7dayshop.com have some 10 x 25 bins on offer this week, I'm sure there not the best but for £4.29 or £3.99 for more than 1 they are worth a punt. Postage is free unless you choose priority service.
10x25 magnification and of the double-hinged opera glasses type construction you may be familiar with. I always find this double-hinging system fiddly to get right for the distance between my eyes (inter-pupiliary distance!) but once set they don't need altering until you fold them away. They are much more robust and heavier (175g) than I was expecting as the body is silver metal with the metal barrels armoured in black rubber. The focussing wheel is tight and responsive. Also has fold down eye cups for spectacle wearers and independent eyepiece focus.
They come in a cloth carrying case together with a fairly naff thin cord lanyard and a tiny cleaning cloth.
Optically they are not too bad at all and the lenses are said to be multi-coated although I could see no colour cast on the glass. I had a brief play with them this afternoon in fairly dismal weather and thought they looked reasonably bright given the conditions. The minimum focus is ~5m and field of view 101m/1000m.
Needless to say they are much too good for my grandson and they will sit by the window overlooking the garden feeders.
OK, I wouldn't take them out in a downpour but what do you want for £4.29 including postage. Bloody hell, there's a 1 year guarantee as well!
I've just ordered 2 more pairs (OK, the grandson might get one of these) thus getting them for the even cheaper price of £3.99/pair for buying in bulk!
Cheers, John
Thanks for the review John, mine must still be with postman pat, I thought they would be ok as other peoples reviews were good and as you say for 4quid you can't go wrong really. Like you i ordered two pair, one for the car and one for the feeders in the garden. I ordered one each of the green and blue ones which i found are 3.99 in singles.
-- Edited by brandon mulhern on Saturday 31st of July 2010 09:13:34 PM
John Rayner said
Fri Jul 30 10:11 PM, 2010
brandon mulhern wrote:
7dayshop.com have some 10 x 25 bins on offer this week, I'm sure there not the best but for £4.29 or £3.99 for more than 1 they are worth a punt. Postage is free unless you choose priority service.
10x25 magnification and of the double-hinged opera glasses type construction you may be familiar with. I always find this double-hinging system fiddly to get right for the distance between my eyes (inter-pupiliary distance!) but once set they don't need altering until you fold them away. They are much more robust and heavier (175g) than I was expecting as the body is silver metal with the metal barrels armoured in black rubber. The focussing wheel is tight and responsive. Also has fold down eye cups for spectacle wearers and independent eyepiece focus.
They come in a cloth carrying case together with a fairly naff thin cord lanyard and a tiny cleaning cloth.
Optically they are not too bad at all and the lenses are said to be multi-coated although I could see no colour cast on the glass. I had a brief play with them this afternoon in fairly dismal weather and thought they looked reasonably bright given the conditions. The minimum focus is ~5m and field of view 101m/1000m.
Needless to say they are much too good for my grandson and they will sit by the window overlooking the garden feeders.
OK, I wouldn't take them out in a downpour but what do you want for £4.29 including postage. Bloody hell, there's a 1 year guarantee as well!
I've just ordered 2 more pairs (OK, the grandson might get one of these) thus getting them for the even cheaper price of £3.99/pair for buying in bulk!
Cheers, John
John Rayner said
Thu Jul 29 10:47 PM, 2010
Ian,
The Numbrella, being fully enclosed, would need 2 holes cutting into it to for binocular use. Here's a Japanese chappie demonstrating a much more useful system. I think this model is called the Dumbrella.
Your cheap 'bog' binoculars can be easily waterproofed by smearing them with Vaseline or by using an open umberella. Simply stuff the handle of an opened umberella in your breast pocket for hands free usage-a technique used by top birders in South American rain forests, so I have been told. Guaranteed to stop your bins turning to mush!
John Rayner said
Wed Jul 28 4:41 PM, 2010
Mark Rigby wrote:
Ian McKerchar wrote:
Or alternatively two empty toilet roll centres held together with elastic bands
For sale.
2 toilet roll centres. VGC. ONO. First to see will buy! £4.50 P+P. Send me a PM to make me an offer. No time wasters. Elastic bands available,price on request.
Short Review.
Don't knock these DIY binocular kits. Magnification may not be too great but there is absolutely no degradation in image quality. They have a huge 'exit pupil' and come 80% Nitrogen filled. Unlike models which cost £100s, or even £1000s per pair, there is no colour-fringing. Fussy focussing wheels that get stuck are a thing of the past. There is no need for costly rubber bands either as each tube can easily be held to each eye then stowed in side jacket pockets, for convenience simply write a large L and R on each tube. Talking of convenience, they fit well in this modern throw-away-goods society as, depending on your toilet usage, you could easily make 2 or 3 pairs per week.
Cheers, John
Mark Rigby said
Wed Jul 28 4:15 PM, 2010
Ian McKerchar wrote:
Or alternatively two empty toilet roll centres held together with elastic bands
For sale.
