Thread: Need new binoculars, any suggestions?

I find myself in need of new binoculars. Looking for something reasonably compact and < $150.

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I bought these 10x42 a few months ago and am very happy with them, nice and clear and no alignment issues. Waterproof as a side benefit.
Barska 10x42 Mm Waterproof Binoculars, Black, Binoculars & Rangefinders, Barska, Barska 10x42 Waterproof Binoculars Black at Sportsman's Guide

Get yourself a 30 foot window washers pole and a HD video camera.
You will never need them again.

I screw mine on a tripod and see everything.

No, you don't see everything, get your ass up there on that roof and check it out like you are supposed to.
Can you see down the chimney with it.
Can you look down the plumbing vents.
Does it check for weather guard installation
I love you guys

Originally Posted by wayne soper

No, you don't see everything, get your ass up there on that roof and check it out like you are supposed to.
Can you see down the chimney with it.
Can you look down the plumbing vents.
Does it check for weather guard installation
I love you guys

Good advise Wayne,now get your ass over to Chicago where we have 3 story buildings with locked or missing hatches.

I imagine in Connecticut you can get by with rickety telesteps.
Or I suppose you will now claim to have a 40 foot ladder.(yeah right)

By the way ,yes I can see down chimneys and what SOP do you follow as I have never seen a association SOP that insists you must climb every roof.

When there is no access I do not cry about it but use a 1890 x 1200 HD video to grab all I need .

You must just be a smart mouth know it all.

Join an association such as ASHI or NACHI then come back here once you learn the rules and become professional.

You will not make it in this business making them up as you go buddy.

touchy are we? excuse my assuming you inspect regular homes as I do with a 30 footer which get me up on all except the ones you are talking about I guess.
I am a member and I have been inspecting for over 15 years and have found that I am alsways glad to have gone on a roof because there were always things I would not have seen from the ground.
The SOP's, while supposedy protecting us do not always hold up in court and as far as I am concerned do not allow me to protect my clients properly.
That's why I go on roofs.
Certainly didn't mean to ruffle your feathers.
But am interested in a picture taken from the ground that shows the flue liner of a chimney.
If you could show me one of those I would gladly throw my ladder away.

Originally Posted by imported_John Smith

I find myself in need of new binoculars. Looking for something reasonably compact and < $150.

I go for the smaller or compact type. I have had a pair of Bushnell 7-15x25 zoom for several years. I think I paid about $50 for them. I don't think the brand matters as much as what fits your hand and eyes.

As for a video cam up on a pole? I have tried it and could never get the dang thing steady enough to really make the pictures clear enough. I just pull out the ladder, the binoculars or my 10X zoom camera. I agree that you can not see everything from the ground like you could if you were on the roof.

I would love to get on more roofs but I live in the land of 8+/12 slopes on the majority of homes I inspect.

Originally Posted by wayne soper

touchy are we? excuse my assuming you inspect regular homes as I do with a 30 footer which get me up on all except the ones you are talking about I guess.
I am a member and I have been inspecting for over 15 years and have found that I am alsways glad to have gone on a roof because there were always things I would not have seen from the ground.
The SOP's, while supposedy protecting us do not always hold up in court and as far as I am concerned do not allow me to protect my clients properly.
That's why I go on roofs.
Certainly didn't mean to ruffle your feathers.
But am interested in a picture taken from the ground that shows the flue liner of a chimney.
If you could show me one of those I would gladly throw my ladder away.

I would say that over 50% of the chimneys I see would need a climbing device to get up the side of the chimney to be able to look down it and most have a secured rain/debris cap where you could not get a look down a flue. The end result? I do not look down many chimneys with my camera. Those caps in many cases cannot be unscrewed due to the mortar bing built up around them. The ones that need a small step or collapsible ladder don't get looked in either if I could because I am not setting a ladder up on a roof to climb up the side of a chimney. End result? I don't look down many chimneys

As far as the rest of it goes. I get on every roof I can but once you go over an 8/12 and 2 stories the best they get is a look from the eves (depending on the roof and valleys and such many of them get looked at as well from the roof as well). Just exactly how many inspections would it take to pay for a trip/fall/slip off of a 2 story roof? Certainly far more than I wish to think about. Then you have to think about how long you would not be inspecting due to that slip/trip/fall.

