The best binoculars to take on Safari
Having grown up in Zimbabwe, worked as a Safari Guide in South Africa and always loved wildlife, for me probably the most essential thing you can take on Safari are binoculars. Even for viewing the larger mammals, a good set of binoculars on safari will allow you to appreciate many of the small things that you would have otherwise have missed. Whenever I take out guests on a safari drive, I will always have my binoculars with me. So what binoculars should you get for safari, travel and general wildlife viewing?
This lens will take a look at the options and let you decise what are your best binoculars for safari holidays.
This lens will take a look at the options and let you decise what are your best binoculars for safari holidays.
Safari Binoculars - Most important features
At their most basic level, binoculars are pieces of equipment that bring things closer to you. Binoculars that you would use on a yacht or boat (marine binoculars) will have very different requirements to birding binoculars. So what feature shoud you look out for, for the ultimate binoculars for safari and wildlife viewing?
- Big Zoom - The closer you can get to the wildlife the better. Remember on Safari you are going to be using your binoculars for both animal and bird watching.
- Lightweight Binoculars- especially important if you are also going on a walking safari.
- Small Binoculars - So easy to travel with so the binoculars can be taken with your luggage, preferably you hand luggage.
- Not Too Expensive - Many African Safari, if not all are in third world countries, don't become a target for theft and if they do happen to get stolen or broken during travel they should be replaceable without having to sell the house!
- Robust - By it's very nature traveling and an African Safari can be tough on your binoculars as well as any other equipment you have so they need to be able to take a few knocks.
What do the numbers mean on the Binoculars
What are two numbers that you always see when looking at binoculars, such as 12 x 50, 10 x 26?
The First Number
The first number eg 12, or 10 is the magnification power of the binocular, so 10 is 10x magnification.
The second Number
(26 or 50, for example) is the diameter of the objective lens (large lens) in millimeters.
For a very good explanation on how these numbers are important check out my page on The best Binoculars for Safari on my Safari Holiday Guide website.
The First Number
The first number eg 12, or 10 is the magnification power of the binocular, so 10 is 10x magnification.
The second Number
(26 or 50, for example) is the diameter of the objective lens (large lens) in millimeters.
For a very good explanation on how these numbers are important check out my page on The best Binoculars for Safari on my Safari Holiday Guide website.
Cheap Binoculars for Safari?
What should you pay for your Safari Binoculars?
This is quite a hard question to answer, and is almost like asking how long is a piece of string because everybody has a different idea of what "a lot of money" is.
I would however say that you very often do get what you pay for and some of the most important features of a great pair of binoculars for safari are they have to be robust (good quality), small, lightweight and have a large zoom with good quality lenses, all of these are expensive features.
On the other hand I feel that it is important to remember that you will be going traveling with your binoculars in poor countries where because of the travel and the locations, the risk of breakage, loss or theft is increased.
So my advice would be to get as good a quality of binoculars as you can but at a price that you can afford to loose!
I have used very cheap binoculars in the past, sure they magnify an image but when you compare them side by side with a more expensive pair there is NO comparison, because the more you pay, the higher the resolution, the finer the detail and the greater the pleasure. So dont skimp too much and go for the very cheap binoculars, you will regret it when you are sitting on the back of that landrover looking at all that game in the distance! That also does not mean that you have to buy the top of the range Swarovski binoculars, if you do have that kind of money to spend and you are going to use you binoculars often go ahead, Swarovski and Leica make incredible binoculars and you will be buying the best. But somewhere in between there is a middle ground and personally that is my advice to where you should be aiming for.
This is quite a hard question to answer, and is almost like asking how long is a piece of string because everybody has a different idea of what "a lot of money" is.
I would however say that you very often do get what you pay for and some of the most important features of a great pair of binoculars for safari are they have to be robust (good quality), small, lightweight and have a large zoom with good quality lenses, all of these are expensive features.
On the other hand I feel that it is important to remember that you will be going traveling with your binoculars in poor countries where because of the travel and the locations, the risk of breakage, loss or theft is increased.
So my advice would be to get as good a quality of binoculars as you can but at a price that you can afford to loose!
I have used very cheap binoculars in the past, sure they magnify an image but when you compare them side by side with a more expensive pair there is NO comparison, because the more you pay, the higher the resolution, the finer the detail and the greater the pleasure. So dont skimp too much and go for the very cheap binoculars, you will regret it when you are sitting on the back of that landrover looking at all that game in the distance! That also does not mean that you have to buy the top of the range Swarovski binoculars, if you do have that kind of money to spend and you are going to use you binoculars often go ahead, Swarovski and Leica make incredible binoculars and you will be buying the best. But somewhere in between there is a middle ground and personally that is my advice to where you should be aiming for.
Binocular Reviews Website
Best Binoculars & Binocular Reviews Website
A new site has recently be launched with the aim of providing you with as much details as possible about each binocular, thus enabling you to make an informed decision when purchasing your binoculars.Best Binoculars & Binocular Reviews Website
What really jumped out at me is the website owner is a past Safari Guide and also reviews what make good binoculars for Safari, a subject that you may have guessed is pretty close to my heart!
