Binoculars have come a long way since my first plasticky pair of Sunday market specials.
Whether you’re a conservatory twitcher, night sky scourer or safari savourer, there are scores of excellent options to choose from, including some seriously splurge-worthy options from the likes of Carl Zeiss and Swarovski Optik.
For casual ramblers aiming to view daytime wildlife, a pocketable pair of 8x30 binoculars may be just the ticket. Aim to catch birds moving about among the trees at dusk and dawn and you’ll appreciate a set with a larger objective lens such as an 8x42mm that will let in more illumination, and produce brighter, sharper images in low-light situations.
While opting for a higher magnification rating can be tempting, providing more detail, there will be a trade-off. For starters, that narrower depth of field can make it harder to pinpoint objects. Plus, once you get to 10x magnifications and above, it gets harder to hold images steady, especially with heavier, bulkier models. The ability to hold steady images is, in part, why some favour a relatively low 7x or 8x magnification even for stargazing – at least when handholding the binoculars, that is, as opposed to mounting them on a tripod or monopod.
Tech can play a part here too, with Canon among the major brands specialising in models featuring Image Stabilisation (IS). Other recent refinements include the widespread adoption of extra low dispersion (ED) glass and roof prisms, allowing for more compact designs than the more traditional porro prism designs.
Glasses wearers will favour models with decent lengths of ‘eye relief’ to ensure their eyes receive all that lovely light and they enjoy the full available ‘field of view’ without dark areas of ‘vignetting’ creeping in at the edges. Other key ratings to bear in mind when binocular browsing include the field of view (FOV) they offer, measured in degrees, and the ‘exit pupil’ rating.
Easily calculated by dividing the objective lens size by the magnification rating, the exit pupil rating relates to the level of light leaving the eyepieces. This, in turn, affects the brightness of the images the user sees. In simple terms, a high ‘exit pupil’ rating can help deliver bright images in low light situations, a measure of seven being the highest ‘useful’ rating as it corresponds to the maximum pupil aperture of the human eye in millimetres.
The best news though is that investing in a decent pair of bins unlocks a variety of fascinating hobbies that’ll last a lifetime and needn’t cost the earth.
Focus in on the great binoculars currently on the market.
Best telescopes for stargazing in 2022: View the planets and night skies from home
Best bird feeders of 2021 for small birds in your garden
Best compact cameras to make taking perfect pictures simple
Best drones of 2021 for flying high and shooting photos and video
Best action cameras of 2021 to capture footage on the move
Best camcorders 2021: Quality video recording for all budgets
Nikon Aculon A211 7x50 Binocular
Best for: value 7x50 binoculars
Approaching ten years since their release, this older style model of 7x50 binoculars is refreshingly well built and makes a great, workaday offering for everything from birding and wildlife to casual astronomy.
That wide field of view really helps pinpoint targets the likes of birds or planets, and the crisp, flat-looking images it renders are impressively sharp, bright and steady. This is aided by the ease with which users can hold those 7x magnification visuals steady and the manageable weight, being a smidge over 900g. Plus, they deliver that maximum exit pupil value sweet spot of seven, corresponding to the maximum pupil aperture of the human eye in millimetres.
Featuring aspherical multi-coated eco-glass lenses, a BAK-4 porro prism and 17.6mm of eye relief, these offer amazing bang for your buck. Making tweaks and adjustments is a breeze too, with a smooth central focus knob and easy-positioning rubber eyecups. Possibly the best money you’ll spend this year.
Buy now £126.00, Amazon
Canon 10x20 IS binoculars
Best for: general use image stabilisation binoculars
There’s a reason Canon’s range of image stabilisation (IS) offerings have gained traction among niches such as stargazing camps, the Japanese photography giant’s shake-banishing Optical Image Stabilisation tech is second to none.
More commonly found in digital cameras, binoculars featuring IS compensate for that frustrating ‘user shake’ that creeps in at higher magnifications. Offering the ability to enjoy steady handheld viewing in occasions that would normally call for a tripod, IS can be a game changer for some users. It’s certainly welcome here in this 10x offering whose surprisingly lightweight (430g) and compact nature makes it a great pick for everything from wildlife watching to sports and travel.
There are plenty of other IS options to explore in Canon’s range too, including an 8x20 option that’ll be of interest to birdwatchers and some pricier all-weather (AW) options with higher magnifications such as 18x50 – great for applications such as astro.
