First off, let me just start this article by stating that I am a big fan of Simon King and especially love as well as completely respect the work that he does for wildlife conservation. Indeed one of my favorite wildlife TV series of all time is the Big Cat Diary which he was a co-presenter of.
Anyway I have always found what he has to say to be interesting, especially as it is often quite close to my heart and so because of this I subscribe to his Twitter feed. The other day I came across a post of his where he linked to a video review that he had made on the Zeiss Victory SF 10x42 Binoculars, which of course was of instant interest to me.
Zeiss Victory SF 10x42 Binoculars – Review by Simon King
Below is the video and even though it is just over 2 minutes long, I really like the review and wish I had both the confidence and the ability to speak on camera half as well as he can. However and far be it from me to be over critical, but I do think there are a few points that are worth going over so as not to misinform those who may watch it:
Unbiased Opinions?
In this video he starts by saying that he has always been a big fan of Zeiss and their binoculars.
Judging by his celebrity status and the fact that Zeiss themselves use Simon in their marketing, I imagine Zeiss now either pay him to use their products or maybe just give him free samples. Either way, I don’t think there is anything wrong with him saying that he is a fan as I do believe it to be true. The problem is, even if he does buy his own Zeiss binoculars, the fact that he is a lifelong fan of them, means to me that he is already at least slightly biased towards the product.
Anyway to be fair, most people will usually have their favorite brands and so will always lean in a particular direction to some degree. There is nothing wrong with that, so long as what you say about the product in your review is your honest and truthful opinion, which I think Simon does express in this review, it is just that I do feel that some of his facts and opinions in this video are a little erroneous:
Higher magnifications tend to be heavier?
Simon mentions that in the past he has always tended to go for a binocular with a 7x or 8x magnification. This sounds logical to me and nothing wrong with that, but his reason for not selecting a 10x one is somewhat misguided: He says "Higher magnifications tend to be heavier and therefor harder to hold for prolonged periods in the field, you get a wobbly image".
Yes to a very small degree, to increase the magnification, you require thicker lenses, but this amount is very negligible in a pair of binoculars and when increasing the level from 7x to 10x and really not noticeable to be a factor. In fact if we look at the technical specifications of the 8x and 10x42 Zeiss Victory SF, they are listed as both being identical in weight! (780g).
What is true, is the fact that it is harder to keep the image still (or not wobbly!) with higher magnifications. This is because any slight movement you make is magnified even more due to the higher power and not because of any added weight. However even here for the vast majority of people in most circumstances, the difference in image steadiness between an 8x and 10x binocular is very minimal and for me hardly perceptible. However it is one of the main reasons that most marine binoculars have a 7x magnification, but in this application you are using your optics on what is potentially a very unstable platform (boat on rough water), so it makes sense.
I personally feel that the main reason you would opt for a lower magnification like 7x or 8x binocular for wildlife observation and especially birding is because with the lower power you are less "zoomed" into the image and thus have a much wider field of view. This makes it easier to quickly locate your subject and then follow it. So in the case of a small, fast and erratic moving bird in a tree this can be important.
Remarkably & Incredibly Lightweight?
Simon spends a lot of time in this video emphasizing just how lightweight he feels the
Zeiss Victory SF 10x42 Binocular is. For example he says "But what you notice straight away about the SF’s is that they’re remarkably light, incredibly light in the hand and even more so when you bring them up to your eye."
As we have already established and according to Zeiss themselves, these weigh 780g (27.5oz). Whilst this is not heavy, I would not describe them as being a lightweight 42mm binocular.
I have reviewed many 8x42’s and 10x42’s that weigh considerably less. True some of the lightest tend to be cheap instruments that use a lot of plastic parts, but not all.
A few examples include the very high specification Vortex 8x42 Razor HD which I consider to be on the same sort of level as that of the Zeiss Victory SF has a weight of 686g (24.2oz), the mid-high value Celestron 8x42 Granite weighs 24.0ozs (680g), the Pentax 9x42 DCF BR Binoculars weigh 23.5ozs (666g) and the Opticron Verano BGA HD 8x42’s come in at 26ozs (737g).
Indeed I have also tested some equally high end bins that have larger lenses and use the same quality of components (metal parts & magnesium chassis etc) but still manage to weigh less. For example the Pentax ZD 8x43 ED Binoculars with their 43mm objectives have a weight of 25.2ozs (714g) and the Minox HG 8x43 Binoculars come in at only 650g (22.9oz), which is really impressive, especially when they to have slightly larger objectives.
Other than these few observations, I totally agree with Simon and as I said really like the way he comes across with such enthusiasm and confidence. I just wish I could do the same! Also I would like to say that whilst I have not actually been able to use or test the Victory SF yet (big hint to Zeiss), I would love to as I do think that they look like a truly great pair of optics with many great features that I would love to explain and write about.
Cost & Where to Buy
USA
UK
More Info & Further Reading
The post My thoughts on Simon King’s Review of the Zeiss Victory SF 10x42 Binoculars appeared first on Best Binocular Reviews.
$230 Off Vanguard 8x42 & 10x42 Endeavor ED Binoculars
Award Winners
Where to get the Sale Price (& The Rebate)
Now whilst the original Endeavor is still as relevant today as when first released, the newer Endeavor ED II does come with a number of improvements like ED Glass that is Made in Japan (rather than China) that do offer a real performance increase, but they do cost a little more. The great news for us is that Vanguard are also offering their $50 rebate on these as well:
List Price: 
HURRY
Best Discounts for Christmas
Whilst most of the binoculars I review and indeed recommend tend to cost more than $150 / £150, I still come across what I would call cheap binoculars, that in my opinion still perform to a reasonably high level. 
