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Thread: Lidl Rocktrail Binoculars

  1. #1
    Mark_T is offline I'm a Registered User, and I'm proud
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    Thumbs down Lidl Rocktrail Binoculars

    The recently promoted Rocktrail, 30x60 Binoculars priced at £ 14.99 are, at first glance a cheap and powerful set of binoculars.

    However the pair I purchased have been a major disappointment. The most serious flaw is that the two scope tubes are not aligned and the higher the magnification, the worse the error. At maximum magnification there is about a 1/4 frame vertical error between the two images. This renders them useless as binoculars at max magnification.

    Light transmission is also poor and they would be unusable in low light conditions. Structurally they are reasonably well made and feel comfortable. The zoom function works and retains focus but the right-eye correction is minimal. There is no documentation supporting the "5 year warranty."

    I may try to adjust them one day if I can be bothered.

    Anyone buying one of these should test it at full magnification before making a purchase.

    I would recommend paying more for a better product.

    Performance 3/10
    Features 7/10
    Ease of use 8/10
    Build Quality 8/10
    Value for money 3/10
    When you get upset, remember it takes 42 muscles to frown, and only 4 to reach out the hand of friendship and extend your middle finger.

  2. #2
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    Columnated binos are no use what so ever.. take em back and get ya cash back mate..Thanks for the heads up as I was going to buy a pair
    Primus Intus..Ultimus Foras

  3. #3
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    a while ago they were doing fixed power 10x50's for £14.99 that for the money where not bad but zoom binoculars are at any price a waste of money.
    you get very narrow field of view, hazy image, poor optical alignment giving double image and or head aches, very dim image at any where near full power and fall apart plastic build quality.
    i've bought and used or at least sampled 100's of binoculars(i collect binoculars... well just the good ones)
    if you want good quality build, optics and realistic power for a hand held use with a sharp clear bright image go on the bay and pick up a pair of old "made in USSR" (not the new russian federation ones) bnu5 8x30's for around £25 or cheaper.
    i've never ever found a good pair of zoom binoculars.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by mark22c View Post
    i've never ever found a good pair of zoom binoculars.
    Absolutely right. You always pay for the zoom feature by the loss of some important property, optical and/or mechanical. Usually field of view, resolution, image brightness and mechanical reliability. Not really much else to sacrifice is there? Oh, yes, I forgot - they're usually heavier too.

    Regards,
    MikB
    ...history... is, indeed, little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind. (Edward Gibbon: Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire)

  5. #5
    sitsinhedges Guest
    What do you expect for £15 when a top quality pair cost near to a grand

  6. #6
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    i got pretty close performance wise to the best swaro's for £360 if you dont have that budget the are a few good oldies to look out for that'll blow the cheap modern stuff away.
    saying that a lot of the old stuff was pretty naff as well but a few i've found can be had for under £30 maybe £10 if your lucky.
    found a pair of old 70's jb7 made nikkor 8x30's for £15 and they were pretty much top quality in there day and still hold there own against modern stuff costing £100's the only thing that lets them down are the old anti reflective coatings... not that you'd really notice.
    a few old top quality late 70's with multi coated optics carl zeiss bins can be had for around the £100 mark, superb quality, just takes a little research to find the best ones.
    those ussr made 8x30's are good as well and can be found for under £25, i know you need to spend a few hundred pounds to better them with new stuff.

    i wouldnt touch modern cheap stuff these days, just looking through them makes me wince with disgust.

    hand held 10x is about the max thats usable any ways most prefer 8x.

    when folk peer through my 8x42's i always get asked how powerful they are when i ask em to guess they say stuff like 30x or 50x as every thing is so clear and sharp. as one friend said "better than my eyes!" when i tell em just 8x there like No!!!! get away!!! how much were they.... i mumble...... ah hem... nearly £400.

    but i show em my ussr made 8x30's and almost every time i'll sell them to them for £25. get a good pair that are still aligned and they last you a life time, i found a few duff pairs but on the whole i'de recommend them every time for those on a tight budget.
    Last edited by mark22c; 19-12-2010 at 01:22 PM.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by mark22c View Post
    ...a few old top quality late 70's with multi coated optics carl zeiss bins can be had for around the £100 mark, superb quality, just takes a little research to find the best ones.
    Yes, a pair of minty Zeiss Jenoptems in 8x30 or 10x50 are a good choice around that price. Make sure they have a 'DDR' mark and a 7-digit serial number - there were some Japanese versions made which some say are licence-built and others say are fakes, but all agree are of lesser quality.

    Another golden oldie is the Swift Audubon of the 1970s and 80s - they're a bit heavy but you won't see a better, sharper, brighter and more faithfully-coloured image anywhere. 8.5x44s, they go for £50 - £100 on the Bay.

    Regards,
    MikB
    ...history... is, indeed, little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind. (Edward Gibbon: Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire)

  8. #8
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    im refusing to buy a pair of jen 8x30's of the bay... still searching for a mint set from a boot sale or charity shop, i want to be able to say i got them for a tenner!!!

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by mark22c View Post
    im refusing to buy a pair of jen 8x30's of the bay... still searching for a mint set from a boot sale or charity shop, i want to be able to say i got them for a tenner!!!
    How long will you give it before you decide it might be more important to actually have them ?

    Regards,
    MikB
    ...history... is, indeed, little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind. (Edward Gibbon: Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire)

  10. #10
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    I have a pair of Tasco 12x32s Binos.. I bought them over here in Tenerife around 3 years ago.. I managed to haggle the seller down to 25 Euros which at the time with a decent exchange rate worked out at the princely sum of £17:50 ish and they are the MUTTS..good clear image..great field of view..lightweight and they fit in the breast pocket of my shooting jacket..(Well me Ex Special Forces battle jacket) very snugly..Then again Tasco have always made some top grade optics
    Primus Intus..Ultimus Foras

  11. #11
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    to be honest mate tasco are a pretty bad name in optics these days. never used to be that way years back though.
    i take it the bins your on about are the compact roof prism design without phase coatings? first pair i bought years ago were tasco 12x25 roof prism compacts with ruby coated lenses. i paid about £50 for em... i too thought they were the mutz nutz till a friend let me peer through an old set of 8x30 porro's he had... started my whole interest in binoculars as a collector.
    yes they were the russian ones i mentioned earlier.

  12. #12
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    Lidl bino's

    A couple of years ago I bought some 10 x 50 Bresser bino's from Lidl for about £10.

    I got them just to keep in the car, not wanting to risk my Leitz 8 x 20's on holiday with young children and sand etc.

    There was not as much difference between the Bressers and the Leitz as I thought there would be, although differences in the colour saturation and flare were quite marked when quickly swapping from one to the other.

    When the Bressers are tripod mounted, sharpness is very good with little fall off at the edges.

    At this price you shouldn't expect much but the overall optical performance is extremely good for the money.


    Colin.

  13. #13
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    those bresser 10x50's were very popular on another astronomy forum i used to frequent. i bought a few pairs of them and they are not bad, quite sharp and clear and for a tenner great. recommended them all the time for those on a budget.
    you had to sort through a few to find a good pair though. they are an exception though. later versions sold last year were pants with just to many faults and i couldnt recommend them now.

  14. #14
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    aldi astrony scope

    hi folks

    anyone seen or bought one of the above.
    30 to 230 'ish zoom £70,theres still some left near me ,Im waiting to see if they get reduced
    I know a grand plus for anything decent but sometimes you always go for a reduction!!!!

  15. #15
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    i wouldnt bother, seriously they'll be very disappointing.

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