Decent 12x50 Binos for under $600?

[ghott]

I'm looking to upgrade my binoculars within a reasonable budget. I'm coming from an old and cheap pair of Bushnell 12x50's that have served me well. That said, I think any of the below choices would probably be an upgrade - but, like most of you guys, I'm wanting to get the most out of my money spent. I've gotten used to the 12x50 size and magnification - so I'm looking to stay at or very close to that.

Below are the binoculars I've found that are within my budget...with one that I might be able to stretch to, if its actually worth it. My questions for you guys are:
1.) Do any of these really stand out and punch above their price point?
2.) Are there better 12x50 options I've missed that come in at or under the $600 price?

- Nikon Pro Staff 5 12x50 - $225
- Athlon Midas Gen II UHD 12x50 Roof Prism - $400
- Maven C3 12x50 - $425
- Celetron Granite 12x50 - $460
- Vortex Viper HD 12x50 Roof Prism - $560
- Sig Zulu5 12x50 - $580
- and...maybe a stretch at the Leupold BX-4 Pro Guide HD 12x50 - $670

Things that are important to me in a set of binoculars:
- price of at or under $600...obviously I wish I could afford a high-end pair of Swaro's, but I can't at this time
- 10-12x magnification and 50mm objective
- durability (I'm hard on my stuff) and water/fog proof is a must
- clear & bright glass with good low-light performance
- decent field of view and eye relief

Appreciate any and all input - thanks!

 

[nobody]

Maven's, without a doubt. They blow anything below a grand out of the water without breaking a sweat.

 

[Hatchet Jack]

The German Precision Optics 12.5x50 is really good. Earlier this year they were selling a bunch of open box for $600. Sometimes you can find Cabelas Euro non hd 12x50 in that price range too. I would go with either of these over anything in your list as far as build and optical quality.

 

[Aaron Warpony]

From your list, I would say the Mavens. Meopta meostars are good glass, if you're patient you can find a used pair nearing your budget. I got a pair on ebay for $600, they were non HD though. HD version was by far better, but i'd put meopta meostar non hds up against any of the binos in your list

 

[ghott]

Maven's, without a doubt. They blow anything below a grand out of the water without breaking a sweat.

I've been looking hard at these - the only issue I see (no pun intended) is the smaller field of view.

The German Precision Optics 12.5x50 is really good. Earlier this year they were selling a bunch of open box for $600. Sometimes you can find Cabelas Euro non hd 12x50 in that price range too. I would go with either of these over anything in your list as far as build and optical quality.

Appreciate the input. Unfortunately, it looks lie both of those retail for double what my budget is, but I'll keep my eyes peeled for a used pair or otherwise good sale/open-box/demos.

From your list, I would say the Mavens. Meopta meostars are good glass, if you're patient you can find a used pair nearing your budget. I got a pair on ebay for $600, they were non HD though. HD version was by far better, but i'd put meopta meostar non hds up against any of the binos in your list

I've read really good things about the Meopta glass as well. They are a bit out of my reach budget wise...but like the German Precision Optics and Cabelas Euro mentioned above - I'll keep an eye out for used/sale/open-box/demo pairs of these!

 

[nobody]

I've been looking hard at these - the only issue I see (no pun intended) is the smaller field of view.

I understand your worry, and I just had this conversation with someone else on this thread:

https://www.rokslide.com/forums/threads/budget-10x42-opinions.198065/

Below is my first post that started the conversation. And just to be candid, the binos I'm comparing them to are the Vortex Viper 10x42's, but the principle holds up across the board.


"My vote goes to the Maven's, without question. They easily hang with stuff costing up to 3 times as much, and lots of times beat them out in my opinion.

I understand your concerns with the FOV, but someone on here explained it to me like this. Let's say you have BrandX 10x42 HD's, and they come with a FOV of 341 Feet at 1000 yards. On paper, not too shabby. The Maven's have a narrower FOV of 314 feet, so smaller than BrandX. HOWEVER, most glass below a grand has some chromatic aberration (bending/blurring at the edge) that takes up a portion of the FOV, rendering it useless. BrandX suffers from this problem. So, for argument's sake, let's say the blurry portion at the edge takes up 10% of your view, or 34.1 feet. That means the "useable field of view" is actually only about 310 feet. For all intents and purposes, the same as the Maven. The difference is the Maven's don't have this distortion taking up such a big portion of the field of view, which means the FOV is 100% useable. You may be able to glass right through the middle of the FOV of the BrandX binos, but the bending and blurring will give you a headache. The Maven's don't give you that.

