Customer Reviews

Bushnell Powerview 16x50 Binocular

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Great binoculars, got them for christmas and I've been exploring the moon, the Pleiades (I can see more than 50 stars in that cluster alone (barely 6 without the binoculars). Can see Mars, Jupiter and even its moons. I can read newspaper headlines from 50 yards away and car's licenseplate from 400-500 yards away.
I would like even more magnification for what I like to do (star gazing and nature watching), but there just isn't anything out there for a price anywhere close to what I paid for these ... at Walmart) that has this magnification and is as compact and easy to cary.
ONE MAJOR THING TO WATCH OUT - the strap is a piece of junk and it can come undone while you're carrying them. It happened to me and they dropped and got damaged. I'm getting another pair and putting my on my own strap (a sturdier one).
WARNING #2 - this is not for people with unsteady hands (I don't have that problem), you can however mount them on a tripod, which I did and it works great.

Theses binoculars are quite impressive. When I bought them I was expecting something heavier for the size, but these are a lot lighter than the one I owned before. The magnification - WOW - I have been using binoculars for about six years, and the magnification on this one is one of the best I've seen so far. Even with the outstanding 16x magnification its possible to get a good 160 yards of foucust field of veiw. I never had a problem with the lenses fogging up on my hunting trips, for all of you who know how bugative that can be. I give these binoculars five stars because even whith the impressive view, ther is a very affordable price tag.

This is a good binoculars. It is clear and light. Buy it only if you really need 16x magnification. At times, you will wish you didn't have so much of magnification. My next binoculars will be one with zoom !

The carrying case is cheap-looking (so is the neck strap).

I gave it only 3 stars because the focus is just a marketing gimmick that creates a cheap focusing mechanism. A decent traditional wheel for focusing is superior. You can't easily get a good focus, pressing your eyes against the eyepiece can force them out of focus, and it's easy to bump the rocker bar. At 16x power, you have to carefully adjust focus and a rocker bar is an awful design. You have to use both hands to focus: you can press down on one side of the rocker bar, but not up, so to go in and out of focus to get good sharpness, you have to press down with one hand's finger and then press down with the other hand's finger. The rocker bar is terrible idea, especially for 16x! To make matter's worse, there is a fair amount of play in the rocker bar. The rocker bar seems to be the limiting factor on short distances. 40 feet seemed to be the shortest distance they would focus. Stars come into focus well before the limit of the long-distance focus is reached, possibly indicating questionable workmanship, or maybe it makes it better for those who are really-bad near-sighted.

The moons of jupiter were clear and sharp even under city lights. Since it was the brightest "star" in the sky I thuoght i was looking at venus, but when i saw the 3 sharp dots surrounding the round disk, i knew it had to be jupiter. You have to rest them on a chair to see the moons.

The price here at Amazon (with free shipping) is $20 less than my local Walmart after our 10% taxes.

16x requires a fence or car or window to provide the stability needed to make full use of 16x. Even without a prop, it's good, but if your not going to use a prop, 12x50 is better because the amount of light is greater and the field of view is larger.

These binocs are awesome!! I've had a pair of these for over a year and I can't tell you how simple they are to adjust; they have this great "see-saw" type switch for focusing on objects. They have rubber around the body so when you drop them they don't get damaged!! Overall probably the best pair of binoculars I've ever had.

Was very suprised to find the quality in these binocular's for such a low price. Diopter adjustment was easy and simple and focus was the same. Image was clear sharp and bright. Would recommend a tripod for this level of magnification.

Very satisfied with my first purchase of binocular's.

I was reading reviews on these binoculars, and I thought it would be nice to have a pair. All I know about binoculars is what 16x50 means. That's it. I love nature, so I love to look at things. I have spent about three days trying to "work" these binoculars, and I finally figured it out tonight! I gave them 4 stars because the carrying case and strap are not very good quality. I don't really like the cheap rubber-like lens caps. After a lot of use, I can see that they will be useless.

As for the binoculars, they are great. I can see things around the yard really close. Great for watching the birds!!! :) I also wanted to test them to see what I could see of the moon and stars. I figured out that if I turned the focus knob clockwise and push the square-looking thing in the middle with the right side pointing up--- you can see a very clear image of the moon. You CAN see the craters. I even looked at several constellations. I don't know many names specifically, but I could see all the stars from one that was hard to see with the naked eye. It was awesome!!! You really need to have steady hands to see well. My hands are pretty unsteady, but I could see enough to make me happy. I think a tripod or something for these would help.