Image Stabilization Binoculars for Safaris
Depending on where you are in the world, you will either spell it "Stabilization" or the UK spelling of "Stabilisation", but what ever the case there are currently there are only three manufacturers that I know of that make image stabilization binoculars and probably the best for safaris are the ones produced by Canon.Canon IS Binoculars
The range of Canon stabilized binoculars includes the Canon 8x25 IS, Canon 10x30 IS, Canon 12x36 IS II, Canon 15x50 IS All Weather, 18x50 IS All Weather and the 10 x 42L IS WP
Vari-Angle Prism Image Stabilization
The Canon IS binoculars use technology that was initially developed for their camcorders and then later added to their binoculars. Canon IS Binoculars use Vari-Angle Prism type of image stabilization, inside the binoculars there are two sensors detect horizontal and vertical shaking respectively. The two Vari-Angle Prisms in both the left and right telescopes are controlled by a microprocessor to instantly adjust refraction angle of the incoming light. This system is used in all Canons IS Binoculars.
To start the Image stabilisation feature you have to press a button on top of the binoculars. The Canon IS binoculars do need batteries and this does add to the weight of them, although having said that the excellent Canons 10x30 IS weighs only 600 grams.
Do Image Stabilization binoculars work?
The short answer is YES, to see them in action check out this video I found on Image Stabilization Binoculars
Steiner 8x42 Merlin Binoculars
Birdwatching and Wildlife Binoculars
Whilst the Steiner 8x42 Merlin Binoculars were designed as birding binoculars, they also have all the right features to make them excellent for viewing wildlife and thus make great safari binoculars. Remember when you go on safari, it is not only the large game you should look at Africa has some of the most exciting bird life anywhere in the world. So lets go through some of the features that I think that make them some of the best binoculars for safaris:These Steiner Merlin binoculars have a light weight alloy body that considering it's 42mm objective lens, there are fairly compact and thus not only will they easily fit in with your luggage, they will also be fairly comfortable carrying about with you on safari or birdwatching. Interestingly the brown body colour has, according to Steiner been developed so as to be least noticeable to birds, meaning you are less lightly to frighten them away with a sudden flash or a bright coloured object. I feel that this feature would work equally well on Safari, where it is always advisable to wear neutral, earth coloured clothing so as not to frighten the wildlife away.
The 8x magnification of the binoculars is adequate, but where this really works is the excellent field of view of 342 feet at 1,000 yards which basically means how wide your view is at 1000 yards. This is great for keeping fast moving birds in your field of view as well and so could be good for viewing large herds of wildlife or if you are lucky enough to see a cheetah on a hunt! Larger zoom binoculars tend to have a smaller field of view.
The large 42mm objective lens (The big lens at the end of the binoculars) means that they let in loads of light, making them work really well in low light conditions, great for sun-downer safari game drives then!
On top of this the Steiner 8x42 Merlin Binoculars are waterproof and have a tough durable covering that should last you a lifetime. If not as far as I know all Steiner Binoculars come with a 10 year warranty.
In summery I would highly recommend the Steiner 8x42 Merlin Binoculars to take on a safari holiday.
Buy the Steiner 8x42 Merlin Binoculars from Amazon
Steiner 8x42 Merlin Binocular
Amazon Price: Too low to display (as of 12/31/2009) 
Great Safari Binoculars on Amazon
I have often found both camera's and binoculars on Amazon that whilst they may not always be the cheapest (but often are), you have the piece of mind knowing that you are dealing with a real company and not a man in a shed!
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Safari Steiner Binoculars on eBay
Steiner are for me some of the best binoculars for Safari, below are a few that are on Ebay, perhaps you can pick up a good deal.
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
Katmai Wind River Binoculars from Leupold
Leupold scopes are considered to be some of the best in the world. but you may not know that they also produce some excellent quality binoculars.Leupold is an family owned American company that has been designing, machining, and assembling precision optical instruments for over a hundred years,
Leupold Wind River Binoculars
The whole range of Wind River Binoculars from Leupold are designed and optimized for wildlife and outdoor observation. They are sometimes also known as the Green Ring range, as all have green rings on the body to identify them. Wilst they are all good for wildlife observation, not all are ideal for taking on safari.
Within the whole range of wind river binoculars, the Leupold Katmai Binoculars are probably the best suited to safaris. This is because they have smaller objective lenses (32mm), than most standard full size binoculars (42mm)
This not only means that these binoculars are more compact, but they are also lighter. The smaller size does not affect their performance as they still have all the same features and quality lens coatings and prisms of the full size versions and still have very similar light transmission qualities.
Click the link for an in-depth review of Leupold Wind River Binoculars on the Best Binoculars and Binocular Reviews website.
Brunton Echo Binoculars for Safari
As you may have guessed by reading the rest of this page, my favorite brand of binoculars, especially when I think of binoculars to take on safari, are Steiner's. But I was introduced to a less well known brand the other day that I think are well worth a considering.Brunton is an American company based in Riverton, Wyoming and they are probably best known for their quality outdoor and camping equipment, they manufacture things like compasses, portable stoves and solar heating devices.
