Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Best value in Big Eyes

I have the need (sheep hunt) to purchase a set of Big Eyes, tripod mounted binos. I want a quality pair that I can use for extended periods of time but I also have to limit my budget to around $600 or less. Doug's sale on the Minox 15X has caught my eye but IIRC another thread mentioned that these were really heavy and not that great of quality. Can you please give me your recommendation on which ones I should look at that would meet my budgetary and use requirements? My usualy hunting binos are Swarovski 8x32 SLC's and I also have a Zeiss 20-60X x 65mm (I think) spotting scope if this helps you any in your recommendation.

Thanks. Test

The 15x Minox are Heavy but are a nice set of bins especially for the price Doug has them for. if you can afford a little extra, Doug has the 13x56 Minox for $739 or something like that. I think they are the better of the Minox big eyes and are also the lighter of the two.
All the others I like are either twice the cost of heavier.
You might also Consider the Vortex line of Bins. I bought a set of 12x50 Vultures and for the price I thought they were extremely nice! I now own that set and a set of 15x56 Kaibab's.

Kique

Enrique,

My 13X56 Minox kinda made it hard to go back to the 6.5X32 Vortex Rapors the last time I went 'chuch hunting. Those Minoxes are nice.

Just in case you don't rememver, I bought them base on your suggestion. Thanks.

The 15x58 Minox is a very good quality binocular. I have had mine for a few years and have been very pleased. I have looked through the 15x Swaros, and I was happy with my Minox (the Swaro is a little better, but not nearly enough for me to justify paying triple or more).

A cheap 15x bino is worse than an equal quality 10X. You can find a lot of stuff with a good 10X on a tripod as well. $600 is not a lot for big eyes. IMHO, the best value in Big eyes is the 15x56 SLC @ $2000. I couldn't live without them.

The Fujinon 16x70 is huge but better optically than either of the Minox and as good as the Kaibabs.

In general, the more magnification you have, the tougher it is to get the image quality that makes that extra magnification worth while. The further out the subject, the more important the quality of the image.
I think you are making a mistake buying a 13-15X bino in a cheaper model.
So, be warned. I'd buy and try out something that can be returned if not satisfied. And like has been said, a really good 10X, tripod mounted, will do alot better than many think. E

well said. I have tried some $500 big eyes. When I looked at them critically, the quality is worse than some less expensive 10x glasses

I've spent some time looking through a "cheap" ($150-range) "big eye" binoc, and have looked through an expensive Big Eye binoc (Swaro 15x56) long enough to form an impression, and the Minox 15x58 is not a "cheap" binoc. People are making a mistake if they look at the current price and decide that $500 is cheap for a 15x58. That binoc long sold at $750 and more before Doug at Cameraland cornered the market by having a special run produced and brought the price down. See Rick Bin's Big Eyes review here: Rick Bin's review of "Big Eyes"

To my eyes, the Minox 15x58 is probably around 95% of the binoc that the Swaro is. Somebody else might say it is 98% of the binoc the Swaro is and another person might say it is 90% of the binoc the Swaro is - it will depend on the user and what is most important to him. I own alpha glass myself, and I can tell a difference between alpha glass and the next tier. The step down from alpha Big Eyes to the Minox 15x58 is not from great to cheap - it is from great to good (very good in my opinion). That being said, the person who will be using the binoc is the best judge of whether the binoc meets his expectations and is useful to him.

Getting back to the original issue - glass for a sheep hunting trip - I find it MUCH easier to look through my Minox 15x58 for hours on end than to look through a spotting scope for several minutes. However, weight is usually an issue for sheep hunts, so one has to make the decision of whether he wants to carry 3+ lb up and down the mountains. For me personally, particularly if I was hunting with a guide, I would leave the spotting scope at home and carry the big eye binoc. I have been able to see a lot with my Minox 15x58 that I wasn't able to see with good 8x binocs. Sure you can see a little more with good 10x binocs than you can with 8x binocs (if you have enough light since a lot of people go with 10x42 binocs), but I think a person with average eyesight would be able to find more with the Minox 15x58 than with even the best 10x binoc.

