binoculars - help what to buy?

We are going to Yellowstone for the first time %26amp; would like bring binoculars but I do not known anything about them. Can anyone suggest which brand %26amp;\or modelto buy. I do not want to spend more than $200.

binoculars - help what to buy?

On April 24, I provided you with an Inside Page that will help answer your question. After reviewing that page, plus the websites provided, you are welcome to PM me as TA does not like, as I understand it, specific brand recommendations.

For wildlife viewing and photography:

tripadvisor.com/Travel-g60999-c96653/Yellows…

binoculars - help what to buy?

This is all preference but we prefer spotting scopes over binoculars.

I would suggest heading to a sporting goods store and trying out different ones to see what you like better.

You can get some pretty nice ones for under $100. My husbands was on sale for $40 and he likes it better than my brother who spent $150 on his. More money isn%26#39;t always better.

Casey, I would argue your points, as would anyone involved with wildlife or bird watching. Your intentions are good but open to dispute.

Binoculars are far more usable and flexible than a spotting scope. Benefits of binoculars: You can follow movements better with binoculars. They are easily transported. They provide a wider viewing field. They can go from close up to distance w/o adjusting a zoom, and then, again, trying to find your object as with a scope. Being compact, they are much easier to carry in your car, suitcase or on your neck.

Spotting scopes are for distance viewing, an adjunct to binoculars, and most of what is viewed in YNP (and elsewhere) will be close to medium distance. For hiking, scopes can be very limiting because of the proximity of trees, walls, etc. They are awkward to carry over distances, even over your shoulder or with a specially designed carrier.

At YNP, you will find many scope users, and they are usually willing to have someone take a look. You don%26#39;t need to buy one. Alternatively, you can rent one.

What you mean and I mean re: ';nice ones'; are worlds apart. In optics, if one learns the products, more money past certain price point levels truly means much better quality.

Example: I had an excellent, high end, spotting scope. Fabulous. But, I wanted a brighter scope with better zooming capability. And bought one. The difference is profound.

You truly get what you pay for.

Your relatives%26#39; scopes are, to be candid, very low end optics and, were they compared to better quality scopes, they would be amazed at the difference.

As noted on the Inside Page, provided earlier, lens quality is often more important than power.

If it comes down to money, and it always does, the Inside Page provided reference material and web sites to see what is available, at what price, etc.

Will be interested in the comments here.

I am not here to argue what is better. I suggested that they look at spotting scopes as well.

Hence why I suggested going to a sporting goods store and deciding what works better for them. Not everyone likes the same items. I am here to help give advice and suggest something that may not have been thought of. It is not my decision it is their%26#39;s. I just wanted to point out that there are other options to look into as well. Something may work better for others.

As for the quality of the spotting scopes... I am not going to get into an arguement about money. We are avid hunters who hunt around the country. We have seen the spotting scopes that are high end and we have seen ones that are $30-40. Ours was around $100 but got it on sale for $40 (if you look you can get good deals). Judging an item by the cost is absolutely foolish. You need to look at features, quality, and many other important factors. Sometimes you are just paying more for a name.

TurtlemomMiami- Again, I am not saying you should have a spotting scope or saying to get binoculars. I would suggest heading to a sporting goods store and trying things out. See what feels better for you. You may find one to be better than the other. Who knows, you may just get both!

Have a fun trip!

We have cheapo binoculars, work ok, but I%26#39;m planning on getting some new lighter weight ones for our upcoming trip. We have purchased a telescope from www.telescope.com which sells many different brands of binoculars, spotting scopes as well as telescopes!

I can%26#39;t wait to bring our telescope up to Yellowstone, the skies there will be even better than what we have here at home!

Have a great trip.

Voyaging is very knowledgeable in this area, as you can tell from his posts, and has given you some excellent advice.

I%26#39;m certainly not an expert re:this, but would like to make one point. Whatever you get, make sure you%26#39;re comfortable using it. You don%26#39;t want to buy something that you%26#39;ll be spending all your time trying to figure out how to operate, rather than viewing the wildlife you bought it to see - especially something you%26#39;ve not used before. Case in point - my son bought us a wonderful scope for Xmas. It%26#39;s great, but we%26#39;re still working on figuring it out!

Whatever you decide - Have Fun and Enjoy the Trip!!

Great point Paula - that%26#39;s why I suggest going to a sporting goods store (is there one near you, our sporting goods stores here are mostly hunting/outdoors items). Make sure you try it out and find what is comfortable for you! I also like the point of getting more than 1 (if possible) so everyone gets more viewing time.

Thank you all for your input. I think I am going to print this information out %26amp; go to the sporting good store to get my binocular for my trip.

The research that I have done shows very favorable reviews for the :

Nikon 7430 Monarch 8 X 42mm All Terrain Binoculars

I checked on Amazon and they are sale priced at $260. Check them out if you see them in your local store.