The best $1k binocular you haven't heard of

[mflo]

Have any of you guys tried any of the offerings from Fujinon? I got my hands on their stabilized 14s, and they are pretty awesome.

 

[benconfused]

I'm a bino junkie. I love trying out new glass and I've done a lot of catch and release here on Rokslide. I've tried out binoculars at pretty much every price point and I love finding hidden gems that punch way above their price class. There's some obvious standouts that a lot of you are probably aware of and some you may not be.

$200 - Sightron Blue Sky 8x32
$500- Athlon Cronus
$1k- Maven B series, Meopta Meostar, Nikon Monarch HG

I personally think $1k is the value sweet spot. I've tried most of the well known models at one point or another and the reality is they're all really good. My personal favorites are the 9x45 Maven B2 and the 8x42 Nikon MHG. Both have really saturated colors, which I prefer, and the Maven is incredibly bright. The Maven's weakness is size/weight and the Nikon's weakness is that it isn't the sharpest. Both show moderate chromatic aberration, especially towards the edges.

Two years ago I picked up an Opticron Aurora BGA VHD 8x42. Despite having way too many letters in its name, its hands down the best $1k bino I've used. It's the first time I've used a bino in this class and noticed a small but obvious step up from it's competitors in pretty much every attribute. Some models have one standout feature, but maybe fall short in another area (like the Maven B2 being bright but showing a lot of CA). The Opticron is sharp across easily 90% of the field, better than the Monarch HG. It's not as bright as a Maven B2, but it hangs with anything else at this price point. Colors are incredibly saturated. The biggest thing is CA. There's virtually none in the center or on the edges. It does have a very thin blue ring around the very outer field edge, but it never pops out to me in typical use. I have to look for it.

Weight is 25 oz. Focuser is not the best, but totally adequate for hunting use.

If you're looking for a fantastic binocular, but don't want to drop $2k or more, I would highly recommend giving this one a try. There's several threads on birdwatching forums comparing them to more expensive competitors like the Zeiss SFL and Leica Noctovid that are pretty surprising.

Curious - where do you rate the image stabilizing Sig binos? I don't nerd out on binos and probably won't but I do follow what you're saying. I like the image technology a lot and my needs would be primarily hunting.

Thanks for sharing your opinion.

 

[tbumpus]

FYI - following on Hoodie's OP, there's an Opticron Verano BGA HD 8x42 for sale for $325 over at the BirdForum from a reputable seller. The Verano is a step down from the Aurora model that Hoodie mentioned but $325 is a cracking deal for that particular bino.

 

[Hoodie]

I haven't used image stabilizing binos so I can't comment on them.

The Verano is great. I think they're discontinuing the 32mm version, but I keep the 8x32 in my vehicle all the time. Awesome bino for $500. For $325 it would be tough to do better.