Opinion on binoculars 500$ or less.

[longwalk]

Have a look at the Zeiss Terra's. I was able to compare them against a lot of other binos in that price range and found them to be the sharpest and clearest.

[chele]

Title says it all lol 500$ or less what’s your opinion on what to look at 1st.

Thanks for your time.

The first thing you should look at is what is your intended use for your binoculars and what are you willing to compromise.

If you are hunting in low light conditions, don't need to look further than 300m and one extra half pound in your backpack is not an issue. Look for a porro prism binocular with a good exist pupil value (a 7x50mm will give you 7.1mm exit pupil value). The binos will be heavier because you need a bigger lense to capture the light, but the brightest in low light conditions will be much better than any 42mm roof prism bino in the $500 range.

Now, if you will be hunting in more favourable light conditions where your pupils are dilated at 3-4mm, the 7mm exit pupil bino will not make it any brighter than a 4mm exit pupil binoculars.

If your hunting style does not require hunting in low light conditions,but rather in brighter conditions, then you can afford to reduce the exit pupil and get a lighter binoculars or increase the magnification on it (a 10x32mm binos will give you 3.2mm exit pupil value)

What you need to watch for is that roof prism binoculars are more susceptible to light transfer losses so having better exit pupil value does not equate to having a brighter view. The opposite is truth for the porro prism binos since those types of binos have less light transfer losses therefore they do not require of expensive coatings to reduce the light losses.

Good luck

[Chuck]

That's the one I've been considering and the reviews are similar to what you're saying. Apparently they feature exceptional quality glass, even though they aren't BAK4. They claim that the body, made of fiberglass composite, is light weight and better able to transition between hot and cold, with minimal deflection, and thus withstand joint/seal failure as compared with a metal body model.
I do have a Zeiss glass made in Hungary that also has a fiberglass body that has never failed me over the years, but it is only 8X30, and getting older I thought that stepping up to 10X42 might help me a little.

[OoDark]

Grabbed Vortex diamondback 10x42. 329 before tax. More cash for the new tikka 22 lol

[OoDark]

You all are most extent people keep up the great team work. Thank you all

[David]

I can't hold 10X power steady after a brisk hike... so I prefer 8X

Go find a good birding site and see what their reviews say - they use binos more than hunters and they are looking for similar fine detail at similar times of day (small bird identification). Because Birders are usually also photographers, camera stores often have good deals on Binos.

An example would be the Audubon society (I chose $200-$500 range because these are USD):
http://www.audubon.org/news/category-good-value

I like brands that are available nearly everywhere - both so I can compare and so I can get parts like eyecups and potential warranty work.

Nikon Monarchs are everywhere (including London Drugs) and well regarded.
Leupold's "second from the bottom" (I forget what they were called) were pretty good for the price a few years ago.

[Greenthumbed]

I like my Vortex Diamondbacks 10x42

[todbartell]

Vortex Diamondback 8x42 or used Vortex Vipers

[IslandWanderer]

Vortex Diamondback 8x42 or used Vortex Vipers

Folks seem to really like those two.

[twoSevenO]

Folks seem to really like those two.

I've had the Diamondbacks for 10 years now. Great binoculars for the price, but for 500, you can do better.

Zeiss Terra can be had on Amazon.ca for $500 and they are better binos. Used Viper, as mentioned above. Also Nikon Monarch are better as well if you can find a good deal.

They're great for the price, but if budget is $500, you can do better than the diamondback.