I've tested the Maven's in good and poor light against Vortex Vipers and Razor's (HD's and the new UHD's), Bushnell (high end), Leupold BX4 Proguides, and Nikon Monarchs. Although the "view" isn't as "wide," the view you do have is significantly clearer and crisper. The colors are truer, less haze (which I appreciated in the wildfire smoke this season), and overall better clarity and light gathering, meaning I glassed 20 minutes longer than my buddy with some Viper HD's.

That advice is worth what you paid for it, but just sharing my thoughts!"

 

[ghott]

@jgill_pursuit - excellent points and I had not thought about less superior glass's "chromatic aberration" - and I didn't even know that's what that blurriness was called (learn something new every day!) Thank you!

 

[nobody]

@jgill_pursuit - excellent points and I had not thought about less superior glass's "chromatic aberration" - and I didn't even know that's what that blurriness was called (learn something new every day!) Thank you!

Not a problem! Glad I could help some! I just like to point that out, since so many people write off the Maven's because of their field of view.

Also, keep in mind that you can "test drive" the Maven's for 2 weeks before actually buying. So you could order some, and test them against other stuff before either deciding to keep them (at which point they charge your card with a discount), mailing them back and buying something else, or returning them and ordering some customs through their custom shop.

My brain is like a black hole of useless information, hopefully you can wade through the crap and find something worthwhile in there! But FWIW, I have been blown away by my Mavens and would buy them time and time again over everything else available.

 

[ropeup79]

Just a tad more than your budget but i am very pleased with my Tract 12.5x50's.

 

[AaronMColeman]

Not the 12x50 but I have the 10x? Maven C3. Absolutely amazing. I’ve compare them side by side to a a couple other brands in the field and I’m going all maven from now on.

 

[AGPank]

I would vote for looking harder at a 10x42 and a tripod. 10x42 are more common and you can more likely find a 10x42 used that is better quality. They will also hold value if you resell/upgrade in the future. You may find Zeiss Conquest, Meopta Meostars, or Nikon HG at your budget. The Nikon HG refurbished models were on sell for $500 earlier this year.

12’s will highlight quality issues more than 10’s is another reason I would avoid a budget 12.

All of this is without knowing type of country you are hunting.

Be patient, watch classifieds on Rokslide, Archery Talk, eBay, samplelist, Birdforum, OfferUp.

If you eat out at work, brown bag it for a month or two to up budget while at it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[gcronin]

I'm looking to upgrade my binoculars within a reasonable budget. I'm coming from an old and cheap pair of Bushnell 12x50's that have served me well. That said, I think any of the below choices would probably be an upgrade - but, like most of you guys, I'm wanting to get the most out of my money spent. I've gotten used to the 12x50 size and magnification - so I'm looking to stay at or very close to that.

Below are the binoculars I've found that are within my budget...with one that I might be able to stretch to, if its actually worth it. My questions for you guys are:
1.) Do any of these really stand out and punch above their price point?
2.) Are there better 12x50 options I've missed that come in at or under the $600 price?

- Nikon Pro Staff 5 12x50 - $225
- Athlon Midas Gen II UHD 12x50 Roof Prism - $400
- Maven C3 12x50 - $425
- Celetron Granite 12x50 - $460
- Vortex Viper HD 12x50 Roof Prism - $560
- Sig Zulu5 12x50 - $580
- and...maybe a stretch at the Leupold BX-4 Pro Guide HD 12x50 - $670

Things that are important to me in a set of binoculars:
- price of at or under $600...obviously I wish I could afford a high-end pair of Swaro's, but I can't at this time
- 10-12x magnification and 50mm objective
- durability (I'm hard on my stuff) and water/fog proof is a must
- clear & bright glass with good low-light performance
- decent field of view and eye relief

Appreciate any and all input - thanks!

Looks like a bunch of great options! If you have any questions on our products, don't hesitate to reach out!

 

[cboom]

Love the Leupold BX-4’s.