Binolculars for Alaska

[Alura21]

It's almost time for my Alaska trip and I know I should get binoculars, but I have absolutely no knowledge of what kind to get! Any recomendations?

 

[Its a Princess Thing...]

Following....I'm wondering same. We cruise in June. There are a couple of reasonably priced pairs on Amazon that I'm considering.

 

[FigmentSpark]

We got some Bushnell ones a few years ago at Costco. They're 12x50. The kids seem to like them. They aren't small, though - maybe 6"x6"? Much bigger than that and you need a tripod for them, I think.

I think Celestron is a good name, too. They make telescopes, as well as binoculars.

 

[KVH]

More complex question than you think. A good pair will set you back more than $1K+ easy. But you can probably get by with ~100-200 or so. Yes, the are cheaper but only you can make the decision on what cost will cost you.

Think about full size versus compact. Pay attention to magnification versus objective size. Porro versus roof prisms. Image stabilization. Etc, etc, etc.

There are actually many different models to recommend. It depends somewhat on what kind of usage you plan on. Nature, birding, marine, celestial, safari, and whatever else. I would suggest to NOT buy waterproof and pay that premium unless you really feel you need it. Likewise, don't buy the cheap ones with the crappy digital camera in them. You might want to check Youtube for a buyers guide video.

Bushnell, Leitz, Zeiss, Nikon, Canon, Celestron, Swarovski, Pentax, Steiner, and Vanguard are top names. Considering the distances in AK, shoot for a 10x42 or 10x50. Also, watch the weight. Once you start using them and realize how heavy they can be, it's easy to get discouraged about taking them the next time you go out.

 

[ACQUADUCK]

I was in concierge and they supplied them there, there are many to buy in Vancouver and in the terminal.
To be honest from our verandah everything was so close you could almost touch it.
We were up watching from 6 am to maybe midnight, so many great views.

The land and sea life, shakes we could see with our naked eye.

I think we used ours to see an eagle but not a lot of times.

Try not to think 9 am to 5 pm, many think there isn't anything to see at night, but actually that was the best viewing time, when it's more quiet.

 

[Capt_BJ]

when I was still working afloat we'd converted to STEINER brand as THE choice

this pair is not quite up to what we used 'professionally', but appear to be excellent value for the price ....

https://www.amazon.com/Steiner-Mili...r=8-6&keywords=steiner+marine+7x50+binoculars

we used these exclusively for 'regular use'

https://www.amazon.com/Steiner-210-...716&sr=8-6&keywords=steiner+marine+binoculars

 

[Dug720]

And just to put your mind at ease in case you cannot get some before your trip, I have cruised to Alaska twice without them and did not feel my trips were negatively impacted. If anything I got the true expansiveness of the landscape because I wasn’t looking through two small eye-holes.

 

[cyclenut]

They also sell binoculars on the ship. I was seriously considering buying, but ultimately decided against it. I used my digital SLR in AK and was not disappointed. If I see something interesting enough for binoculars, I'm going to want a picture of it. I'll use my zoom lens for that.

I know, it's not the same and not everyone will want to take their camera with them everywhere, but after a bit of anxiety about not have them, I ended up feeling like they would have just been an extra burden around my neck.

 

[dcassetta]

The naturalist on board will have binoculars, perhaps it's still Doug Jones as he is terrific. If you're near wherever the naturalist to speaking that could be a way to see things with him or her.

 

[fredandkell]

What @Dug720 said. We in no way felt our trip was negatively impacted because we do not have binoculars. We could see plenty of things from the ship’s decks with the naked eye.

 

[mmmears]

We did get binoculars for our Alaska cruise and we used them quite a bit. We just went to REI (not that they are necessarily better than other stores) and talked to the people there and then tried out a lot of them (our local store was great in terms of having distant mountains to look at through the binoculars). We were able to find a balance between cost/size/view that worked for us. We travel lightly and were willing to trade some magnification for a smaller and lighter pair. If you go to a local place and look through them I think you'll be able to determine what would work best for you.

 

[KVH]

To those looking, you may also want to check out digiscoping. That's using a device to connect your cell's camera to the binoculars to act as a telephoto. You can buy the attachments on Amazon.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

We have a pair of Kenko 10x32 binoculars and use them on every cruise. They live in the 'cruise luggage' the rest of the time so we won't forget them. Even though the ship is pretty close to the coastline, we have seen moose and bear in the tree line with the Kenko's. Get a good (not a great $$$) pair and enjoy the scenery up to the top of the waterfalls.

 

[KGmomoftwins]

As an avid birder I recommend Nikon 8x40 Action EX Extreme, Water Proof Porro Prism Binocular with 8.2 Degree Angle of View. I've had mine for 10 years now and they are amazing.

 

[Capt_BJ]

Viking Ocean Cruises provide a pair in most cabins .... all cabins are balcony

 

[AngelDisney]

I had a pair of binoculars borrowed from my brother-in-law who flies huge model planes, and a stand and point zoom in Canon camera. The binoculars worked much better and I could tell the difference between having one or not. We could see close up the goats and little water falls up on the hills. If you have a powerful manual zoom in camera, it should do the job but not everyone in your group is using the camera at the same time. I am glad I brought the binoculars along. DD was using the binoculars the whole time and I could zoom in with my camera to see the views more more closely. It did make a difference.