SIGHT SEEING BINOCULARS

[williamlayton]

Here is the case:
I don't own a decent pair of binoculars.
I don't need hunting binoculars.
I don't know what I need binoculars.

Purpose:
A boat trip down the Rivers of Europe from Budapest too Amsterdam.
Sight seeing.
Hell, folks--this is important and I don't know what I need.
Blessings

[SHOOTALL]

I carry compact ones on trips like that. Weight is a concern in both baggage cost and toting them around. Cost is a concern as loss or theft can also be a concern .

[SHOOTALL]

BTW my wife and sister in law took a trip like that , they had a great time . The food was not to American standard in taste or quanity. Desert when there was one was whipped cream nothing else. Hope your crew is more into American eats  of course the beverage was plenty.

[charles p]

Bought wife a pair of binocs for just that reason.  Found old pair 10x25 Sworo on eBay for a deal.  Sent them back to manufacturer for adjustment and they are as good as new.

Birding binocs probably fit your need.

[fatercat]

7X50 are the best for most sight seeing. good early and late. spend in the middle, not the best or worst.

[IOWA DON]

A few years ago my wife surprised me with a pair of Nikon 5x15 D CF binoculars for Christmas. She saw me admiring them in a camera store a few months before that. They have a titanium body and are compact enough for a shirt pocket. They are not bright around sundown, but I have not found that to be much of a problem for vacationing. With them ones sees a very clear picture. These are the binoculars that go always go with on vacations because they are all that is needed 99 percent of the time and it's convinient to have them with all the time. Any binoculars too large for a shirt pocket would get left in the suitcase most of the time. They were all that was needed on our Scandanavian tour three uears ago. Also, they focus very close so work for looking at details of things in a museum where one is not allowed to pick up the object and can't get closer than a few feet, like in the Biltmore castle or in several castles we saw in Scandanavia. My only complaint is that the the diapher adjustment for right versus left eye easily gets out of adjustment. To fix that, I adjusted it correct for me and put a piece of black electrical tape on it to make it more or less perminent.

[Lloyd Smale]

got to agree. If your not hunting you probably dont need the light gather ability of a full sized binoc. But you do want a binoc that has good defintion. Id look at a quality pair of compacts. Be leary about any compact that is in the bargin range. Most will give you a headache in a matter of minutes when using them. Try to find something is phaze corrected and has decent lense coatings at least. Also and this especially applys if your going to use them out of a boat or anything else that moves is you dont want high powered bincos. 8x would be the absoulte max and 6 or 7 would be even better. I dont have a specific brand or model to recomend as most of my binoc use is hunting and that requires differnt specs. Id think seriously about contacting doug at cameraland and asking for his advice. He KNOWS glass and if you tell him your needs im sure he will have a recomendation

[Glanceblamm]

got to agree. If your not hunting you probably dont need the light gather ability of a full sized binoc. But you do want a binoc that has good defintion. Id look at a quality pair of compacts. Be leary about any compact that is in the bargin range. Most will give you a headache in a matter of minutes when using them. Try to find something is phaze corrected and has decent lense coatings at least. Also and this especially applys if your going to use them out of a boat or anything else that moves is you dont want high powered bincos. 8x would be the absoulte max and 6 or 7 would be even better. I dont have a specific brand or model to recomend as most of my binoc use is hunting and that requires differnt specs. Id think seriously about contacting doug at cameraland and asking for his advice. He KNOWS glass and if you tell him your needs im sure he will have a recomendation

Ditto

Be leary about any compact that is in the bargin range. Most will give you a headache in a matter of minutes when using them.

And especially Ditto!

I consider my Nikon compacts in 10x25 to be entry level (Around $70 on the Retail) but yet will not cause the headache or eye pain when used a lot.

Important: Your passport is going to be very valuble to the "less than honest" natives there. Make sure to buy the lanyards for both you and the Hen to wear around the neck and under the shirt. They should be the first thing you put on in the morning and the last thing you take off at night. 

