The article aims to give the reader advice on choosing an affordable pair of binoculars ideal for viewing wildlife with.

Which Binoculars they Recommend?
They say that “After checking out several binoculars, we found a couple that have crystal-clear optics at a reasonable price.” and below are their two recommendations:

Brunton Echo 8×25 Binoculars and these are their reasons why:

At the top of the list stands Brunton’s Echo Compact series. The Seattle times writer says that they recommend the 8-power version (8×25) since 10-power compacts can be difficult to hold steady (the extra magnification also magnifies any vibration/hand shake, creating an unstable image). – Which is true, but unless you really have unsteady hands you should easily be able to hold a 10x compact steady enough to be able to look through them and get a good stable view. For me the main reason for choosing an 8x binocular over one that has a more powerful magnification would be their wider field of view. That is not to say that 10x and even more powerful optics don’y have their uses.

They also say that the “Echo 8×25 glasses proved remarkably comfortable in the hand, and the lenses were sharp through the field of vision — we noticed just a hint of fuzziness at the extreme edge of the field of view. The light transmission was very good, presenting a bright view, even at dusk and dawn when wildlife is most active. We used these while watching young bighorns scamper in the twilight above Umtanum Canyon in Central Washington, and to spy on ospreys hunting trout in the Yakima River Canyon.” This is great, I am really glad to see that they took into account a binoculars light transmission, especially for wildlife when as they say a lot of your observation will take place late afternoon or early morning when a lot of wildlife is most active. So some great advice here – I then just wonder why they did not also consider larger mid-sized or even full sized binoculars? There are plenty of these that are affordable on the market and their larger objective lenses have the potential to let in more light and therefore, have the potential to produce brighter images than a compact.

The article then goes on to say that “The Echos even earned praise from our hardest-to-please binocular tester: Donna has a small face, and frequently finds she can’t bring binocular barrels close together enough to allow easy viewing. The Echos, though, fit her well, while also working wonderfully for our bigheaded, wide-eyed lead tester (yours truly).”

The Brunton Echo 8x25s weigh 38 ounces and sell for $120. Click here to Buy & Compare Prices for Brunton Echo Binoculars

Pentax Papilio 8.5X21 binoculars
Their second recommendation are the Pentax Papilio 8.5×21 binoculars:

“For a smaller, lighter pair, we recommend the Pentax Papilio 8.5×21 binoculars. These compact optics fit comfortably in the hand, adjust to fit a wide variety of faces (including Donna’s) and weigh a mere 10 ounces. The optics are sharp and clear — not as bright as the Bruntons, but nearly as sharp. What’s most remarkable about the new Papilios, though, is the focusing range. These binoculars have a close-focus distance of just 19.5 inches, meaning you can zoom in on that bee sitting on the flower right in front of you. You can examine the patterns of pollen on its legs, and count the hairs on its back as it flies over to sting you! No other binoculars we’ve found — or even heard of — offer this ability to act almost as a microscope on your wilderness adventures.”

This is very true and that is why I highly recommend these, if you plan on spending a lot of your time viewing the smaller wildlife out there like butterflies. View my article on Butterfly Binoculars, where I also take a look at these Pentax Papilio Binoculars.

The Pentax Papilio 8.5×21 binoculars sell for $149 Click here to Buy & Compare Prices for Pentax Papilio Binoculars

Best Binocular Reviews Recommendations

With so many binoculars out there, I am always interested in how they get to such a small short list of choices. Sure, if you are looking for cheap compact binoculars, the Brunton Echo Compacts and the Pentax Papilio 8.5×21 binoculars are not bad choices, but there are so many others out there, that in my opinion are as good or even better.

So which affordable binoculars, ideal for wildlife observation would I recommend?

Well If you are specifically looking for compact binoculars, that cost under $130/£130 take a look at this list of binoculars that I have reviewed: Low Cost Compact Binoculars.

For a larger selection and a better pair of optics, take a look at these Mid Priced (still under $300/£300) Compact Binoculars.

But what I would really recommend is getting a pair of mid-sized binoculars – these are still compact enought to easily carry about with you, yet offer far better light gathering potential:

Mid Priced, Mid-Sized Binoculars

More Information

About The author: Dan Nelson is a Freelance writer and a regular contributor to Backpacker magazine, and an author of outdoor guides with The Mountaineers Books.

Click here to view the original article on the Seattle Times.

