Image stabilized binocular recommendations

[Delfin]

My long suffering bride wants to buy us IS binoculars. The Canon 18x50 look great, but does anyone have experience with these or can recommend another?

 

[Comodave]

I have 14 power Nikons. Not sure if they are still sold or not, but we love them. Have a 7X50 pair of non stabilized that never get used since we both fight over the Nikon.

 

[Delfin]

I have 14 power Nikons. Not sure if they are still sold or not, but we love them. Have a 7X50 pair of non stabilized that never get used since we both fight over the Nikon.

14x?

 

[RobertLeatch]

I recently purchased the Fujinon 12x32 TechnoStabi IS and have been very happy with them. Waterproof (most aren’t) and the Fuijinon IS technology seems better for boats than the Cannon approach. They apparently adjust better for a moving platform vs a moving target. Cannon are considered better for bird watching etc.

 

[Delfin]

Interesting. Are they very heavy?

 

[RobertLeatch]

Not really. They have a battery pack on the strap which can be a little awkward but you get used to it. I’d strongly recommend that you try any binoculars before buying online etc (especially if you wear glasses). There’s a metric that determines how adjustable for glasses they are but forget the name of it.

 

[Delfin]

Not really. They have a battery pack on the strap which can be a little awkward but you get used to it. I’d strongly recommend that you try any binoculars before buying online etc (especially if you wear glasses). There’s a metric that determines how adjustable for glasses they are but forget the name of it.

That is great advice.

 

[Comodave]

14x?

Not sure what they are, they are on the boat in the barn for the winter.

 

[Delfin]

Merci.

 

[RobertLeatch]

Some details here:

https://www.opticsreviewer.com/fujinon-techno-stabi.html

I did also look at the 14 x 40 but they were a little too expensive for me at at the time.

 

[HopCar]

Either the Canon or Fuginon are good binoculars. The Fuginon is larger and heavier than the Canon but it stablizes to 5 degrees and the Canon to about half that. I used to sell Canon. Wish I had bought a pair for myself.

 

[twistedtree]

Once you go stabilized, you'll never go back. You get magnification AND a stable image. We have two pairs of Fujinon, his and hers. They work very well, but always set them on their side, and somewhere where they won't fall. When they are dropped, they break. Don't ask how I know. Ask my wife. And if you drop them a second time, they will break again. She, again, can answer any questions. Now the dropping isn't Fujiu's fault, but their service is awful. Nobody answers the phone, and nobody returns calls. It was pure torture to get them repaired, then I got to do it again. Did I mention that my wife will answer questions? The third time I actually fixed them myself which is a miracle, since at least 50% of the time my attempted repairs end up with smoke and sometimes even flames. She can answer questions about that too, because for some strange reason she still married me after the first fire.

 

[Seevee]

I tried both of the following when they were on sale at B&H:

Fujinon 12x32 Techno-Stabi JR IS,
Canon IS Image Stabilized 8x25

Bought the Fujinon because the admiral likes them and have absolutely NO regrets. The price was right (on sale) and they are great. Should have bought two of them.

We've had no issues with them, but they are a tad battery hungry, but well worth it. Reviews indicate that service is fair, but so far, no problems. Had them for about a year and would buy them again.

 

[DDW]

Either the Canon or Fujinon are good binoculars. The Fuginon is larger and heavier than the Canon but it stablizes to 5 degrees and the Canon to about half that. I used to sell Canon. Wish I had bought a pair for myself.

Fujinon stabilize to 5 degrees and Canon less than one fifth that. About 0.8 deg. That is why Fujinon are generally conceded to be better for use on a boat.

 

[Waterford]

We have and really like the Canon. The Fujinon may have some stabilization advantages as mentioned above, but the Canon is amazing, but not waterproof.

 

[Woodland Hills]

We have the Canon and so far, 9 years, so good. They have been dropped, used and probably abused without failing. We got them in a pawn shop near a commercial harbor (San Pedro) and I guess they were a couple of years old then.

I’ve been considering the Fujinon’s, but did not know they had an external battery. That could be a dealbreaker unless the performance was exceptional......

 

[geoleo]

We have the Canon and so far, 9 years, so good. They have been dropped, used and probably abused without failing. We got them in a pawn shop near a commercial harbor (San Pedro) and I guess they were a couple of years old then.

I’ve been considering the Fujinon’s, but did not know they had an external battery. That could be a dealbreaker unless the performance was exceptional......

Fujinon s new model superceding the 12X32 s eliminates the Batterys on the strap and are lighter cost $600 thru Amazon

 

[Delfin]

Fujinon stabilize to 5 degrees and Canon less than one fifth that. About 0.8 deg. That is why Fujinon are generally conceded to be better for use on a boat.

DDW, could you explain that? I don't think I understand the difference. Does it mean that you can jiggle to 5 degrees with the Fujinon but only . 8 degrees for the Canon?

 

[geoleo]

DDW, could you explain that? I don't think I understand the difference. Does it mean that you can jiggle to 5 degrees with the Fujinon but only . 8 degrees for the Canon?