[williamlayton]

It is a good discussion--and mirrows some of my original thoughts.
NOW---and we are playing around with these thoughts--OR, are we?--it might be nice to have a pair of HI-powered Binocs on a tri-pod for the cruise deck-----NOT the shirt pocket.
Buying there is something I am seriously considering---but that is an iffy chance of finding a shop in Budapest--or is it?
Blessings

[SHOOTALL]

 I would limit weight and baggage , how much space can you take up on the deck with out being in others way ? how stable is the river boat ? would a spotting scope be better with the tri-pod ? Never been to Budapest so no help there , but three things come to mind exchange rate on money , repair later back in the states and Also import tax to bring back into the country. As a note you might want to go to a local customs office with any thing of value that you are taking and get a list with their stamp so when you return there will be no queation of ownership. I do this with expensive hunting equipment when going to Canada. They don't keep the list .

[charles p]

high powered binocs on a tripod might be a problem on a moving ship, though I doubt there will be much rocking on a river cruise.

I have sailed through the Panama Canal and up the Alaska inside passage.  Have never seen anyone with a tripod - that I can remember.
If you get an outside cabin with a veranda, it is fun to sit outside and watch the sights while enjoying some vino.  You can aso go to the foward observation room and glass from there.  Weather permitting you might want to go topside.

[williamlayton]

These river boats are not large enough for rooms to have verandas---something in the neighborhood of 100 rooms--all have windows though.
I am reconsidering and am leaning to someth around 10x and small---I am gonn go look at some soon.
Costly little B's they are.
Blessings

[mcwoodduck]

The Nikon Travel lites are good  Small powerfull and compact about $120 if you by chance loose them you will not be too upset.  I had a pair of 9X for a long time and they were damaged in a move and it costs the same to replace them as get them fixed so they are not cross eyed.  i have a Ballistic clam shell belt case for you if you get a pair of these.
another option is the Bushnell H2O proof 10X42.  Not too heavy.  But you would want to wear them around your neck.  Again not too expensive.
I use these for hunting and they are clear and bright.  and I cna see a difference between mine andmy buddies 1600 sworfski but I can not see enough of a difference to justify the 10X price tag.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Camping/Binoculars%7C/pc/104795280/c/104217480/Nikon-Travelite174-VI-Binoculars/752235.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fcamping-binoculars%2Fnikon%2F_%2FN-1100722%2B4294966711%2FNe-4294966711%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104217480%3FWTz_l%3DSBC%253Bcat104795280%26WTz_st%3DGuidedNav%26WTz_stype%3DGNU&WTz_l=SBC;cat104795280;cat104217480
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Camping/Binoculars%7C/pc/104795280/c/104217480/Bushnell174-H2O174-Roof-Prism-Binoculars/732625.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fcamping-binoculars%2Fbushnell%2F_%2FN-1100722%2B4294966721%2FNe-4294966721%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104217480%3FWTz_l%3DSBC%253Bcat104795280%26WTz_st%3DGuidedNav%26WTz_stype%3DGNU&WTz_l=SBC;cat104795280;cat104217480

[williamlayton]

I found a Steiner Merlin 10x42, model 452--at about the price I wanted to pay.
I think they will do the job---gives a little more light that the birder models.
Blessings

[Lloyd Smale]

if you settle on an 8x set cammeraland has a close out on vortex vipor 8.5x right now. I picked up a pair and there fantastic binocs at about half price.

[williamlayton]

I think I can handle the 10X.
Most of the viewing will be sitting or standing still---at longer ranges than the 8X's would give good power.
I am thinking castels on the Rhine, rivers are pretty wide and on shorewe will not be birding.
Anywho---They will be here this week.
BVlessings

[pastorp]

William, just curious but why do you even ask for advise on optics ? You never take it. You seem to like big powerful optics most of us don't want anything that big.  so what's the point of your post. Just to show your independence.

I've noticed a definate trend in your posts on optics. That's why I didn't reply to this post because I knew you would not take our advise....

Regards,