Vortex Diamondback 8x42 Binocular

Thankfully, my backyard has become a bit of a sanctuary for birds of many varieties. I have put out feeders, houses, water sources, etc. over the past year or so and didn't realize how much fun watching these fury little jewels would become. Wanting to better see and understand them, I decided to seek out a good set of binoculars and spent many, many hours researching various websites, etc. After much reading of product reviews, birding advice sites, and blogs written by avid birders, I determined that 8x42 would be a good place to start. Since most of my use will be in my backyard, I also wanted a binocular with a very close focus as well as one that could reach further out for hiking and nature walks. I went to several local suppliers who have binoculars on open display to try out in the store and really liked the feel of the Vortex sets I handled. I stopped in at our local Wild Birds Unlimited and asked for the owner's advice on birding binoculars. "Here's what I use," he said, and produced a pair of Vortex 8x42 Diamondbacks from the back room. He then let me go out back and watch one of his bird houses with them. Experiencing the detail and clarity of these binoculars was simply amazing! A Mockingbird family was nesting in a house that was some 40 yards away and it seemed as if I could reach out and touch them. I asked what the owner thought of Eagle products in general and he advised it is the best selling line he carries and sited the VIP guarantee. He just happened to have a pair of the 8x42 Diamondbacks in stock and I bought them on the spot. I have to say that I am totally enamored with these binoculars. They are sturdy, feel great in hand, and work perfectly both with and without my glasses. The ability to focus on at less than 5 feet away is incredible and really allows you to see every tiny detail. The instructions are well written and help to get you started off with perfectly focused binoculars straight from the box. The right eye diopter was a bit difficult to turn at first, but I appreciate its tightness because it should prevent this feature from having to be reset frequently. The focus turns very smoothly and is positioned intuitively so that transitioning between distances is simple and effective without fumbling. All-in-all I can't imagine being more pleased with any of the other sets I researched and couldn't recommend them more highly!

Excellent buy, highly recommended

These are the second set I have purchased. Clarity of view is excellent, focus is fast, covers for lenses and carrying case are excellent.

Broke my first set. Returned for repair more than a year later. Was sent a new pair with the explaination that a repair satisfactory to mfg. could not be made.

Customer service is really great. Called, asked about warranty, told they warrant what they make. Asked for how long.
The answer was "eternity".

Will now being looking to buy my next rifle scope here rather than Leupold.

A very nice binocular for the price. Has a very close near focus and a very wide field of view. Has a very nice feel and is rubber-coated. Images are very crisp. The eye cups screw out for eyeglass wearers. The only drawback was that the right eyepiece diopter did not easily move to adjust for the eye. In fact, I had to use a pliers to loosen it up.

I am very pleased with the image from this pair of binoculars. And the service from Eagle is terrific. The only problem is quality control: the openings to attach a strap or harness are too narrow, limiting their utility. I have not seen any other binocular with this problem. Also, the objective lens cap does not fit, always falling off. But, Lindsay from Eagle sent me at no charge, rings, cable ties, and a better fitting objective lens cover.
In the end, I am happy with this purchase. A very good image in a relatively compact size for a great price.
If I were looking for an additional pair of binoculars now,I might look at another model, but I would definitely buy from Eagle.

Received my Diamondback binoculars 8x42 from Eagle Optics I am very impressed with the binoculars. They are very well built and talk about the clarity I will be taking these with me to Montana this summer when we go fishing !!!!

I am a hobbyist birder and figured I needed some nice optics to motivated myself to go birding more often. I was on a budget and after spending some time researching this vortex binocular fit the bill. The image and sharp and the colors are pretty much what you see, I haven't noticed warmer colors as of yet. Thanks Eagle Optics for a great product and fast shipping. Keep up the good work.
Dave