Buy now £469.00, Amazon
Zeiss Victory Pocket Binoculars 10 x 25
Best for: luxury lightweight pocket binoculars
One of the more affordable offerings from the world-renowned Zeiss brand, these are some seriously sexy bins in anyone’s book. Their toy-like size is far from reflected in their robust manufacture and effortlessly elegant stylings.
Weighing a miniscule 290g, and measuring 11.2cm x 10cm x 3.3cm, you hardly know you’re carrying these supremely pocketable beauties, one lens barrel folding lithely inwards to rest besides the other for an even smaller footprint.
Thanks to that meagre size and weight, you’ll never need be without them, should you so wish, and in the hand they feel perfectly balanced, the smooth rubber coating proving remarkably grippy.
As you’d expect from Zeiss, images are tack sharp and bright, that smooth-rolling central focus wheel a joy to use, and the accessories are top notch, not least the contoured carrying case. Alternatively, consider the similarly sized, slightly cheaper 8x25 version. Go on, treat yourself – you’re worth it.
Buy now £669.00, Selfridges
Hawke Endurance ED 8x25 Binoculars - Green
Best for: compact binoculars under £150
At just 310g and 108mm long x 114mm wide these lean, green bobby dazzlers are tantalisingly teeny yet feel nice in the hand. They also pack a punch in the visuals department, Hawke’s System H5 optics making good use of ED glass, multi-coated lenses and BAK-4 Hi-Res phase corrected roof prisms.
Welcome features include the rubber eye cups, 13mm of eye relief and the ability to focus from just two metres. All told, they’re a great pair of refreshingly light and compact everyday binoculars, producing pleasingly crisp and bright images, that you’ll want to keep on you when out and about, or on your holidays.
They disappear nicely into a small bag or pocket, the two barrels folding inwards. Alternatively, use the comfy stap to hang them around your neck or stash in the supplied pouch that slips on your belt. At this price they make a nice gift, too.
Buy now £129.00, Clifton Cameras
Bresser Spezial-Astro 20x80 Porro Binoculars
Best for: value 20x astronomy binoculars
Fancy unlocking the mysteries of the Heavens for just over £100? Well, you’re in luck thanks to these fun-time favourites. Combining a beefy 20x magnification with an 80mm objective lens, their great light gathering ability sure makes the most of low light situations, the multi-coated lenses and BAK-4 prisms serving to minimise stray light and ghosting while offering up refreshingly clear night-time images.
Other features include lens protection caps and foldable rubber eyecups that help glasses wearers make the most of the available field of view. The binoculars also come with a carry bag and two-year warranty.
Given that lowly price tag they’re a stone-cold bargain, I reckon – worth a punt for even the most casual of stargazers. Bear in mind that with a 20x magnification, stated weight of 2.1kg and chunky size (33cm x 23.5cm x 10.8cm), you’ll probably want to mount these bad boys on a tripod to relieve the strain and avoid shaky images. You won’t want to be holding these up to the sky for extended periods.
Buy now £119.25, Amazon
Amazon Brand – Eono Binoculars 8x42
Best for: budget starter binoculars
These budget bins are a prize pick for anyone looking to dip a toe in the wildlife watching waters, from back garden gazers to curious kids. As you’d expect at this price point, there are some compromises.
They’re not water resistant, for example, and you can’t focus up close. Plus, they don’t adjust very wide, so better suit smaller faces. Yet mostly they punch above their weight. Notable features include the 17.2mm of eye relief – a boon for glasses wearers – and their fairly compact nature, weighing in at 540g and measuring 2.1cm x 5.3cm x 15.3cm.
That 8x42 pairing is a classic combo for birding and general out and about nature viewing, and they feel surprisingly solid in construction, complete with a nice, big central focus ring. I also like the snug-fitting rubber lens covers that stay attached to the bins when you pop them off. Factor in the supplied carry case, strap and cleaning cloth and you have everything you need to get started on your new hobby.
Buy now £29.99, Amazon
USCamel 10X50 HD Waterproof Military Binoculars
Best for: value rangefinder binoculars
For those occasions when you want to not only focus on and identify an object but gauge its positioning and distance from you, a pair of rangefinder binoculars are worth their weight in gold. Perhaps you’re a sailor, golfer or a wannabe James Bond – the applications are endless.
Containing a built-in rangefinder and compass, these budget bins are good value and handier than a person with six hands. The distance and positioning readings seen through the eyepieces are handily illuminated at the press of a button.
