Tasco Sonoma 10x42s - good cheap bins for a starter? (1 Viewer)

[sammyboy]

I've found this pair of Tasco Sonoma 10x42 roof prisms on Ebay, are they any good as a cheap starter pair of birding binoculars?

A recenty recieved a pair of 7x30 German army binoculars, which have very good optics (apart from a bit of chromatic aberration) but are very tricky to focus on close range garden birds due to the individual eypiece focussing.

Would these be a good, cost effective starting point or will they be disappointing? Any other recommendations for entry level roofs?

 

[Richard D]

I've found this pair of Tasco Sonoma 10x42 roof prisms on Ebay, are they any good as a cheap starter pair of birding binoculars?

A recenty recieved a pair of 7x30 German army binoculars, which have very good optics (apart from a bit of chromatic aberration) but are very tricky to focus on close range garden birds due to the individual eypiece focussing.

Would these be a good, cost effective starting point or will they be disappointing? Any other recommendations for entry level roofs?

I've not been impressed with Tasco bins, personally. Entry level roofs are probably Nikon Sporter 8x36's £99 on Warehouseexpress. If that's too expensive, stick with porro's and et something like the Nikon Actions £49 from the sameplace. You can get reasonable porro's for less - have a browse through the threads, but batch quality tends to vary.

 

[jedku]

I have not tried the Tasco Sonoma. The reputation of Tasco is not good.
I am writing to suggest that you may do better with a 7-8x bin in your price range. These will give you brighter, steadier images, a broader field of view, and they will be easier to focus quickly. All around, they are better for beginners, and indeed most birders.

 

[sammyboy]

Thanks for the replies, I'm at the moment looking more towards the cheaper end of the market as I seem to be one of those people who start a hobby, then lose interest, so don't want to spend a huge amount.

I'm hoping though that I can get into birding properly and develop this hobby, I seem to have an interest in these kinds of 'observing' hobbies as I also have an interest in astronomy and often sit watching aircraft going overhead on a nice day!

 

[streatham]

Hi Sammyboy,

Why not look at the nikon action - they are a suprisingly good bin for the price. Not sure what you can get them for in the UK but the old style are virtually being given away here and the 7x35 or 8x40 are poth pretty good for birding.

Luke

 

[Curtis Croulet]

I thought Tasco went belly-up several years ago. No?

 

[sammyboy]

Nope! Still going strong, I think I read somewhere that Bushnell bought them out or something.

 

[mook]

To be honest, buying really cheap binoculars (ie, low quality, not necessarily low cost) just delays the inevitable - you end up buying a decent model from a reputable/quality manufacturer (not necessarily expensive).

Of late, the 7dayshop waterproof 10x42's have proved to be a great (bargain price to quality ratio) low cost alternative. See specific threads on this forum for more......at £17.99, unless you get a lemon, they are an easy purchase to justify......even if your interest in birdwatching fizzles out - spy on the neighbours instead!!

At the moment 7dayshop are sold out of these, but a forum member has been reliably informed that they will be back in stock soon.

Another plus is that if you are not happy, you can return or exchange them - not usually the case with fleabay vendors.

Having said that, I picked up a pair of waterproof Jessops 8x32 roof prisms from Jessops ebay store for £13.99. Probably made by the same Chinese co. that knocks out the 7dayshop model. They are ex demo most likely, but great for the price - just do a search for Jessops 8x32.....there is still one pair available as I write.....good luck!

Cheers,

Mook.

PS. Please note, I do not use my binoculars to spy on neighbours, nor do I encourage such activities |;|

 

[jedku]

I add a 2nd vote for the Nikon Action. In the lowest price range, they are probably the best optics available. Test them for yourself. They are often stocked in camera shops.
Get the 7x35 or 8x40. 10x are the wrong way to go for alot of reasons:
10x has darker image
10x has narrower image (field of view)
10x has shallower focal planes, requiring fussy focus work to get on the bird
10x magnifies your hand shake too much during long views
and in less expensive bins, 10x will magnify the flaws in the optics that much more. In other words, if there is a little bit of blurring, slight miscollumation, the deliterious effect on your view will be given extra magnification too.
You will identify more birds with 7x or 8x, guaranteed!
Marc

 

[sammyboy]

Thanks again for the advice! I seem to have quite a few pairs on bins, most of 'em cheap (I seem to get taken in by all the tempting cheap optics on ebay!), the most expensive pair I have are a pair of Olympus 8x40 DPS-Rs, great view through them but fairly heavy, and not checked out the close focus one them, I suspect they don't focus to close by! I haven't seen many of these about or advertised, quite rare!

Would a pair of roof prisms be easier to hold still than my larger porros?

I might check out those cheap Jessops roofs, see what they're like!

 

[sammyboy]

Well, I've taken the 'plunge' and shelled out £17.50 for those Jessops roofs! They'll arrive sometime early next week, will let you know what they're like, and if they're any good!

Having never looked through any of the expensive Leica/Swaro binocs I have nothing to compare them to, hopefully the minimum focus will be pretty good, and better than that pair of German army ones I've bought, which is a shame as they produce a pretty good image apart from some CA.

 

[mook]

I've found those Jessops 8x32's to be surprisingly bright & sharp, CA appears less than the 7dayshop 10x42's, which aren't too bad in the first place.

The Jessops do seem a little more prone to flare - more so from stray side or backlighting, but then I wouldn't expect any of these cheaper models to touch the higher mid-range or top of the range binoculars when it comes to flare suppression.

Strangely enough, a local Jessops store I passed today had the same 8x32's on sale (end of line) for £34.99 - a £35 saving on original price (£69.99 I guess). So they're a bargain - enjoy!

Cheers,

Mook.

Forgot to add, minimum focus on the Jessops is also surprisingly good - around 8ft or so.

 

[sammyboy]

I perhaps impulsively bid on a pair of the Tasco Sonoma 10x42's on Ebay, just lost out but the seller has sent me a second chance offer at my highest bid, which was £42.55 plus about £8 postage.

Quick yes or no - should I do it, and give the Jessops ones to my wife, or are they about the same optically? Good price or not? :scribe:

 

[Tero]

I have bought some cheap pairs. The ones I bought on eBay, Meade, fell apart soon and the collimation was bad.

I may still buy some cheap pairs in person, but never on line. Cheap meaning under 100 dollars here.

 

[Richard D]

Sammyboy - my advise would be to stay well clear at that price. You can pick up Nikon Action's which are far better for around £50.

 

[sammyboy]

I think I might do that, I'll save a few quid and go for those Nikon Sporter roofs from Warehouse Express for £99! :king:

 

[Tero]

Stick with the 8x on those Sporters, more use overall. I have the 10x and used them well, but would now have more use for them at 8x as I have a better 10x.

 

[sammyboy]

Well, the Jessops binoculars arrived yesterday, and so far I'm amazed at their performance!

Nice bright, clear and wide view, seems to be sharp more or less to the edge of the field of view, and is about the eqivalent to the pair of £70 Olympus 8x40 porros I have! They are also nice and light, comfortable to hold, although the jury's still out on the blue colour of the rubber coating.

The objective eyepieces were attached to the binocular, and tended to get in the way when viewing things, but luckily are removeable so they I've taken them off for now.

 

[mook]

Yes, the Jessops aren't bad at all for under £20 - perhaps not worth the full price they were going for though at one time....

Like you, I've removed the objective lens covers as they do get in the way - same with the 7dayshop 10x42's......and anyway, at the prices I've paid I'm not that worried about overly protecting them - I'm going to use them until they fall apart!!!


Cheers,

Mook.