A few days ago I was looking to review some Bushnell binoculars here in the UK, when I noticed that Jessops.co.uk were offering a deal that almost seemed too go to be true.

They have the Bushnell 12×42 AW Binoculars currently on sale as a web only deal at £45 (reduced from £139.99). Because they are a Jessops ‘Exclusive’ I had never heard of them before, but I decided to buy a pair and give them a full review. Now I am not going to say that these are the best binoculars in the world, but they are also far from being the worst and much better than their current £45 price tag suggests.

More Information
You can read my full review on the Bushnell 12×42 AW Binoculars
Or take a look at them on Jessops.co.uk

Cheap Binoculars

I don’t recommend getting the very cheapest binoculars: the quality of the optics and their construction is so poor that  in many cases they are almost unusable. By the very cheapest, I am taking about binoculars that cost less than $40/£30, so unless you only plan on using them once and then throwing them away, don’t get them.

Having said that there are some very good mid priced and cheap binoculars: by mid priced I mean binoculars between $130 – $300 and by cheap I mean binoculars under $130/£130. This is relatively speaking as many people may argue that this amount of money means that they are not cheap, but if you compare this price to the very best binoculars that cost almost $2000, they are a tenth of the price.

Value for Money

The difference in quality between a pair of binoculars at this price and the very best binoculars is far less than the difference in quality you get from the very cheapest binoculars to a good pair of mid priced or even cheap binoculars under $200 and in my opinion at this price range, you can get some really good value for money.  So what are the best cheap binoculars?

Best Full Size Binoculars under $200 / £200

Harder to find good full size binoculars in this price range, than compacts, but there are a few gems that I feel make excellent value for money:

Bushnell 10×42 NatureView Binoculars

Primarily designed for birding and wildlife viewing, but they also make fantastic general all purpose binoculars. They come with quality BaK-4 roof prisms, as well as Multi-coated optics. One of the features that really stands out on the Bushnell Nature View series are the fact that they are fully fog and waterproof and are encased in a rugged, non-slip rubber armor, that will not only absorb small shocks that are bound to occur in day to day use, but are really comfortable and well balanced, making them great for observing a subject for long periods of time. An added feature that shows Bushnell’s attention to detail is the fact that they can be adapted to fit onto a tripod, using the standard ¼-inch threading.

If you are looking for full size binoculars specifically for bird watching, you may also like to consider the Bushnell 8×42 NatureView Binoculars that whilst are slightly less powerful, they have  a wider field of view.

Olympus 10×42 Magellan Binoculars

These are designed for the extreme outdoor enthusiast and they use some of the finest quality components to produce an overall excellent quality binocular. They come with high index Bak-4 roof prisms, meaning that they are made from superior optical glass that produces clearer and sharper images. The quality of the optics in any pair of binoculars is a key indicator to it’s overall quality. Cheaper binoculars will use Bk-7 prisms which are adequate, but far inferior to Bak-4 prisms, which offer better light transmission and sharpness to the edges of the image.

The lenses on these are also fully multi-coated, the word “fully” is important here as many cheaper binoculars will advertise that their lenses are “Multi-Coated” which means that at least some surfaces (usually only the first and the last) have multiple layers of anti-reflection coatings. These are Fully Multi-Coated meaning that every air to glass surface has multiple layers of antireflection coatings that will assist in the transmission of light to make the image that you look at sharp and clear.

These Magellan’s have a recommended retail price of around $300, but in reality you can find them on most websites including Amazon for under $200, making them excellent value for money. As with the Bushnell’s above, these are also available with an 8x magnification that may suit you better if you are looking for birding binoculars: Read my review on the Olympus 8×42 Magellan Binoculars.

Best Compact Binoculars under $200 / £200

There are many compact binoculars in this price range, but which are the best that I have so far reviewed?

Steiner 10×26 Safari Pro Binoculars

Steiner in general offer some of the best value for money binoculars on the market and in my opinion these 10×26 Steiner Safari Pro binoculars from Steiner offer an incredible quality to value ratio and are for me the best in their class. If you are looking for a compact, tough good value pair of binoculars ideal to travel with, these should towards the very top, if not the top of your shopping list.

Whilst it is probably true to say that Safari Pro’s don’t use Steiner’s ultimate quality optics, you must remember that these are a fraction of the cost of top end binoculars and yet these still offer you a very impressive bright and sharp image. Steiner say that their optics also block haze and filter UV light, which protect your eyes making them comfortable to look through as well as to bring you sharp images.