Do Your Own Review of Affordable Full-Size 8x42 Binoculars

A Cornell Lab Review 

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology reviewed twenty-four different pairs of 8x42 binoculars and published their results in December 2022. The affordable binoculars ranged in  price from US$ - $130 to $650 or in Canadian dollars -$190 to $700.

Our WBU Optics Day will give you the chance to review more than half of the binoculars reviewed by Cornell in all three categories. We recommend the following to prepare for your binocular purchase:

  • Go to the Cornell study - Cornell Affordable Binocular Review
  • Review the binoculars tested
  • Get the binocular details from the individual review summaries
  • Check out the additional "More on Binoculars" articles
  • If you still want some more info check out the two links on this webpage which will take you to the two optics presentations I gave to the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO)
  • Now the most important step in the process - come to WBU Optics Day and do your own testing and write your own review

Keep in mind a review is someone's opinion. A reviewers opinion is a good place to start but there is no better opinion than your own. You can decide which pair of binoculars is brighter, has a crisper image, has better focus and you are the only one who can decide which pair feels better to hold and to look through. Your opinion is the most important!

Cornell Categories

Overall Top Picks - we have five of the top seven binoculars 
Where Budget Binoculars Shine - we have four of the top eight
Move Up To Mid-Range - we have ten of the top fifteen

We also have excellent selection of binoculars that were not tested by Cornell and one of these might be in your opinion, the top pick!

Receive our email and get updates on WBU Optics Day and much more!

Sign up for email from Wild Birds Unlimited in Toronto. You will receive notice of store events and sales plus interesting and informative articles all about birds, bird feeding and nature. Please note, we consider your email as confidential and we will never share or sell your email.

Wild Birds Unlimited in Toronto Email