Binoculars?

[Sadey]

CA Ralph that’s exactly what happened. I was using them on the flybridge. I set them down, turned around and bumped them right down the ladder to the pilot house and now they won’t focus. Don’t think I’m going to spend the cabbage on stabilized glass but I will buy the best I can find at Westmarine. Thanks for the advice.

[Freeebird]

I look at fancy, high priced binoculars the same way I look at Rolex watches. Nuff said.

I use mine to see things my eyeballs can't, like bridge clearance gauges etc. I have two sets from West Marine, and I have zero complaints. When I did have a complaint, I took the problem set back, and they gave me a new replacement that was better than what I had. It doesn't get any better than that.

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

I have a Steiner 8X30 as a backup and for the tender. My primary would probably be considered too heavy by most. But, I've had my Leica Geovid 7X42 with 1,000M laser for over 30 years. Originally bought them to help with long range prairie dog shots and since carried them all over the world. They're really useful checking for anchor drag and early warning for boats anchored near my marina that are dragging. The optics are spectacular. Been thinking about a stabilized pair, though. Soon, it may never be a better time to purchase stuff like that.

[Fanfare]

Have a look at the Canon stabilized binoculars. About 15 years ago I bought a pair of 10x30 ones. These were great for about 10 years, light weight, infinite focus. The stabilization is by liquid crystal prisms as used in hand held movie cameras. This model has a default battery shut off of about 5 minutes to save power. Cost today is about $550. However these are not waterproof and after sitting on board for +/- 10 years the reflective coating on the prisms began turning white and making it hard to see.

Canon also makes a waterproof version at much higher cost. The old ones were so satisfactory that I gave very strong hints that I would like a set of these for my birthday. These are 10x42, armored and waterproof. About $1,500. These are very heavy and have a very sensitive focus range meaning I have to focus in and out all the time. The battery automatic shut off only works when held vertically. Since the binoculars are so heavy I don't leave them around my neck but if I lie them horizontally down they do not shut off wasting the batteries (2 AA cells). They have held up well with no prism deterioration. The rubber armor went through a period of being sticky to the touch but have now recovered.

On balance the cheaper Canon stabilized binoculars are, in my opinion, a better investment. Lighter and much smaller, the lower price permits replacement when and if the prisms go bad. Maybe this has now been fixed. I have not gone back to Canon to see if my old ones could be repaired.

Because the Canons do not have an internal gyro I suspect that they have lower battery drain and may be more rugged if dropped.

With the image stabilization I was able to go from 7x magnification up to 10x. I see they now have 15x and 18x50, weatherproof. These should be good night binoculars if they are as efficient as the old 7x50 night scopes. I worried that even with stabilization my field of view would be too small for use on a moving boat so I went with 10x. Very helpful for reading buoy numbers and bridge heights. I still keep my old standard Fujiion binoculars as spares but haven't needed them.

[luckydave215]

X2. I have these on board. Best ever.

X3, image stabilization makes all the difference.
For a "make do right now" pair I would shop at West Marine, their binos are surprisingly good for little money.

[Westfield 11]

I have a pair of Canon 18x50 stabilized and they only stabilize when the button is pushed, that means battery life is pretty good. I got the Admiral a pair of Fujinon 14x40’s and they are far superior at canceling motion than the Canons. On the smooth water of the ICW, I reach for the Canons, but at sea the first choice are the Fujinons. I’ll be getting my own pair soon!

I dropped the Canons last spring knocking the mirrors out of alignment, but sending them to the Canon service center had them good as new for a couple of hundred bucks and they were back within two weeks.