Looking for reasonably priced, good qualities binoculars

[shelltree (Shelley)]

I have been looking on Andrew's Communications and am deciding between three options for a set of binoculars.

There is the high mag 15x60 binos (Andrew's brand name), fully coated, BAK4 prisms and very light at just 1kg ($79)

10x60 high contrast binos (Andrew's brand name), fully coated, BAK4 prisms and also weighing 1kg at $49

And last but not least 12x50 binos (Andrew's brand name), fully multi-coated to level IV on BAK4 prisms and objective lenses, long eye relief, weighing in at 1.2kg (so a bit heavier than the other two) at $49

I have read the beginner's bino guide on here and I am under the impression that multi coated is better and of course a higher mag and diameter will always be a plus (besides the weight factor). I have also read that BAK4 prisms are "the best" but I'm not sure what "multi coated to level IV" means exactly.

Just wondering if anyone has purchased either three of these pair of binos or can help me understand the features a little better to make a good decision?

Thanks very much

Shell

[stevemac]

Hi Shelley,
I think you might find that Andrews has sold out of some of those Bino's that you are after.
I've found a blurb on the Chinese made Binoculars and coatings that you were after (attached below) - not sure if its any good, however it was linked to the wealth of information on the "Cloudy Nights" forum relating to Bino's.
I've recently purchased the 15x70's from Andrews and they seemed to be OK, but defitnlety need a tripo dor hard surface. I compared them to my more expensive 9x63's and there did not seem to be lot of difference to my untrained eye's. I've also recently purchased the Andrews 12x60's so that I have a smaller easier to handle set for fast looking and locating, they haven't arrived yet, so unfortunately I can't help with an opinion there.
Try using the search function on this site for the Bino various sizes - I found a heap of information here and on Cloudy Nights.
Hope it all goes Ok.
Steve

Optical coating information

We've found there is a lot of mis-information about the coatings of the binoculars made in China. Since different coating configurations lead to very different prices, we feel the need to make some explanation on the coatings.

Firstly, we should know that a side of binoculars includes at least 8 lens: two lens for the objective, two prisms and 4 lens for eyepiece. Some lens (elements) are cemented together. For one element lens, it's a singlet; for two elements cemented together, it's a doublet; for three elements cemented together, it's a triplet.

As seen on the pic., for a side of a typical binoculars, there are a doublet objective, two prisms, andhttp://www.binocularschina.com/image/coating.jpg three lens for the eyepiece: two singlets and one doublet. The surfaces to be coated are the ones that the light transmit through. As seen on the pic., for one side of the binoculars, the glass-to-air light-transmitting surfaces are: 2 surfaces for the objectives, two long sides of the two prisms, 6 surfaces for the eyepiece, totally 10 surfaces per side. so, a typical binoculars has 20 glass-to-air surfaces to be coated.

Then, below are the coating options you can choose from.

Option I: Magnesium Fluoride coating on 16 glass-to-air surfaces: 4 for two objectives, 12 (6 per side) for 6 eyepieces (3 per side). The four long sides of the four prisms are not coated - it costs more to coat a prism than an objective or an eyepiece. The coating is only one layer usually in blue color. These binoculars are usually marketed as "fully coated" in the international markets.

Option II: Broadband multi-coatings (5-7 layers usually in green color) on the 4 glass-to-air surfaces of the two objectives, and 4 surfaces of the two outmost (ocular) eyepieces (one per side). Magnesium Fluoride coating on the other surfaces: 4 long sides of the 4 prisms and 8 glass-to-air surfaces of the 4 eyepieces (the lens in-between the outmost eyepieces and the prisms). To sum up, broadband multi-coatings on 8 surfaces, one layer Magnesium Fluoride coating on 12 surfaces. These binoculars are usually markets as "multi-coated" in the international markets.

Option III: Broadband multi-coatings on all the surfaces except 4 long sides of the 4 prisms one which there are still Magnesium Fluoride coatings. It costs MUCH more to put broadband multi-coatings on a long side of the prism than on an objective or eyepiece. These binoculars are markets as "fully multi-coated" in the international markets.

Option IV: Broadband multi-coatings on all the surfaces including 4 long sides of the 4 prisms. This is the ultimate coating solution which costs at least 15 times more than the option I, 5 times more than the option II, 50% more than the option III.

Most of the dealers carry the Chinese binoculars with Option I, a few carry the ones with Option II and III, few carry the ones with Option IV.

Actually, to most of the users, binoculars coated as Option I is already good enough in daylight. But, to some critical users like amateur astronomers, binoculars with Option II, III or even IV is apparently preferred. And, you will also have to make the decision based on whether your targeted market is very quality-demanding or price-sensitive. The prism is alike: Bak4 prism costs more than Bk7 prism - Bk7 prism is fine to most of the users, but, to some "picky" users, Bak4 prism is a must.

[OneOfOne (Trevor)]

The only problem I would see is the magnification of 12x may be a bit difficult for hand held, I had 11x70's and they were borderline on being able to hand hold them.

[Gem (Grant)]

Of the options you give I would go the 10x60. I don't know much about the coatings, however 10x60 is better than 10x50. I wouldn't go higher than 10x magnification for binoculars unless you have arms of steel or a mount. Usually I find 7x50 or 10x60 or 12x70 the best ratio of magificaiton to aperture.
IMHO