Fujinon make 2 levels of Stabilized Binocs- the $1000 one (which is very heavy) does 5degrees, the $600 one does 3 degrees.

 

[Delfin]

Once you go stabilized, you'll never go back. You get magnification AND a stable image. We have two pairs of Fujinon, his and hers. They work very well, but always set them on their side, and somewhere where they won't fall. When they are dropped, they break. Don't ask how I know. Ask my wife. And if you drop them a second time, they will break again. She, again, can answer any questions. Now the dropping isn't Fujiu's fault, but their service is awful. Nobody answers the phone, and nobody returns calls. It was pure torture to get them repaired, then I got to do it again. Did I mention that my wife will answer questions? The third time I actually fixed them myself which is a miracle, since at least 50% of the time my attempted repairs end up with smoke and sometimes even flames. She can answer questions about that too, because for some strange reason she still married me after the first fire.

So assuming one isn't married to Mrs. Butterfingers, are they robust enough for boat use?

 

[Woodstock]

I also have the Nikon StabilEyes (same as Fujinon). 14x40 with 4° stabilization. They are remarkable and would not go back to "normal" binocs unless these were not available.

 

[AlanT]

The Canon's are attractive due to pricing. We had a pair and sadly had to ditch them after 6 years when the rubber became so sticky they were useless. We now have the FUjinons - one year in and very happy so farr

 

[Delfin]

I also have the Nikon StabilEyes (same as Fujinon). 14x40 with 4° stabilization. They are remarkable and would not go back to "normal" binocs unless these were not available.

I can't find the Nikon product available on Amazon, or elsewhere, but you're saying they are the same as the Fujinon 14x40?

 

[DDW]

DDW, could you explain that? I don't think I understand the difference. Does it mean that you can jiggle to 5 degrees with the Fujinon but only . 8 degrees for the Canon?

That is correct. 0.8 degrees is plenty for hand shake, but not plenty for a nice seaway.

Fujinon makes 2 models, a 14x40 and a 12x28. Nikon also sells them under their brand (at least they look identical). The knock on the 14x40 is they are heavy, the knock on the 12x28 is they are not waterproof.

 

[IRENE]

After our Steiners were stolen, we bought a pair of Canon 8x25IS. We enjoyed them so much, we now have his and hers units. I probably used mine for an hour today.

They were on the economical side of the Canon range. We would buy again. Once we are out cruising full-time, we will invest in something more.

We are in Cap Sante tonight...is your boat here?

 

[twistedtree]

So assuming one isn't married to Mrs. Butterfingers, are they robust enough for boat use?

I think so. Mine have never had a problem. I don’t baby them, but I do make sure to put them down on their side, not up in end, and in a place where they can’t go walkabout.

 

[Woodstock]

I can't find the Nikon product available on Amazon, or elsewhere, but you're saying they are the same as the Fujinon 14x40?

There is one difference between the Nikon and the Fuji's.
The Nikon has a switch that let's you put it into two modes: land and on-board, whereas the Fujinon is always in on-board mode. The on-board mode is more general, it compensates both for movement of your platform (walking, boat or vehicle movement) AND for movement of your hands, whereas the land mode only compensates for movement of your hands. I think this feature is worthless as I always use the on-board mode.
I did see one on Amazon but it is priced way high. I picked mine up (used) on a boating forum for about $500.

 

[Maerin]

We've had the Canon 12 x 36 IS since we started cruising in '08. We use them EVERY DAY. I like most that they're compact, no awkward battery pack with a wire that will break, they are a shape that's easy to use, not heavy, and about the right magnification to read boat names from a distance. The stabilizing is great, as others have noted, once you have it you'll always pick up the IS set.

My only complaint with the Canon is that the rubberized housing gets gooey and sticky. Have had them rebuilt once in the interim to the tune of 75% cost of new. Bad choice but it snowballed from the original estimate. Canon's service is very responsive, if expensive. The housing was replaced at rebuild, but it is again getting sticky and we've been careful to keep them in a case when not in use. So it's something that is going to happen in time. For that reason, I probably wouldn't repeat purchase, but I love using them if not for that one messy shortcoming.

Friends had the Nikon 14X with the external battery pack, they were terrible. OK optically, but like handling a brick on a string, and the power wire to the flopping battery pack was intermittent. I repaired it, but it's a lousy ergonomic design.

 

[ranger58sb]

Our experience with this one:

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s3/new-fujinon-12x28-binocular-37852.html

We found eye relief, weight, and degree of stabilization to be our most important selection criteria. (YMMV) All those specs are available on each maker's website.

Wifey has said she appreciates my purchase.

Some related threads here:

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s3/binoculars-32879.html
http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s3/binoculars-29565.html
http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s4/binocular-recomendations-21744.html
http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s4/binoculars-3675.html
http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s3/stabilized-binoculars-6018.html

-Chris

 

[twistedtree]

OK, what causes the rubberized coatings on devices to become sticky? I have encountered this on a variety of devices, and it's really annoying.


UV? Residual sun screen? Residual bug replant? Just plane crappy materials?