| Brand: | Barska | ||
| Average Rating |
|
The best way to get closer to nature. The Gladiator zoom series offers the added advantage of enjoying multiple magnifications in a single binocular. With variable zoom, you can capture a panoramic view at low power, target in on your object and then zoom in to a higher power to capture the finer details. The zoom mechanism on the binocular is smooth and easy to operate with a flick of the lever. It’s like having many binoculars in one! Versatility, convenience and tenacity put Gladiator in an arena by themselves.Backed by Limited Lifetime Warranty. more info
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Ok Binoculars
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This is not the best binoculars on the market but for the price I say they are ok. My first set had a bad case of double vision and the seller made good on the product with out a hassle (Boating Saving.com). The second set of binoculars were much better and worked fine. If it wasn’t for the seller standing behind their sale (Boating Saving.com) I would not have given such a high rating.
Superb value
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I don’t think you can get better for the money. We were extremely pleased with this purchase. Focussing at maximum zoom wasn’t quite 100% perfect but close enough.
My Barska Story
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I purchased the Gladiator Zoom 10-30x-60 binoculars on a Monday after finding a great price ($29) and reading some reviews. The reviews seemed good except for the “double vision” problems. I received the binoculars Friday and promptly tested them out. I was unfortunate enough to have a pair with a double vision problem…a 2nd image up and to the left it seemed. I played with the focus and couldn’t correct it so I contacted Barska support. It was near closing time for them and a rep named Sandra told me it’s a common, easily fixed problem. She sent me a .pdf on how to collimate my binoculars. It required a tiny set of jewelers tools that I had to buy the next day and after tweaking with the alignments i was able to get the images aligned vertically, but there still is a double image side-by-side. I got it so that at 10x the image merge without much of a problem, but at the higher zooms the images stay in place. I’ve written Barska to see what else I could do 2 days ago and they have yet to respond. Also I am now receiving junk email in the email address that I had given them to send the instructions.
Overall the optics are great, The images are clear at 10x, and for zoomed in images using 1 eyepiece works fine. For the $29 price tag I think I got what I paid for but it’s not worth the hassle of trying to return, paying shipping fees etc to get a different pair. Just don’t give Barska an email address you use regularly.
Spotter, reading out of focus
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I like the Barska binocular’s. I purchased them to spot ships and tows approaching my job on a ferryboat. The veiw is good at medium to long distances, but often hard to focus at close and very far distances. Close distance is anything under 20 yards and far is anything over half a mile. They are used to read the names of the vessels approaching us. The lettering is usually 8″(tows) to over 2ft.(ships) in height.I ended up getting another pair for a co-worker and had the same problem with that pair and actually had to exchange it for another pair the focus was so bad. Overall I rate these as very good since I don’t need to see anything under 20 yards with them and my max distance is under half a mile for reading the names of the vessels.
great for concerts
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Bought these for my wife for the Trace Atkins Toby Kieth concert and she loved them no problems at all.
don’t buy
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
not worth it. Spend the extra bucks, however many they may be, and get something better. The pair I got were not collimated, and the right side zoomed while the left did not.
Great product.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
These are awesome. Never had a nicer pair of binoculars. Thought the price was to good to be true, but I was wrong. Buy them if you can afford it. You will get your moneys worth.
Keep the receipt
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
Inexpensive. Remember the song “Double Vision”? You may be singing it when you try zooming on a distant object. At this price level you might get lucky and get a good pair. I wasn’t lucky. They only give a clear, single view at the lowest zoom. Take a chance if you want, but save the receipt.
Good value binocular
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I bought these on a whim in a closeout store about 6 months ago. I checked them quickly at the store to see if the optics were okay and aligned properly for focusing over the range of the zoom. When I got them home I checked them for daytime distance viewing from our back deck. The optics were better than I expected and the focus was good through about 25x. The controls aren’t as silky smooth as high-end binoculars, but not bad for $29. My biggest complaint is that there’s no tripod mounting provision, which would be quite welcome. They’re not real heavy, so using them strictly as hand-held is not too bad. If you are considering, I would recommend trying them in a store to make sure that you don’t have a collimation problem as experienced by another reviewer.
