Carless
Well-known member
I bought a pair of these on an impulse purchase. They were the 8-24x50 "Traveller" binoculars. My reason for buying them was so that my 9 year old would have a pair of binoculars of his own. He used to have some plastic lensed POS binos that came from .... I don't know where, maybe ToysRUs or whereever.
Before I bought them, I gave them a quick tryout in the store. They seemed to work. We haven't had any sunny mornings or weekend days since then, so I haven't seen what they can really do. But, I gave them a tryout in dim light, and they seem to work fine. In that I could clearly see some woodpigeons at both 8x and 24x magnification. The binos also seem quite comfortable and easy to hold, much more so than our 20x60 Tento binos.
The reviews and comments I've seen about these binos seem very critical. Most saying that cheap zoom binoculars and these ones in particularly should be avoided. But, the images I get through them seem fine. At all magnifications. I have noted that the field of view is not massive and they can't focus too close up. But we usually take our Pentax Papillios out with us as well, which definitely cover this ground. But I thought that my son, being 9, would enjoy having zoom to play around with, and he seems to appreciate that.
So my question is, why do these binoculars get criticised so much? I can't see how they don't justify a price of £12.50. They seem to be reasonably priced, and do a reasonable job. It may say more about me than the binos, but they seem a good option for a child's pair of binos. I would be happy using them myself. Why so much negative comment for them? Does it take time and experience to really appreciate good optics?
Edit: These are the 10-30x60 version of binoculars in question: http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/2867_8256.htm We have the 8-24x50s
Before I bought them, I gave them a quick tryout in the store. They seemed to work. We haven't had any sunny mornings or weekend days since then, so I haven't seen what they can really do. But, I gave them a tryout in dim light, and they seem to work fine. In that I could clearly see some woodpigeons at both 8x and 24x magnification. The binos also seem quite comfortable and easy to hold, much more so than our 20x60 Tento binos.
The reviews and comments I've seen about these binos seem very critical. Most saying that cheap zoom binoculars and these ones in particularly should be avoided. But, the images I get through them seem fine. At all magnifications. I have noted that the field of view is not massive and they can't focus too close up. But we usually take our Pentax Papillios out with us as well, which definitely cover this ground. But I thought that my son, being 9, would enjoy having zoom to play around with, and he seems to appreciate that.
So my question is, why do these binoculars get criticised so much? I can't see how they don't justify a price of £12.50. They seem to be reasonably priced, and do a reasonable job. It may say more about me than the binos, but they seem a good option for a child's pair of binos. I would be happy using them myself. Why so much negative comment for them? Does it take time and experience to really appreciate good optics?
Edit: These are the 10-30x60 version of binoculars in question: http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/2867_8256.htm We have the 8-24x50s
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