Best thing to do for the original poster is to see if he can do an extended long distance glassing session with the binocs he is considering for his trip. In fact, I would recommend that he compare what he can see with his Swaro 8x binoc and Zeiss spotter to the Minox 15x58 in an extended glassing session (at least a couple hours, if not more, with each optic). Call Doug at Cameraland and see if he will let you do a comparison.

Sounds like the Leica Duovid might be the perfect binocular for this type of hunting. The lower power for hand held use and the higher power on a tripod for long range glassing. Mule Deer (J Barsness) has commented on his Duovids are his favorite hunting binocular. Any comments from Duovid users our there?

What I find interesting is people think anything other than the big three is junk. I find more interesting that people base opinion on hand holding bins rather than setting them on a tripod or maybe even on a rock or truck (I find tripod to be the only way).

Dennis Mentioned Fujinon, they made a good optic, my first pair was a 15x60HB pair. They ran me $600. He also mentioned a good pair of 10x. He is right, you can find a lot with a good 10x pair TRIPOD mounted like he stated. My uncle guided for over 20 years using 10x50 Bushnell Customs that he liked better than his 15x60 Zeiss. 15x brings the image closer and does make a difference. I tend to be able to see game better with 15s than my 10s or 8.5's. But some prefer 10s and 8's over 15's. Its a matter of preference. I also find 10's and 8's to be just as expensive as some 15's.

I looked at the first model of the Minox and found them to not be as good and have stated so. The newer version or second model of the 15x Minox were much better. I believe E mentioned before on other posts he only looked at the old model that Rick sent him. Not sure if they were on a tripod or not, but if they were hand held, I find his review pointless. Furthermore if he has only looked at the old model then I find his review outdated since there has been a newer version since the pair E looked at. I'm not saying he's wrong about the old model he looked at, I'm just saying he's wrong about the pair Doug is currently selling.

Bottom line is this. If you have $2200 lying around and you want to spend it, sure get the Swaro's, they are very nice and in my mind the best optic out there that is why I base all my comparison as a percent of the swarovski big eyes.
However when you are looking at value, quality and can't afford the best, there are alternatives for a lot less.
The Kaibab's which I now own a pair of run about $1300, the Minox 13's run around $850 and the Updated discontinued version of the Minox 15's run $549.
That being said, I don't think the Swaro's are a grand better than the Vortex Kaibab, I don't even think they are $1200 better than the Minox 13's. They are nice, but I would rather consider the Vortex or Minox and use that extra money on my trip or other gear.
I don't have that kind of money lying around, all the big eyes I own now I got when they were affordable or I got them at a great price. So I now look at alternatives coming out.

We can debate this issue all day long, in the end realize the bino's I find the best are the best for my eyes, the best E finds are the best for his eyes and same goes for Dennis and Gary.
Buy what you can afford and buy what your eyes like. And remember any big eye you buy, you need a good tripod. Handholding them to glass for game is a waste of time and bad for your eyes. Also remember that there are great glass to be found from other companies other than the big three. Nikon, Vortex, Minox all make some good stuff and at a fraction of the price.
If this says anything to you, of all the bins I have suggested to people and all the ones that did buy on my recommendations, I have yet to have someone tell me I steered them wrong.

Kique

Just read Filbert's post. He's right. The Duovids are a sharp pair of bins and do double duty. I like them a lot, just wish they were bigger than 50mm. firstcoueswas80 aka Casey has a pair and loves them. Again he uses them on a tripod.
That might be ideal for sheep tho. Be prepared to sell your kids or your house to buy them like the Swaro's. LOL

I'll just comment that when I got my Duovids they were around $1200--and that wasn't all that long ago.