Nicely rugged, they feature shockproofing, fog-proofing and waterproofing. Shucks, they’ll even float if dropped in water. There’s also 7.1mm of eye relief, a BAK-4 glass porro prism and a dazzlingly bright yellow neck strap.
While on the heavier side at 1.22kg the weight is not extreme by any stretch, nor are the 20cm x 8cm x 15cm dimensions, and they’ll be equally at home pinpointing birds in the garden. Lovely jubbly.
Buy now £103.99, Amazon
Celestron 71017 SkyMaster 25 x 100 Binocular
Best for: value 25x long-distance binoculars
With their multi-coated optics and BAK-4 porro prisms, these bumper bins make the most of low-light situations. Indeed, their impressive 100mm objective lenses (the largest in the SkyMaster range) really help with light gathering, ensuring a still decent exit pupil measure, while delivering deliciously bright images.
At just under 39cm long, and weighing in at a smidge under 4kg, they’re no shrinking violets. You’ll certainly know you’re carrying them, plus you’ll need to invest in a decently robust tripod to perch them on.
Water resistant, they come with a nice protective textured rubber coating and a padded nylon carry case. Nice touches include the soft rubber eyecups that can be folded down for use by glasses wearers who will also appreciate the 15mm of eye relief. Of course, while they’re great for astro applications, they’ll happily turn their to other tasks such as long-distance wildlife watching, provided you don’t mind lugging them around – just take note of that lengthy minimum focus distance of 147.6 feet.
Buy now £349.72, Amazon
Nikon Monarch M7 10x42
Best for: value premium binoculars
This recent addition to Nikon’s high-end Monarch line turned heads as much for the supreme value and affordability (comparatively speaking) as for their sharp, yet understated, contemporary stylings.
An excellent choice for nature and wildlife lovers, one of the most impressive features is their apparent field of view at just over 60 degrees – ideal for pinpointing birds in flight. They also serve up delightfully rich, high-resolution images, enhanced by the use of Dielectric high-reflective multilayer prism coatings.
Weighing 470g and measuring 119mm x 125mm x 48mm, these bins are pleasingly compact, lightweight and grippy in use. That rubber armouring also offers some welcome shock resistance, plus they’re fog-free and waterproof for up to one metre for 10 minutes, Nikon claims, so drops in puddles should prove no problem. The turn-and-slide rubber eyecups and fat central focus ring work effortlessly too and they’re tripod mountable for hands-free viewing. A very worthy investment indeed.
Buy now £529.00, Clifton Cameras
Swarovski NL Pure 12x42 Binoculars
Best for: binoculars to blow the budget on
Money no object? Has your ship come in? Well, in that case look no further than these luxurious lovelies from upscale Austrian brand Swarovski Optik, which has been turning out precision spotting kit for more than 70 years.
It’s often said that you get what you pay for and these binoculars simply ooze class, from their lovely lines and obvious build quality to the superlatively crisp images they render.
Available in 8x, 10x and 12x flavours, the Pure NL range features crazy good, top-flight optics in a pleasingly compact package. Moreover, they offer the company’s largest-ever field of view – a staggering 70 degrees. Combined with their edge-to-edge sharpness this conjures “a new dimension of wildlife watching”, to quote the company’s marketing blurb.
Rest assured, these ergonomically-designed beauties won’t weigh you down in the field, and should be good for a lifetime. So, if you’re feeling flush, or you’re simply a keen twitcher who doesn’t stint on their hobby, you really can’t go wrong.
Buy now £2450.00, Selfridges
Avalon 10x42 Pro HD Binoculars
Best for: affordable 10x42 travel binoculars
Avalon trumpets these versatile little gems as ‘the world’s lightest professional level binoculars’ and if you don’t fancy splashing out on some luxury lenses then these compact cuties will get you most, or possibly all, of where you want to be for a fraction of the price.
Weighing just 550g and measuring 14.3cm x 12.4cm, with a 10x magnification and a decent enough exit pupil level, they’re the brand’s best sellers, a great bet for everything from hiking and sports, to travel and wildlife watching.
Delivering impressively crisp and bright images from a minimum range of 9.8 feet, they can cope with a bit of knockabout too, aided by the waterproofing and fog-proofing, while the twist-down eyecups appeal to glasses wearers who will further appreciate the 15mm of eye relief.
All told, an excellent, great value all-rounder. Don’t fancy the black? Fear not – Avalon offers a snazzy platinum-white version.
Buy now £195.00, Avalon
