Has anyone used this binocular for safari in Africa? Is it light weight? Any suggestions?
293492
Yes, I bought two for a trip to Kruger Park, South Africa - one 8x42 and one 10x42. I did not find weight to be a problem because we were always in a vehicle when game viewing. You can't go on hikes when there are lions around! I liked them because they are robust, waterproof and the lens caps are attached (two fit on the binoculars and two attached to the strap). I found the 8x42 to be more practical, especially when viewing from a moving vehicle on bumpy roads.
1629775
I love mine. I have caught birds in flight (Grand Canyon, Warwick Castle, England). I do not know how it would work at sporting events. I have taken evening shots w/o flash, indoors and outdoors. I had two lenses before and it was a pain. Now I can go from wide angle to zoom and I love it.
1723237
I like the SL 1 for general photography, the smaller size and lighter weight would be good for packing in the field. It has a 'cropped' sensor which gives a telephoto factor of 1.6, so a 50 MM lens acts like an 80 MM and 200 MM like a 320 MM, but smaller sensor size means less 'light on film' and might be a problem in low light situations. You might need a longer lens for birds 'a couple hundred feet away' it would be nice to check the lens out in a store or if you know someone with a similar set up.
881578
I don't know. I ended up not using it because once I bought it, it seemed too fussy to use. I was using the binos and switching back and forth between them and my camera on African photo safari. Mostly just used the standard "around the neck" strap.
1052129
I got the Nikon 18-140 mm lens for a present along with the Nikon 5200 camera. What a great combination!!! I'm at Disneyworld this week and on the Safari I took a series of photo's of the lioness a hundred feet away at least, from a bumpy vehicle, and I could see each individual whisker on it's face. I am more than satisfied with this lens. I recommend it without any reservations. The focus was right on and
1491657
I have been very pleased...even seems to do well at dusk. It is my go to lens as well...still light enough to carry without a tripod, but not so darn heavy as the 500 lenses.
1713858
The eye piece view is crisp and clear, had problems at first getting them to focus but playing with them I found that if I use my 2x Barlow lens the focus was great, so if you think this might be a problem I would suggest you take this advice when choosing your lenses. I ordered two 12mm lenses to go with the bino viewer and it cut it down to a 6mm because of the 2x Barlow.
20816
So far (4 mo.), I've been pleased with this binocular. It seems to be sturdy and well-built, having a nice rubberized coating (though not water-proof). It is fairly heavy, but I tend to equate that with being well-built. The focus is easy and smooth and the image is good enough for me at all magnifications (I viewed a bridge that's at least 2 miles from my viewing location). The rubber eyecap allows use with glasses, but I still tend to remove mine before using the binoculars. The zoom works well, but a tripod is almost a necessity for the higher powers. I expected a collar-like zooming mechanism, but found a lever at the base of the right eyepiece. It just seems a bit strange to me and I hope it lasts as long as the rest of structure. While fully functional, the eyepiece and objective lens covers are a bit cheesy. They're designed to be attached to the neckstrap, but I found them cumbersome, so I just use them as dust covers at home. Also, the soft carrying bag has no strap, but the binocular's iconic "NIKON" strap works well as a carrying strap when the binoculars are in the case and the case cover is Velcro-shut. All-in-all, I'm pleased with this binocular.
124362
These are great light weight easy to carry and reasonably wide field binoc. Great for the bird watcher to have along "in case" during non-birding travel. Excellent as carry or "spotting" binocs before switching to more powerful (and narrow field) field glasses
1433502
I have been using Bird's Eye in Côte d'Ivoire. It is marginal although much better than anything else I have found for this part of the world..
1945789
I use my 300MM f4 for bird photography and I usually have it coupled with the 1.4 teleconverter. The great thing about this setup is that I can shoot it hand-held and it's not too heavy to carry around. I have a D600 body and I typically shoot at 800+ ISO with fast shutter speeds (&gt;=1/2000). I get great sharpness without a tripod or VR. This lens is great - super-sharp, quick AF, and light enough to carry around all the time. I recommend it - get the 1.4TC too.
1429330
I think it would work great for that. The optics are amazing...I took it on a safari and got some amazing photos. The only concern I could potentially see you having is the stop if you are shooting indoors. They make one that opens up further, however it is nearly double the price. I don't typically shoot low light, so I can't give you any advice here. I found it to be a pretty incredible lens.
1862459
I thnk you can find lighter binoculars. I have a pair of NIKON that are by far my favorite.
518863
I have this lens, I used it for several months before upgrading to the 75-300 IS USM. If you don't want blurry pictures then you will have to spend the money on better tools. I take a lot of bird pictures and was able to track them using the non IS lens but it was very difficult and unless the pools where the competitions are held are in bright light you won't get sharp pictures. I did try using this one at our dance hall, (poor light for pictures) I eventually had to go to a 50 mm 1.4 that does great in low light. You wanting telephoto though, for the money the 75-300 IS at about $450 was the way that I decided to go and I really like what I get now. I have had my t2i for nearly two and a half years. Hope this helps you a little bit. If you want to see a few of my shots with the IS lens. My flickr page is lightninrod49.
2267401
I feel these binoculars are ok for general nature walks, some sporting events. They aren't powerful enough for far distances (like in a big stadium). For more detail I think I'd have to buy a better pair and spend 2x the money. I did like that I could look through them with my glasses on, and they have a rubber cushion around the eye area. They are small, light weight, and have a good grip surface. Hope this helps. Barb
1967981
A small aperture bino will suffer somewhat in low light conditions. It does well for it's size but that is always going to be the limiting factor in a compact bino. The views are stellar however. The best compact I've ever looked through and would compare well with something costing three times as much in my opinion.
1849436
I went on safari in Africa for 8 days and carried a Canon 100-400L which is a very heavy lens with no problems. It was very comfortable too!