Thanks to all who have commented here. It is much appreciated and I've learned a lot. Yes, my intention with whatever I get is to mount them on a tripod. I know I can't hand hold anything bigger than 10X and have a chance to actually see much. I am going with a guide and I know he uses Big Eyes on a tripod. He also will have a spotting scope, so unless mine happens to be better than what he has, I won't plan on carrying mine. I am concerned with weight, though, which is one reason I am hesitant on the Minox 15X, even though Doug does seem to have an excellent price on them. The Minox 13X seem to be the lightest and I can probably come up with the additional $150 needed above my $600 budget. The Vortex Kaibabs are very intriguing and sound like an excellent value, but there doesn't seem to be a special on that particular bino presently and I don't think I can get up to $1200. If I didn't have other financial commitments presently, in addition to the price of my guided hunt, I would certainly get the Swarovskis, but that just isn't an option at the present time. I also have to consider that with the type of hunting I normally do, these binos won't see a lot of field time compared to my other optics after this hunt.

Mule Deer,

Where did you get such a smoking deal on those things?! That is an awesome price! looking at cameraland, the 8/12's were $2500 plus. If I had a chance at Duovid 10/15's for $1200 i'd jump on them in a hurry!

Test,
Since you bring up the fact that they won't see much time after this hunt you are going on, consider resale and the chance of you getting a good pair and reselling them for either the same as you paid for them or more. Some bins will hold their value if you take good care of them and hold onto them for a few years.

Kique

That's what Duovids were going for the first year they were made. I wouldn't even consider paying $2500 for a binocular now, no matter how good they are. There are just too many really good ones for a lot less money.

I just bought a set of 12x50 Meopta's to kind of fill in as big eyes. Paid $950 brand new. I spent some time comparing with a Swaro 15x56, one bino on top of the other so it was very quick to compare the view.

Bottom line - the Swaro was better, but not $1200 better. The Meopta was smaller and lighter too. Great glass for the money. Check them out if you can.

Enrique makes a good point about the current Minox 15x58 being the ED version. Mine, the one I described in my previous posts, is the 15x58ED (current version).

At $2500 they are not much in the way of "value" when you are shopping big eyes.

Value is relative, I will agree, but however much you like the kaibabs [and I do] or the Minox, they are NOT Swarovski 15s. I have tried the Leica 15 geovids- they are dismal compared to the Swaros. Possibly because of the range-finder feature or possibly just because the Swaros are better but I find that they are not something that I would use.

On some hunts, I will spend 10+ hours in one day looking through my 15s. If they weren't as good as they are, I wouldn't be able to do that. Unless you have spent several days behind a tripod mounted glass, you may not appreciate what I am saying.

I hunting in Mexico one year with a guy who guides in Alaska. He brought his Leuplod 20-60 spotter, exactly what my Alaskans use. He could only look for a few minutes at a time and then took a break. He tried our binocs and was an instant convert.

I packed my 15s and a tripod in Alaska. It was well worth the extra weight in animals found.

If this is for one hunt, you might be well ahead to rent the Swarovskis and have no regrets.

I wish I could find Duovids for $1200!! I have found them as low as $2200 but that is it. They are very pricey. Last year we set them up with the Vortex resolution target and compared them among several other nice binocs. We found that the Duovids were able to support a much narrower IP distance (narrow eyes) than any of the others which is a big factor to many but they were a tick shy of the Swarovskis and a tick better than the Kaibabs. The Minox I have tested subsequently and they are a tick less than the Kaibabs but still quite good.

When you get to the real high end stuff, it takes a lot of $$ to make a little difference. To the average guy it is not worth it but to those of us who make our living with them, it is everything.

You will not likely be disappointed in the Minox or Kaibabs but you will need to spend about $400 in tripod and head to really get the best use out of them. Cheap, flimsy tripods will negate some of the advantages that you get from the better glass. You have to budget for both. I have Swarvski binocs (three sets) but I don't have Gitzo tripods. I guess I am not snobby enough...

Ross outdoors


These guys rent the 15 SLCs for $35/ day.

Has aanyone tried and using thr new generation docter 15x60's?