to heavy to carry around but PERFECT for a Tripod setup and long periods of glassing. Those things were sweet....

I have a pair of 12x50's Windrivers and they are perfect for me to carry and work great on the tripod as well....

 

[Backcountry]

I actually think it's more likely that you will get eye strain using the 15x binos than a 20-30x spotting scope IF you don't have a tripod for the binos. Have you ever tried using binos of that magnification for an extended period of time? You simply won't be able to hold them still enough with your bare hands for them to be effective for sustained glassing... for three or four minutes perhaps, but not for hour after hour. Now if you have a tripod it's a completely different story and indeed you'll probably have less eye strain with binos + tripod as opposed to spotting scope + tripod.

Depending on what kind of hunting you intend to do, if you are going to be a ways from the trailhead/truck, and you're going to haul a tripod, you may as well haul a spotting scope too.

My preference on backpacking trips (and I'm a stickler for shaving weight) is a lightweight spotting scope (vintage Bushnell Stalker 10-30x50), a very lightweight tripod, and the best binos I can afford (which right now are only Nikons, but they'll do).

Backcountry

 

[HOGHUNTER714]

IMO a tripod is a worthwhile investment. I can glass for so much longer with zero eye strain. When I bought my 12x50 Windrivers, I made sure it was tripod compatible, I went to my local camera store and picked out the lightest tripod they had that was on the fly wheel. I had to buy the adapter for the binos as well. My Binos are always with me in the field. I always carry a day pack when I am big game hunting. The tripod is strapped to the side of the pack. Its so light I dont notice it. When I want to glass a certain ridge for a long period of time I just grab my adapter and set up the pod and I'm in business. It takes about 2 minutes to set up. I like the feeling of having a universal set-up.

 

[ozstriker22]

I already have a tripod... I've got a 20x50 Burris copact spotter. I just don't like using a spotting scope - it never feels natural. Bino's on the other hand... I already have 10x40 ZEISS Classics.

I had planned on bringing two types of glass on my trip. 15x in the pack for spotting, 10x on my neck while stalking.

As far as a doubler is concerned... At this point in the game I just want a LEGAL animal... I don't care how high it scores. I would imagine (plz correct me) that a 15x should be good enough to spot them bedded down from a good distance. Although now that I think about it, in the high desert I may be glassing over quite a distance... I guess that's why edge to edge clarity and light transmission are so important!

Jesse

 

[Backcountry]

Originally posted by ozstriker22@May 3 2005, 09:23 AM
I would imagine (plz correct me) that a 15x should be good enough to spot them bedded down from a good distance.

Not necessarilly a correction, but my experience has been that if the buck(s) are bedded in the shade and not moving, it's unlikely (or at best, extremely difficult) that I can spot them with 15x from more than a few hundred yards... of course, if you're that close, they probably can see you too.

In the high desert I want/need high magnification... many times driving around in the sage, or hiking along ridges at 12,000 feet, I've found myself glassing areas than are 0.5 to 2 MILES away, and seeing nice bucks, but not with 15x magnification.

As for the Burris compact spotting scope, I tried the same one but returned it because I thought it was poor quality. A buddy loaned me a vintage Bushnell Stalker (that I hope he's forgotten I have) and that by far has superior optics.

I'd say give your system a try this year and see how it performs... if it sucks, then you've got almost two years to save up for a nice spotting scope.

Backcountry