Praktica Falcon 7x50mm Porro Prism Field Black Binoculars - Fully Coated Lenses, Sturdy Construction, Aluminium Chassis, Sharp Clear Image, Bird Watching, Sailing, Hiking, Sightseeing, Astronomy

Bought these for the cricket, and they've been absolutely ideal. Image is very clear (better than the photo, that's just due to the phone camera) lightweight but sturdy, comfortable using for a whole day's test.Photos show my view without the binoculars and then through them.Only minor negative is the lens caps feel quite loose and that they could fall off easily.Definitely recommend for sports

A great set of binoculars.Light weight with a good quality strap for carrying.Nice case for protection.Used these on a bird watching trip, the adjustment on the focus is easy to use (even my 10 year old can use it) and the magnification is very clear.

Excellent Binoculars

As a photographer who started in the olden days of 35mm film, I amassed quite a collection of functional and reliable Praktica camera equipment, so I was happy to see that the name had returned. The name is the same, the company is not - these binoculars are made in the Far East, not the Eastern Bloc.However, they are certainly worthy of the Praktica name. I tried a lot of binoculars over the summer, some a lot more expensive than these. I only wanted a set for watching the birds in the garden, but the quality of image is so good I bought the bigger 12x50 ones as well.They are traditional Porro Prism design, which makes them quite big compared with roof prism binoculars. They are a little heavy, but certainly not unmanageable. I actually find the extra mass helps keep them stable. Nevertheless, I would recommend the optional tripod mount, and a cheap monopod.I find the 8x40 binoculars ideal for bird watching at closer range, and also for spotting the aircraft flying overhead. This is the magnification generally recommended for a first pair of binoculars, or if you only intend to have one pair.In use, the focusing knob is large, well-damped and smooth in operation. It's easy to get the subject in focus, and it stays put once focused. There is also a diopter adjustment on the right eyepiece. This is also nicely weighted, although my wife insists on fiddling with it whenever I hand her the binos...The image is very bright, especially if you are used to little 8x20 pocket binoculars. I was particularly impressed by how little distortion there is around the edge of the image. While your eye naturally tends to look through the middle of the image, some quite expensive binoculars I tried were very distorted at the edge. These were not. With the binoculars on a monopod and the focusing set up correctly, I could see colours and iridescent patterns in a starling's plumage that I'd never seen before. I always thought they were a rather tatty-looking bird!The construction of the binoculars is mainly plastic, with metal where needed, and obviously glass optics. They are well made, but it must be remembered that they are precision optical instruments. Some reviews complain that the binoculars broke when dropped - well, yes. Binoculars are not designed to be dropped. That's why they come with a neck strap and a carry case. To be fair, both are a little bit cheap and nasty, but they are included. I'll probably buy myself a proper case for them, and see if I can find my old Praktica camera strap!In short, great binoculars for the money.

I bought a pair of these 8x40 Falcons two years ago now and I realised I have not made any comments on them which considering how well they have performed, I really should.First up, I'm going to get the negative stuff out of the way as I like to finish on a positive. The single worst thing about these binoculars is the lens caps. They are horrible and keep falling off. Not exactly a big problem though given the over all picture. Second is the case which is thin neoprene. It does the job, but feels flimsy and not exactly that nice. Again, not a major issue.Anything else negative? Hmmmm, not really. No water proofing or anti fogging Nitrogen, but that's not surprising given the price. Just don't use them in the rain or at extreme temperatures. Bit of a struggle to find anything else bad to say about them. They look slightly strange to my eyes, but handle pretty well. Certainly better handling than I expected. The focus wheel on my pair honestly is absolutely perfect. Its extremely smooth and slow which is exactly how I like it. I have about 15 different pairs of bins for me and my wife to go birdwatching and the focus wheel on these is amongst the best even though matched against bins costing around the £300 mark.So on to the optical performance. Cheesy as it sounds, but these have out performed numerous other pairs of bins I own that are a fair bit more expensive. How so? Well firstly my pair show next to no chromatic blur on sharp contrasting edges like telegraph poles and wiring. The view is nice and sharp even on birds further away at the edge of focus limit. Also birds in darker areas in trees can appear as just silhouettes. But the colour does still pop out a fair bit on mine allowing me to still see and identify them. Yes I have two pairs of bins that do this even better, but they both cost a lot more. These are the cheapest full sized binoculars I own, yet they basically still outperform all but two of my substantially more expensive bins.They have lower specs like BAK7 lenses and are multi coated rather than fully multi coated, but even the brightness of image is good. Certainly not darker than other 8x42 BAK4 Fully multi coated bins I have bar the two pairs I already mentioned that perform better. Bit of a head scratcher really as to why they are so good given the difference in price and specs.It might appear I have a load or rubbish bins then if these perform so well compared to them. But I don't! These just have a fantastically sharp, bright and 3d view with great field of vision. Other binocular users have had a view from these and all have been surprised by how good the optical performance is. At the end of the day, I put this down to them being Porro prisms rather than the newer less bulky Roof prism design. Porro's often perform well as they don't need all the extras like phase coating and such. If you get a pair of Porro prism binoculars that have been manufactured well, they will perform as well as Roof prisms that are substantially more expensive with much higher specs. Just take care of Porro prism bins even more than Roof types. Porro's are more delicate than Roofs.I bought a rain shield for these so I could ditch the horrible lens covers and picked up a cheap £19 padded case for them. Its completely transformed the overall feel of using them. They feel excellent. Some have commented that they are unsure of the durability of them which is a fair comment. I am careful with all my binoculars, but 2 years of solid use and I have had no issue with these.All in all I would say these would be a go to binocular for anyone getting into birdwatching for the first time. The price is extremely low so first timer's can toe dip to see if they like it without spending loads cash on a pair that then just gather dust on a shelf. Even without the extras I spent on mine, a first timer would still be getting a pair of binoculars that punch well above their price in optical performance. I can't recommend these enough really.

Pleased with the quality of these. Found that i shake more than i realised, so had to get the ones with the tripod attachment. Image quality is good, and focus adjustment is firm but not too stiff. Carry bag is nice, and i found these excellent as a starter into watching the night sky. Lens covers fit snugly but don't have anti loss straps, so i put them safely to one side before going out. Overall weight is good, look nice, and reasonably priced. well known make.

Way underpriced, great value for what you get, for astronomy, you can see the moon extremely clear, all I would say is a tripod would benefit the experience a LOT.

bought these weeks ago but only tried them out yesterday, disappointed upon use everything was double vision, so checked them over only to find from lens (which screws onto body) was not on properly and partly cross threaded ....a Bad start. Optics not great when i was bird watching color fringing around subject was not great purple / red. These are budget so bear that in mind (get what you pay for).