Overall, I think this is a great pair of binoculars for the price. I'm glad I bought them. Just think of what you could do if you know how to use them! :)

I bought this item to go nature viewing and must say that it really is a great binocular for the price. The items viewed have a really nice 3-dimensional look to them and the diopter comes in handy even for someone with very bad vision like myself. The focus for this model (16 x 50 Wide Angle) is a flat tab between the barrels that makes it VERY convenient to use without having to look or stretch your fingers. It gives a very nice field of vision and has roll down eye cups, which is good just in case you want to wear your glasses or shades. The binoculars do shake a little b/c of the power of the magnification. And it can be a chore to hold for long periods of time b/c of its weight. It weighs about as much as one of Michener's hardback novels.

Here is where it can get interesting. The binoculars come with a pleather carrying case, a really cheap neck strap that looks like a plastic shoelace, and a cheap cleaning cloth that is way too abrasive to be used everyday. I suggest replacing both the neck strap and cleaning cloth as soon as you can. The soft, microfiber cloths they sell in eyeglass stores works great. Plus, pick up some of the eyeglass cleaner (spray directly onto cloth, not lens) as it really gets the lens clean and protects any coating on the glass.

Tripod use: highly recommended to get a steady picture. You can get a regular camera tripod for around 18 dollars. Yes, this binocular comes with a tripod adapter. No, it's not very easy to find. <g> The instruction booklet is virtually useless, but I found out through the website that the adaptor is located behind the front cap between the barrels. Just screw the cap off and viola, there is your threaded coupler. You will still need to get a binocular adaptor to connect the binoculars to the tripod, but I've found that they aren't too expensive: around 7-16 dollars for the generic models. I gave this item 4 stars b/c of the poorly written instruction manual and cheap accessories. Hope some of this info helps. Can't wait to see the stars tonight!

I believe this to be one of the best buys in binos. The optics are great:
1) Porro prisms provide for a more realistic viewing depth of field.
2) 50mm objective lens (superb light gathering capability).
3) Good focus adjustment.
4) Great 16x magnification (product of the light gathering ability)

The unit is very well constructed and has a rubber outer skin. It also comes with a decent carry case and accessories. Make sure you want 16x magnification, as it will require steady hands.

Lower magnification (10x, 12x) with a 50mm objective lens will provide a wider field of view. You may wish to take this into consideration depending on your type (preference) of viewing.

BTW- I also own a $2000.00 pair of 18 x 50 binos.

I bought this item to go nature viewing and must say that it really is a great binocular for the price. The items viewed have a really nice 3-dimensional look to them and the diopter comes in handy even for someone with very bad vision like myself. The focus for this model (16 x 50 Wide Angle) is a flat tab between the barrels that makes it VERY convenient to use without having to look or stretch your fingers. It gives a very nice field of vision and has roll down eye cups, which is good just in case you want to wear your glasses or shades. The binoculars do shake a little b/c of the power of the magnification. And it can be a chore to hold for long periods of time b/c of its weight. It weighs about as much as one of Michener's hardback novels.

Here is where it can get interesting. The binoculars come with a pleather carrying case, a really cheap neck strap that looks like a plastic shoelace, and a cheap cleaning cloth that is way too abrasive to be used everyday. I suggest replacing both the neck strap and cleaning cloth as soon as you can. The soft, microfiber cloths they sell in eyeglass stores works great. Plus, pick up some of the eyeglass cleaner (spray directly onto cloth, not lens) as it really gets the lens clean and protects any coating on the glass.

Tripod use: highly recommended to get a steady picture. You can get a regular camera tripod for around 18 dollars. Yes, this binocular comes with a tripod adapter. No, it's not very easy to find. The instruction booklet is virtually useless, but I found out through the website that the adaptor is located behind the front cap between the barrels. Just screw the cap off and viola, there is your threaded coupler. You will still need to get a binocular adaptor to connect the binoculars to the tripod, but I've found that they aren't too expensive: around 7-16 dollars for the generic models. I gave this item 4 stars b/c of the poorly written instruction manual and cheap accessories. Hope some of this info helps. Can't wait to see the stars tonight!