I have reached the point where I don't want to hunt anymore but still value spending time outdoors. My Leupold 8x30s were old and I could no longer adjust the diopter on the right eye for clarity. I have been going for walks with my pup and seeing wildlife and raptors and game birds and wanted a set of binoculars to view the wildlife. A friend suggested Vortex Optics (over his Monarch) and I went to a local dealer and fell in love the Diamondback series. They had both the 8x42 and 10x42. I spent last weekend checking out both magnifications and just could not decide. So yesterday, I took my friend's 10x42 Monarch on my walk and could not hold them steady - and after resting a bit, I still was not able to hold them still. As much as I value the extra magnification, it doesn't appear that I can benefit from it - unless I sit in my vehicle and don't move. So I bought the 8x42 set and went out this evening and watched some Barn Owls close to home - and started to really appreciate the wide field of view. Very nice for the bucks I spent - the colors are consistent between what I see with the naked eye and with the glass. The light gathering ability over the 8x30s was a marked change for the better and the clarity or sharpness of image was wonderful (real descriptive terminology!)- for my left eye. With my glasses on, the field of view appears narrower to me but the distortion was resolved. The feel of the binocular is appealing, especially the serrations in the rubber armor towards the objective lens. Now...are there things I don't like - not much. I like the Talon HD in 8x42 but was not enchanted with the price. And I wish I could use the 10 power for more resolution, but my age seems to preclude this. Regardless, I love these binoculars and recommend that you try them.

I purchased the Vortex 8X42 Diamondback bins for my wife to use as a grab and go bin for birding. The Vortex Diamondbacks are a very good value for the money. I compared these with Nikons, & several others in this price point, & concluded the Vortex exceeded in quality, the optics are very good, & the adjustable eye cups work great, with plenty of eye relief for eyeglasses. I would recommend these as a great value binocular, you won't be disappointed.

I ordered from Eagle optics and received my diamondback binos in 3 days. I was needing a pair of hunting binos that worked good in low light situations. I took them out, when I could barely see with the naked eye and low and behold I could see clearly through the diamondbacks. I am impressed. They are everything they say they are. The warranty with Vortex is also a selling point with me. Highly recommend these to the hunters out there.

Everything fine except the larger lens covers are not securely attached. Any suggestions to avoid losing them?

Got these binocs from Eagle. Very pleased with them and the supplier. Fast shipping.

Just got back from my deer hunt using my new Vortex Diamondback 8x42 Bino's. I purchased a four point harness, which is more comfortable than the traditional neck harness. They are the perfect size when hiking through rugged terrain, and the optics are simply incredible. I used them in both normal and low light and found them to be crisp and clear. I would highly recommend this product.

I will be using them for hunting. Out of the box, they are crisp and clear. They are easy to focus. I wish the neck strap with easier to attach to the binos. It takes a little time which will be an issue when I change over to the bino system on my hunter safety system for hunting. Overall, I like them very much.

Thank you for the new binoculars. They were recommended by a friend and I am very happy with them.

I was in the market for a relatively inexpensive pair of binos that could do a little bit of everything. I am glad to say that these Vortex Diamondbacks fill the bill quite nicely. I used them at the zoo where they got me much closer to the animals. The views were crisp and clear and they were also really comfortable. I also got to use them during my recent vacations to Canyonlands National Park where I did a little bit of binocular astronomy. I would recommend these to someone like myself who is not a hard core birder and is looking for an all around good pair of binos for many applications. Can't wait to use them at Miami Dolphins games.

This is, in fact, the second Vortex Diamondback I have bought from Eagle. The first pair were for me, and they were perfect. I never left home without them. Of course, when I took them to the shore to visit my sister and watch ospreys, I was the object of much envy. Everyone agreed they were dramatically better than any binoculars previously experienced, and so easy to use. So these were purchased as a 65th birthday present to my sister, who was overjoyed.

I just bought this pair of binoculars from Eagle Optics. They were delivered two days after my purchase; GREAT! I started narrowing my search to American made - Vortex met that criteria. Then I read tons of reviews on which magnification for bird watching - since that's what I plan on using my binoculars for. There seemed to be an overwhelming consensus among birdwatchers to go with 8x's. After 10 minutes of use I wish I had chose 10x's. My feeders are between 20 and 30 yards from my porch and I just don't get as much detail as I was hoping for.