Excellent value for the $$$
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I recently received my Barska binoculars. Some of the reviews here have been somewhat negative, but I must say I have no complaints. The binoculars are properly aligned and the view quality is at least as good as I would expect at this price point. It’s quite good, really. The focusing mechanism works smoothly, and if I had to find something to complain about, I might say that it is a little too easy to move. —If you press against the eyecups slightly, the focus will change, but this happens with lots of binoculars I have used. It’s a very minor point.
The zoom works well, tho’ you’ll want to get a tripod & adapter for anything over 15x – 20x as it’s difficult to remain steady enough for comfortable viewing at higher magnification. Zooming will require re-focusing. This doesn’t bother me, not for $42.00. If I’d spent $400, it’d be another story. Brightness is down a bit at maximum power, but again that is normal and to be expected as the effective aperture is reduced as you zoom in.
I give them 4 out of 5 stars just on the product itself. When also considering the low price, it’s 5 stars.
You can fix the double vision if you get one like that.
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I saw both good and bad reviews before I bought them and thought I just take a chance and hope that I get a good pair that did not have the double vision. At the price it was selling for ($29) it was worth the chance, anyway all I wanted was something to throw in the back of my truck. Well I was unlucky and received a pair with very bad double vision. But there is good news. There are two set screws that you can adjust the collimation to align the double vision. For these binoculars there was one set screw on each side of the binocular body – it at the top, just under the rubber (some binoculars have two on each side of the body, this only has one). Here is a link to more info on doing the procedure http://www.oberwerk.com/support/collimate.htm. There is a picture there and although it is not the same binocular, the Barska Binocular set screw is located in the same place as in the picture. If the link does not work search on the internet for “Collimating binoculars”. (There are some other sites that recommend you to do the alignment at night, I found it easiest doing it looking at the moon.) I was able to align the binocular that I received that had very bad double vision. For the price I’m satisfied.
WAY TOO BIG
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
WHEN WE RECEIVED THESE BINOCULARS I THOUGHT I WAS BACK IN THE 50′S. TECHNOLOGY HAS CHANGED SO MUCH, HOW COME THEY STILL MAKE THESE GIANT SIZE THINGS. I KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE BIGGER THAN THE AVERAGE ONES, BUT THESE ARE HEAVY AND GIANT SIZE. I KEPT THEM BECAUSE I ALSO LIVE IN JAMAICA AND I WAS THERE WHEN THEY WERE DELIVERED. WHEN I GOT BACK IT WAS TO LATE TO SEND THEM BACK. I WILL HAVE TO NOW BUY SOME MORE. DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY. THEY ARE ALSO NOT AS CLEAR AS I WOULD HAVE EXPECTED. BUT AGAIN LOOK AT THE PRICE. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.
you need learn how to fix the binocular
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I have read all the reviews before I order this item. the main reason is it is a cheap one. It have a professional appearance but it is not a real professional lens. You will found there is some flaw one the surface of it and you also can found some glue (of course it is already dry). It also has very obvious double image like some reviewers have said. but it help you to learn how to collimation and adjust a binocular by yourself. when you buy this item, you need prepare a set of precision screwdrivers which is not expensive (1.62 $ in rite aid) but it is necessary to fix binocular.
At last, I will say this kind of purchase experience is acceptable. After My adjusting , the binocular works very good. In out door search, for 10~25 zoom range, it works perfect and focus very easily. In 30 Zoom it is a little bit difficult to perfect focus because you can not hold it very stably. I have not tried it on the tripod but I guess it may be work well too. So the decision is dependent on yourself. But if you have no any hobby in optics and are no interesting in principle of binocular. it is very trouble when you get version like me.
Finally, I should said price is good but you must learn how to fix the problem. By the way you may can not use it to search night sky.