Bushnell 10 X 42 15-1042 Binoculars

I have bought binoculars before, but tended to be priced at sub 40UKP. I have had 8x30 before which were similar to these, and have purchased compact zoom binoculars. With the cheaper models I have seen chromatic aberrations on hard edges, they can also become unaligned. Here I was looking for a waterproof model, fairly compact but with a 40mm lens diameter (the larger the lens diameter the brighter the image). This model has roof prisms. They are also covered in rubber so can withstand some knocks, although with all optical equipment you should treat them with care.
The lens covers can be attached to the strap, on the 42mm end the lens covers are attached to the body so you cannot easily loose them.

The design is very robust, they are quite heavy at around 1kg. But they give the impression they are designed to last. Image quality and focus is very good. Although this is clearly a subjective statement on my behalf. I could not detect any image quality problems. The depth of field is not very high, so even at 60ft moving to focus on something 70ft away you need to refocus.

The only downside is the magnification level. So I would encourage people to give this some consideration. The question is whether you go for 10x or 8x in my opinion. At 10x and holding the binoculars up with both hands you will see the image moving. Because your hands are moving almost imperceptably. It will however affect your vision over a period of time as your eyes are constantly compensating. At 8x magnification the effect will still be there, but to a lesser extent. Note that this is not a feature just applicable to these binoculars, but all binoculars that do not feature image stabilisation.

If your application requires you to look at the same thing for several minutes at a time, I would move to 8x. If you are looking for a general set which are powerful then 10x are great. Another consideration which is related is it will be easier to locate a moving image in the sky with an 8x magnification than 10x because the field of view is wider at 8x.

The lens end that you look through (sorry cannot recall the technical name) have rubber cups that can be screwed in to compensate for people that wear glasses so you don't need to take your glasses off. I could not get on with this. Screw them out which maintains a distance between the lens and the eye (when you are not wearing glasses) and they were perfect. They also have eye correction as well which is standard with most binoculars.

I am sounding as though I am not happy with them. This is not true, for my casual and general use these do everything I need them to do. The design is robust, the image quality very good. If you look in detail at the Bushnell range they get progressively more expensive. It is not clear to me whether a pair that costs 200UKP are 2x better than a pair purchased at 100UKP. They also get a lot more expensive than this.

I bought Bushnell because of their reputation in the market. Having now got a pair of them I am pleased about the build quality and image quality, my only criticism is the weight which is not huge at 1Kg, but equally not featherweight hence 4 stars vs 5.

A great pair of binoculars. Gas sealed to prevent them fogging. Great twist out eye cups. And superb optics.
I have compared these bins to others a friend has with similar magnification - those cost 3 times as much as the Bushnells... And no, they were certainly not any better.

In short, a nice lightweight pair of binoculars that should see you through many years of viewing, no matter your hobby.

I was attracted to these binoculars because of their waterproof capabilities. My partner and i were going to the west of Scotland and seeing the islands and we thought it would be good to have a waterproof pair becuase of spending much time on boats and in changeable weather.
I saved about 25% on the current purchase price as they were on offer at the time. As usual i recieved speedy service from Amazon. I was pleased with the quality of the build and liked the built on lens caps (my other binoculars had small caps to put on which got lost with time)and the good quality case. The binoculars were very solid looking and are faced with rubber, which is textured in places to help grip.
I took them to test them to a local beauty spot called Clent Hills, to test them prior to my holiday and on this, and every subsequent occasion, i have found them to produce very clear images, be easy to focus and use, even for glasses wearers like myself and nice to not have them fog in heavy rain!
I had a problem with the focussing mechanism and recieved excellent support from JJ Vickers and Sons (Bushnell's UK importer) and had a repair for free. These binoculars have a lifetime warranty.
Overall, I am very impressed and the only thing i wish, is that they were smaller at times, to fit in with my camera bag or to slip in the pocket, but they are better made than others i have owned!!