Now for the quality of build: very clear, nicely bright, easy to adjust,and feel extremely well constructed.With the wide view of the 8x's - following birds is easy to do. I can even follow my hummingbirds a little bit.

I think I made a good choice in brand and will soon buy another pair of Vortex but at a 10x's magnification.

Rec'd for Father's Day (my family loves me). I was looking for a smaller general purpose bino for birding, sporting events, etc. I've owned a pair of Celestron 9 x 63 binos for about 6 years (really awesome)that I use for astronomy, but they're a bit too big to take to a football game in December. I just completed a side by side comparison of the V-Diamondacks vs. my Wife's Celestron Noble 8 x 42's that she's had for 2 and 1/2 years, binoculars that we absolutely love. The comparison was done in bright sunlight in my backyard, looking in and around our three bird feeders from 75 feet or so. General comments:
1) The Vortex binos are thicker, not really heavier, but easier to hold as a result. Both are wrapped in a rubbery coating and are easy to hold. The Vortex D's have a much more comfortable neck strap. It's about 3/8" wider that the Celestron strap and much softer. It has a rubberized insert that contacts your neck/shirt collar and it stays right in place.
2) Both center focus knobs turn easily but controlled. Both were easy to focus.
3) The center swivel was stiffer on the Vortex binos. Many might prefer this as, once they are set for your eyes, they stay put. I like that. However, if you're handing them back and forth between two people, then I'd probably find the Celestron's easier in this area. They move more easily and VERY smoothly.
4) Both binos have connected eyepiece covers, but the Vortex fit more snugly and stay on more solidly.
5) The objective covers are better with the Vortex binos. Two individual caps cover the Celestron objectives, they're not connected to anything or each other, and they simply fall off way to easily and frequently. The Vortex bino caps are tethered to the binocular with a rubbery O-ring. The caps themselves, of the same material, fit snuggly around the outside of the objective and stay in place. I like these a lot. When you take them off the objective, thay hand down off the front of the bino. Again, this is good since you don't have to figure out where to stash them, or when you want to put them back on, which pocket you stuck them in. They can be easily removed, though, if you just don't like the look of them hanging off the bino.
6) The views through both of these binoculars are bright and crisp. As I said, we love the Celestron Nobles, but I did find the Vortex D's to be crisper at focus. It was noticeable to my 53-year old eyes. Both of these, though, are very pleasing to look through. Also noteworthy was the sharpness toward the edges; the Vortex D's had a bit of an advantage as you move your eye away from dead center of the image vs. the Celestron binos. However, in field use, as objects move away from the center of the field of view, I always seem to move the bino and not my eye, so I personally don't think this is much of a issue. I tend to look through the middle 50% of the glass ( I think we all do) and both were sharp.
7) Both of these binos have excellent eye relief. I have to wear my glasses when viewing through a binocular, and I can comfortably and easily see the entire field of view through both.
8) Light reflection/scatter - this is one area where I found the Celestron's superior. As I said, I was in my backyard in bright sunlight, which was roughly 70 to 80 degrees up and to my right. This allowed very bright sunlight to hit the very inside front lip of the bino, near the objective, and bounce the light back into the glass. Both binos showed circular light reflections in the bottom left of the view. But, here's the difference: the Vortex D material is grooved, shiny black and the Celestron is grooved, matte black. As a result, the reflected light was more diffuse and less objectionable with the Celestron. It certainly didn't wreck the view, but in that lighting scenario, which is as harsh as it gets, the Celestron's had an edge. When I looked at objects where direct sunlight didn't hit the edge of the bino, naturally all reflections were gone in both binoculars. This was a difference noted under extreme lighting, but worth mentioning. It is something I think the Vortex folks should consider improving, i.e. eliminating reflective material right beside the objective. The Celestron folks got this one figured out. Oddly, outside of the glass, it's the only reflective material anywhere on the Vortex D bino. I think this is one that slipped past the Vortex design team.