2 toilet roll centres. VGC. ONO. First to see will buy! £4.50 P+P. Send me a PM to make me an offer. No time wasters. Elastic bands available,price on request.
JOHN TYMON said
Wed Jul 28 12:55 PM, 2010
Rob Thorpe wrote:
Ian McKerchar wrote:
Or alternatively two empty toilet roll centres held together with elastic bands
Since the tropical-style downpours of the last few weeks, the focus wheel on my Nikons has packed in... maybe they're made of bog-roll centres too...?
WD-40
Rob Thorpe said
Tue Jul 27 8:13 PM, 2010
Ian McKerchar wrote:
Or alternatively two empty toilet roll centres held together with elastic bands
Since the tropical-style downpours of the last few weeks, the focus wheel on my Nikons has packed in... maybe they're made of bog-roll centres too...?
John Rayner said
Tue Jul 27 8:03 PM, 2010
Ian McKerchar wrote:
Or alternatively two empty toilet roll centres held together with elastic bands
Thanks for the alert Brandon, I've just ordered a pair for my 2 year old grandson to play with. He's just getting interested in the birds in our garden so these seem ideal at £4.29 and free postage. I'll let you know if I could have made a better pair out of toilet rolls in due course.
Cheers, John
brandon mulhern said
Tue Jul 27 6:52 PM, 2010
LOL I'm sure there not that bad!! Besides my bogend bins are no good in the rain.........
Ian McKerchar said
Tue Jul 27 6:46 PM, 2010
Or alternatively two empty toilet roll centres held together with elastic bands
brandon mulhern said
Tue Jul 27 6:40 PM, 2010
7dayshop.com have some 10 x 25 bins on offer this week, I'm sure there not the best but for £4.29 or £3.99 for more than 1 they are worth a punt. Postage is free unless you choose priority service.
link to website
Thanks for the review John, mine must still be with postman pat, I thought they would be ok as other peoples reviews were good and as you say for 4quid you can't go wrong really. Like you i ordered two pair, one for the car and one for the feeders in the garden. I ordered one each of the green and blue ones which i found are 3.99 in singles.
-- Edited by brandon mulhern on Saturday 31st of July 2010 09:13:34 PM
Well they came today.
10x25 magnification and of the double-hinged opera glasses type construction you may be familiar with. I always find this double-hinging system fiddly to get right for the distance between my eyes (inter-pupiliary distance!) but once set they don't need altering until you fold them away. They are much more robust and heavier (175g) than I was expecting as the body is silver metal with the metal barrels armoured in black rubber. The focussing wheel is tight and responsive. Also has fold down eye cups for spectacle wearers and independent eyepiece focus.
They come in a cloth carrying case together with a fairly naff thin cord lanyard and a tiny cleaning cloth.
Optically they are not too bad at all and the lenses are said to be multi-coated although I could see no colour cast on the glass. I had a brief play with them this afternoon in fairly dismal weather and thought they looked reasonably bright given the conditions. The minimum focus is ~5m and field of view 101m/1000m.
Needless to say they are much too good for my grandson
OK, I wouldn't take them out in a downpour but what do you want for £4.29 including postage. Bloody hell, there's a 1 year guarantee as well!
I've just ordered 2 more pairs (OK, the grandson might get one of these) thus getting them for the even cheaper price of £3.99/pair for buying in bulk!
Cheers, John
The Numbrella, being fully enclosed, would need 2 holes cutting into it to for binocular use. Here's a Japanese chappie demonstrating a much more useful system. I think this model is called the Dumbrella.
Cheers, John
http://geekadelphia.com/2008/02/29/the-nubrella-hands-free-umbrella-promises-everyone-will-hate-you/
Short Review.
Don't knock these DIY binocular kits. Magnification may not be too great but there is absolutely no degradation in image quality. They have a huge 'exit pupil' and come 80% Nitrogen filled. Unlike models which cost £100s, or even £1000s per pair, there is no colour-fringing. Fussy focussing wheels that get stuck are a thing of the past. There is no need for costly rubber bands either as each tube can easily be held to each eye then stowed in side jacket pockets, for convenience simply write a large L and R on each tube. Talking of convenience, they fit well in this modern throw-away-goods society as, depending on your toilet usage, you could easily make 2 or 3 pairs per week.
Cheers, John
For sale.
2 toilet roll centres. VGC. ONO. First to see will buy! £4.50 P+P. Send me a PM to make me an offer. No time wasters. Elastic bands available,price on request.
WD-40
Since the tropical-style downpours of the last few weeks, the focus wheel on my Nikons has packed in... maybe they're made of bog-roll centres too...?
Thanks for the alert Brandon, I've just ordered a pair for my 2 year old grandson to play with. He's just getting interested in the birds in our garden so these seem ideal at £4.29 and free postage. I'll let you know if I could have made a better pair out of toilet rolls in due course.
Cheers, John