The Brunton range of binoculars is also interesting, especially the Brunton Echo Binocular series, that sit just above entry level, but still have many features that you would expect to find in far more expensive optics including Bak-4 prism glass with fully multi-coated lenses. They are also fully waterproof as well as nitrogen filled to prevent fogging up.
The series consists of about 10 binoculars in three sizes, Full size, Medium and compact binoculars.
It is the medium 8x32 and 10x32 Echo binoculars, that are of real interest to those looking for a pair to take on safari as I feel that they offer a good compromise between size, quality and brightness of image and of course price.
For more information and full review, take a look at the Brunton Echo Binoculars on my best binoculars reviews website.
Vote for the Best Binoculars for Safaris
This is the fun part where you get to vote and tell me what are your favourite binoculars for safaris, please feel free to add to the list.
I will then review the most popular Binoculars for Safari Holidays
Steiner 8x42 Merlin Binocular
The best brightness and widest field of view of th more...1 point
Steiner 10x42 Merlin Binocular
If you need high performance for faster discovery, more...1 point
Leupold Katmai 10X32 Compact Binoculars B
Katmai 10x32mm binoculars offer powerful magnifica more...1 point
Steiner 235 10x26 Safari Pro Binocular
The 10x26 Safari Pro represents a bold new compact more...0 points
Steiner 8x30 Safari Binocular
The 8 x 30 is the perfect all purpose outdoor comp more...0 points
Steiner 8x22 Safari Binocular
If your outdoor adventures demand high performance more...0 points
Steiner 8x30 Safari Pro Compact Binoculars 444
Steiner 8x30 Safari Pro Compact Binoculars 4440 points
Canon 12x36 Image Stabilization II Binoculars w/Case, Neck Strap & Batteries
12x36 binoculars with image stabilizer0 points
Canon 10x30 Image Stabilization Binoculars w/Case, Neck Strap & Batteries
10x30 binoculars with image stabilizer0 points
Nikon Action 8x40 Binocular
Nikon 8x40 Action Binocular - Precision aligned sh more...0 points
Steiner 8x32 Merlin Binocular
If you need high performance for faster discovery, more...0 points
Steiner 10x32 Merlin Binocular
Steiner Merlin 10 x 32 mm Binoculars are top-fligh more...0 points
Swarovski EL Binocular 10x42
The universal distance viewer: for both daylight o more...0 points
Swarovski EL Binocular 8.5x42
The universal distance viewer: for both daylight o more...0 points
Safari Binoculars - Links
Best Binocular Websites
Below are a few other resources that I have managed to find on the web that may help you in your quest to find the best wildlife safari binoculars
- Safari Binocular reviews: A guide to choosing and buying Binoculars for Safari, Game watching and Bird watching
- Self-focusing binocular reviews, night vision binoculars, german military binoculars with so many types this is a guide on what all the numbers mean and which pair of binoculars is suitable for wildlife safaris, birdwatching and where you can buy them.
- The night vision binoculars review - a guide to night vision binoculars for sale
- Night vision binoculars review, everything about night vision binoculars, night vision monoculars, infrared night vision binoculars and night vision binoculars camera in the uk
- The Best Binoculars & Binocular Reviews Website
- A new Website that includes buying Guides and Reviews on the Best Binoculars and Monoculars for Bird Watching, Wildlife and Safaris, Sailing, Nightvision and more
- Best Binocular Reviews
- Best Binocular Reviews
Helping you find the best binoculars for your needs - Guide to Buying Bird Watching Binoculars
- Advice on buying a set of binoculars for Birdwatching from a Safari Guide, including price comparison and binocular reviews helping you find the best birding binoculars for your needs
Binoculars on Wikipedia
What Wikipedia has to say about binoculars
Category: File - :Binocularp.svg|thumb|300px|A typical Porro prism binoculars design
Binoculars, field glasses or binocular telescopes are a pair of identical or mirror-symmetrical telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point accurately in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes with binocular vision when viewing distant objects. Most are sized to be held using both hands, although sizes vary widely from opera glasses to large pedestal mounted military models. Many different abbreviations are used for binoculars, including glasses, binos and bins.
Unlike a monocular telescope, binoculars give users a three-dimensional image: for nearer objects the two views, presented to each of the viewer's eyes from slightly different viewpoints, produce a merged view with depth perception. There is no need to close or obstruct one eye to avoid confusion, as is common with monocular telescopes. The use of both eyes also significantly increases the perceived visual acuity, even at greater distances where depth perception is not apparent.
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- jvcronje jvcronje Nov 17, 2008 @ 2:54 pm
- Another good lens. Yet again you speak from experience, which is excellent.
by chirundu
I now live in the UK, I was born and raised in Zimbabwe. I have a varied life work-wise, here in the UK I work on SEO (Search Engine Optimization) as... (more)
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