Conclusion:
The Vortex D's are not cheap, but they're not $850 either. If you're looking to give someone a high-quality product at a reasonable price that will satisfy them for many, many years, I absolutely recommend these binoculars. I told you my family loves me!

The binocs are light and easy to have around my neck. I like the covers over the lenses which make it easier not to get them lost. The case is sturdy and good protection for the binocs. The view is clear and wonderful for bird watching. I actually could see a beautiful eagle that was very far away on the top of a tree the other day. I will recommend to friends.

I bought the Vortex Diamondback 8x42 binoculars for my wife who has always had problems looking through binoculars. She was able to follow the easy to use instructions, adjust them to her needs, and begin using them immediately. A good and recommendable purchase.

I have now purchased two pairs of Vortext Diamondback 8x42 binoculars. The first were for me, the next for my undergraduate research students to use during their field research this summer. The optics are clear and crisp, focusing is not super fast like some binoculars, but the fine focus ability is fantastic and really makes the birds pop into focus. The objective lens covers can slip off when working through brushy cover, but that's minor. I would highly recommend these binoculars to any level of birder.

I bought these to use as a "house" binocular. We have several pair of good binos in the house incl West Germany Zeiss 10x40 and Nikon Monarch. These binos are really good and fantastic for the price. I'd have no issue at all using these as my only binoculars. They are very bright and clear with generous eye relief (I wear glasses). They are ergonomically nice, too, and fit the hand comfortably.

Went to Peru birdwatching with my Vortex Diamondbacks and a pair of Vipers. At the end of the trip our jungle guide was so impressed with the Diamondbacks he made me an offer to buy so I sold and I'm back to buy another pair.The guide looks at birds and other wildlife day in and day out and his impression with the Diamondbacks speaks volumes.

On recommendation from a professional birder, I purchased the Vortex Diamondback as a Christmas gift for my fiance. We had been using my 10-year old Nikon 8X42 binocular which were good, but image clarity was not at a level good enough to accurately identify birds at more than 6- or 700 feet.
We compared our new Diamondback with the my Nikon and were blown away with the crisp clarity of images at far greater distances, even on cloudy days. Light weight, easy focus and facial adjustment all add up to exceptional quality, function, and fit at an exceptional price. Could not beat the value for the price tag.

I have been wanting to upgrade my binoculars for some time now.And got some help on xmas!I have had steiner safari 8x22's for years now and like the compact size for bowhunting. But they lack big time in low light and clarity. So I did some research and landed on the diamondbacks. Wow what a up grade. I know its not comparing apples to apples. But its still good to see a u.s based company make a great product with a really great warranty. Its good to know you don't have to spend a grand or more to get great quality that the company stands behind.

So were these Diamondback possibly an upgrade to an excellent pair of Eagle Optics Denali binoculars? Yes! The Denali's are certainly moderately less expensive and a terrific value on their own. So I wondered for a year if the Diamondbacks were worth the difference. This year I made the jump (wondering all the time if I'd notice any real differences) and am very glad I did.

So to really compare the low light differences, I compared these at night, looking at stars, clouds, distant city lights, and the halo around the moon. These Diamondbacks are noticeably better in low light (e.g. clearer faint clouds), so either the glass and/or coatings are better. I also noticed in interior lighting that their color rendition is cleaner (less yellowish) than the Denali's.

The very close focus (4.5 ft. vs. 7 on the Denali's) and the really wide field of view (420 vs 408) make this an excellent value and a true upgrade. Love the rounded eye cups but, as others have noted, Vortex really needs to create tighter lens covers for both ends.

EXCELLENT BINOCULARS. CLOSE FOCUS-GOOD OPTICS-GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE-THEY WERE A GIFT FOR MY DAUGHTER-SHE LOVES THEM.
I WAS SURPISED TO SEE THEM THE DAY AFTER I ORDERED THEM I WILL GET ANOTHER PAIR THIS FALL.

Just ordered these as a birthday gift to myself. Excellent binoculars for the price. Image is very bright, clear and sharp. The focus knob is a little stiff in turning but I have arthritis so that probably doesn't help much. Very satisfied and highly recommend them!