Get on the roof when it is logically possible. Once it defies logic, stay off of them.

Wow, how did asking about binoculars get into such a heated debate on roof walking. Thanks for all of the recommendations, I ended up getting a good deal on a set of Nikon compacts. Havent received them yet, but am looking forward to getting them.

Fortunately for my safety, my SOPs dont require inspectors to take ridiculous risks. It considers a ladder capable of reaching over one story above ground surfaces a specialized tool and doesnt require inspectors use them. If I think its safe to get on the roof, I certainly get on it. Im not doing an 8-12 pitch on a two story. My life is worth more than that. In fairness to my clients, I specifically give them advanced warning that Im not going to walk a steeply pitched roof and give them the option to find another inspector. They have all been very reasonable about it.

A real estate inspection is a limited visual survey and basic operation of the systems and components of a building using normal controls and does not require the use of specialized tools or procedures

(9) Specialized tools--Tools such as thermal imaging equipment, moisture meters, gas leak detection equipment, environmental testing equipment and devices, elevation determination devices, and ladders capable of reaching surfaces over one story above ground surfaces.

You won't regret it. I have a pair of 8x32 Nikons that I bought 20 years ago and keep in the glove box, small enough to carry in a pocket, excellent binoculars.

I bought a used pair of Bushnell 10x50 wide angles years ago after my last pair walked away somewhere (Code for I left them behind somewhere)

At 1000 yards it is like looking at something a few hundred feet away. If I can get the right angle and distance to any roof I can see nail pops and flashing condition or what ever I can point at. Most neighborhoods it is tough to see all sides unless you go around to the next road and look from there and I have done that.

Binoculars are not the greatest to inspect a roof but you do need goods ones to do the best you can. Small to me is not important at all. Seeing is. The binoculars can go under a seat or behind a seat or in the case in the tool bag. The room for them and size means nothing.

Oh yeah. I bought them in brand new condition for 25 dollars

Of course 20x50 will cut that distance down to 170 feet or so for 1000 yards but you would have to move down the road to focus the darn things.

Nikon 10-22 x 50 Action. Lifetime warranty.
Purchased at Bass Pro Shop several years ago for $158.

The originals broke (screw worked its way out, came apart in hands, part of binoculars hit the ground). They're at Nikon as of this post for a free repair.

Meanwhile, I purchased a 2nd set (remanufactured w/90day warranty) on Ebay for $99.99+11.99 shipping. Repairs, if ever necessary, will cost $10.

I tend to "overbuy" (for example, ... a $250 IR thermometer - live and learn) and binoculars of this caliber may be overkill. However, the zoom has proven its worth many times. They're also useful for things beyond home inspections.

This is why I got testy.

Unless someone is a circus acrobat, experienced former roofer,etc it is not easy to get this shot from the other day.
You may be able to get up to this 45 degree sloped roof but are you doing this then pulling up the ladder with you and then going to the top of the chimney cap to pull it off and look down the flue?

I can get this shot from the ground after 2 feet of snow obviously since the shot is a still off my HD video that I was trying to educate fellow members on as an option till someone came on after telling me to get my backside on the roof as an insult to my manhood.

Hope that explains my reply somewhat as I am proud of being able to get looks that others may not be able to.

Just wanted to share, but maybe I should not.

You guys decide.

good shot. So you are standingf on the ground for that right.
How do you keep the pole steady?
And how do you unscrew the cap with that thing to look down the flue
just kidding

Originally Posted by wayne soper

good shot. So you are standingf on the ground for that right.
How do you keep the pole steady?
And how do you unscrew the cap with that thing to look down the flue
just kidding

The Sony HXV5 takes 60 per second and has 1890 x 1200 res.
Stabilization is built in.
$199 on Amazon if you get one before they are gone.

My tripod on a expansion pole does it as the camera is very light.

Got rid of my gas guzzler and went to a KIA for Downtown parking and use a 24 foot Little Giant type ladder.

Nothing better than a fiberglass extension that has claw feet and hooks however for safety.Been trained in ladder climbing by utility companies so it is not new to me.