Within this price category you can get some real cracking pairs of bins that will definitely make someone very happy on Christmas morning.
In this section of my Xmas guide to binoculars, I take a look at the very high end of the market.
These compact Pentax binoculars have an ingenious system where the lenses converge on tracks as you focus on near objects, which gives them an incredibly close minimum focusing distance of only 1.6ft, making them an ideal gift for anyone taking a better look at butterflies, flowers, bees or birds from closer distances. 
Here I have two recommendations for Christmas depending on your budget, both from Celestron, the world leaders in great value instruments for astronomy:
Incorporating very high end Japanese glass, these premium Celestron Echelon binoculars are put together by hand in their plant back in the US where the focus is very much on precision and quality.
Costing around $18, weighing only 1 ounce and taking up almost no space at all, the Ultra-Light Binocular Harness is the perfect stocking filler for anyone who owns a pair of binoculars:
If your a searching for a gift for someone who already has a binocular, then take a look at this section that contains many related Christmas gift ideas that I have reviewed:
As we all know that Christmas is really out the kids, but many "kids binoculars" are little more than cheap toys that really do not work. This is fine for very young children, but what if you are looking for a binocular that they can actually use? 
This latest version of the Swarovski EL binocular has as you would expect extremely high end glass and optical coatings that make up what is known as "Swarovision" which includes the use of field flattener lenses to correct field curvature, phase correction and dielectric prism coatings on the prisms as well as being fully-multi coated with their Swarobright lens coatings for the best light transmission possible. 
I thought these were outstanding and up there with the very best binoculars I have ever reviewed in this price range and were fully deserving of the 
Winner of my award in 2013 for the 
Vanguard currently have a 
Sitting well within this price bracket (approx. $240 / £180), these 
Question:
Make no mistake, this is truly a superb bino from 
Basically a smaller version of the binocular above and you can still expect the same very high build quality and components. Thus the relative strengths and weaknesses will largely boil down to it’s smaller size and weight:
Because I have not used these Steiner binoculars, I cannot really comment about the image and you are right, Steiner market their bins under different names in north America, which is a real pain!
Tested by members of the New York police department, these 
Winner of the 
Unlike many adapters that fix directly to the eyepiece, Snypex have separate Connecting Tubes that fit into a recess on the main body of the adapter and is held in place by simply tightening the Axial Locking Knob on the top of the X-Wing.
To get started and before we can talk about how one type of glass is better than another, lets first figure out what dispersion is and what it means in the world of optics:
Achromatic Doublet
An apochromat, or apochromatic lens or lens system usually consists of three elements and brings light of three different frequencies to a common focus. These can produce even better correction of chromatic aberration, combined with improved correction of spherical aberration than the achromatic doublet can. 
Hawke Endurance ED 8x32 Binoculars
Approx price: $190 / £170
Approx price: $77 / £61
Approx price: $180 / £85
Approx price: $260 / £250
Approx price: $2000 / £1800
Approx price: $60 / £55
Approx price: $280 / £300
Approx price: $180 / £144
Approx price: $44 / £64
Approx price: $110 / £135
Approx price: $190 / £200
Approx price: $350 / £500
Approx price: $99 / £500
Approx price: $240 / £270
In recent times the popularity of roof prism (DCF) designed binoculars has exploded to the point that they now vastly outnumber the amount of porro prisms being manufactured and sold. 
Non-Total Internal Reflection
In the US & Canada, I found these sale prices and the trade in offer only at Eagle Optics, however the sale sale prices are also available at Amazon.com, but without the trade-in offer:
For More options: 
10x42 Swarovski SLC’s (new) for $1399
Swarovski 10x32 EL 32 Traveler Binoculars
With the Celestron Granite, you know you are getting a truly excellent pair of bins and at a more than reasonable price. 
This 12x50 Vortex Razor HD is another high end binocular that I can completely recommend without any reservations. 
Whilst I have not reviewed either of these specific models, every pair of 
If you are looking for a very high powered pair of binoculars and don’t want to use a tripod or clamp, then either of these are ideal as the Image stabilization works well. The quality of the optics and their coatings are also excellent. More on 
The Steiner Predator C5’s use a new optical system – they now have new fully multi-coated optics and completely new shock and waterproof housing. The new Predator C5 now has a much higher degree of light transmission, image resolution and color contrast than previously available.
These Steiner binoculars have been designed for hunting, and give you a high power magnification and amazing contrast with a high depth of filed into one. The Predator Pro binocular’s have a unique high contrast lens coating that helps you to more easily distinguish subjects (like deer) against green-colored foliage. This latest Predator model, with the “Pro” designation, offers high light transmission while maintaining optimal levels of contrast.
For example the characteristics that you look for in the very best hunting binocular are pretty much all the same as the best safari binocular. Except for that fact that when going on safari or indeed any holiday, a primary requirement for most users is for them to be compact enough to easily carry in your luggage, so this would obviously eliminate some of the larger hunting binoculars where low light performance is important an thus they will have larger objective lenses. 
For a slightly smaller binocular, with an open bridge body that will make it easier for smaller hands to carry and hold onto then look no further than the Opticron 8x33 Savanna 8x33 Binoculars, that offer incredible vale for money:
