Carson 3D Series 10x42mm High Definition Compact and Waterproof Binoculars with ED Glass, Black (TD-042ED)

*Please note in my pics I use a sling/satchel that I bought separately (just generic brand) to house these, as I'm not a huge fan of the case it comes with but the binocs themselves are magnificent. I've owned the Carson 3D ED 10×50 binoculars for over 8 years, and they have never disappointed. Love the lifetime warranty but I've never had to use it thus far. The lense quality is top notch, with no chromatic aberration that I've experienced and crystal clear quality. The focus wheel works great and you can clearly focus on what you want, such as a family member paddle boarding in the middle of a lake. After owning these I don't think I could ever own a pair of binocs that don't have fully coated ED optics, as once you experience them you can't go back. I take them to the mountains in CA every year (Sequoia, Mammoth, Tahoe, etc) and they are wonderful to view the wildlife, or see across the lakes, or to view people on top of the mountains or rock climbing from below, or to look at the stars and the moon at night. These easily connect with a tripod if needed (I have even seen Jupiter + 4 moons around Jupiter this way, or a detailed view of our moon with its craters), but the tripod is not needed for casual viewing such as on hikes etc (there's really little to no shake when just panning around, or if you place your elbows on a railing or chair armrests its ideal for zero shake). Field of view is plenty big enough for me and I like the 10x magnification with 50mm aperture (this creates an exit light pupil diameter of 5MM which is good for daylight or lower light situations such as twilight). Never experienced "black spots" with these. The only thing is I may want to buy an 8x32 version since those are lighter/smaller with larger field of view (although less magnification) and potentially better for day hikes or bike rides due to the weight/size. But if you're gonna plop down at the edge of a lake with pristine surroundings and mountains all around, the 10x50 Carson 3D ED binocs are magnificent 👌. Your friends and family will want to look through them and be equally amazed. Recommend.

After a lot of research, I came across Carson's 3D-ED 10X42 binoculars. I initially intended on purchasing a pair of Nikon monarchs or Bushnell Legend HDs, but after reading testimonials about the tremendous value of these, I decided to give them a try. I'm not an optics expert by any means, but I've looked through expensive glass before. I'm familiar with the outstanding quality put out by Leica and Zeiss from experiences with binos owned by friends and family. In my experience and from extensive research, you get what you pay for in the world of optics. That being said, I can only surmise from trying these out that Carson is aggressively trying to increase their market share in the industry. The quality of this product mirrors that of binoculars that can be twice as expensive. To jump right into it, you're getting binoculars with lots of great qualities: -Multi coated lenses -Phase correction -Completely waterproof and nitrogen filled casing to prevent fogging and internal damage. -Generous eye relief (to the uninitiated this means the eye pieces screw out so you can find a "sweet" spot for the picture) -Excellent field of view at range -HIGH overall build quality -Innovative Bino Armor Deluxe case. I was skeptical, but it's clear a lot of thought went into designing this case. It works like they advertise it to. -Comfortable neck strap and back harness system. I didn't find any other binocular that includes these in this price range. -Included cleaning cloth. This isn't anything more special than what comes with a pair of glasses, but it's still appreciated! -LIFETIME NO NONSENSE WARRANTY. This is huge. Binoculars are expensive and complex tools. One bad drop can result in any pair of glasses requiring repair. It's a great relief knowing that even if I damage these by accident, I'll be covered. The meat and potatoes of this product is the image. I plan to get a lot of use from these for hikes, and to take on vacation to look out at objects from the beach. I haven't put these through the full ringer yet, but the quality can simply be described as fantastic so far. I would describe these as "bright" optics, meaning that they transmit a lot of light. The image is also sharp throughout. This means that you'll see detail not only centered in your view but also on the edges of the view. I haven't really found any downsides yet. You could argue the lack of lense caps is a problem along with the fact that the case isn't completely sealed from dust. This first issue is mitigated by the Bino Armor Deluxe case, given that the two are designed to be used together. Regarding the latter issue, this is easily solved by a ziploc bag when it's on your shelf. BOTTOM LINE: If you're looking in this price range, you'd be crazy not to have these on your short list. If you're looking at more expensive pairs in the sub $1000 range, you'd also be crazy not to entertain the idea of these. Hope this helps!

Very high quality binoculars. I was a pro photog for many years and I've always insisted on the best optics at least on a reasonable budget. My go to binocs for years have been Leupold and Nikon and all in the $250-300 range. I wanted to upgrade my objective lens to 42mm (8X) to get better low light viewing. I found the lens to be sharp and crisp with edge to edge clarity. Color fringing was minimal and every bit as good as my other brands. It was only noticeable off-axis with dark edges against a bright sky. This review is for the Carson 8x42 3D binocs with ED glass. I found it to be a good deal particularly when you consider the included accessories and the LIFETIME WARRANTY. NOTE: I had to call Carson to find out what the body material is. The 3D ED line is aluminum and the rest of their lines are polycarbonate.

For the Price I give these bino's five stars. The lens quality is comparable to some of the more expensive brands. After a lot of comparisons inside and outside I opted to save some money with these since my gear gets pretty beat up. I was going to go with the vortex diamondbacks due to the lifetime warranty, however since these had the same warranty with better quality picture it was a no brainer! Lets just hope that Carson follows through with their warranty promise. The light gathering ability and crisp image with these will make any outdoorsman happy. I have had these out in the mountains looking at the deer that have come down for the winter. I've been able to test these at many different distances.. the focus is great, the detail is amazing, the power is perfect, and even in dim light these really do a great job! Unless you are in the game for 5-600 dollar binoculars then these carsons are what you need and you wont be disappointed. The fit and feel is awesome. The only thing i find is that there is only one adjustment on the eye pieces and my optimal eye relief falls in between the first setting but luckily the twist up eye pieces stay where i leave them even if not at the middle setting. The case that comes with the binoculars is superb. I like that they give you the harness too but it is a little small even when fully adjusted. The only thing missing is some eye piece covers and objective lens covers. That would have put these binoculars over the top!! But if you keep them in the case then you don't need them. I am in Idaho and it is hard to find these binoculars in the store to compare. That is the reason i am writing this review so you can buy with confidence. But make sure you try many different pairs because comfort is everything when you have to look through a pair of binoculars for a few hours.

This is a review of the 8x32 but also a comparison to the 10x42. First, however, a comment about light transmission as determined by exit pupil. Our pupils capacity for expansion changes with age. The pupils of a 20 year old person may expand to 8mm, while the pupils of a 78 year old person, which I am, expand not past 4mm and maybe even less. Therefore, the light transmitted by the 8x32, with an exit pupil of 4mm [divide the objective lens diameter by the magnification] is as much as my eyes practically can use - not to mention than hen it's all that dark, I go home. The light transmission/exit pupil of the 10x42 is 4.2, so that aspect isn't practically different from the 8x32. That leaves the magnification, eye relief, size and weight for comparison. The 8x32 is substantially more compact and lighter than the 10x42 - but that might be an acceptable trade off if the additional magnification of the 10x42 made a substantial difference. Since I have both, I compared then in real time for three days in a row. Today, I actually carried both at the same time. I use binoculars for watching, identifying, and observing behavior of birds - and also to enjoy the beauty of some species. To test the difference, I took time on several occasions to watch a single bird with each, in turn. I also focused on one of the mountain tops in the Great Phoenix area that has radio, TV and phone towers which are several miles away. Yes, in a purely physical sense, the image in the 10x42 was [had to be]larger than the image in the 8x32. However, I found no substantial difference in what I was able to see, my ability to identify the species of a bird, observe its behavior or enjoy its beauty. The 8x32 has great eye relief than the 10x42. The 8x32 has larger field of view than the 10x42. The 8x32 has as good or better depth of field, and 3D appearance, as the 10x42. The cost is a mere $5 difference, so that's not a factor. I can't justify the larger size and greater weight of the 10x42 under these circumstances. I own more than one other pair of binoculars including one in a lower price point and one in a seriously greater price point. I find the 8x32 Carson HD as good as any, and it's a seriously good binocular. I'm keeping it and will return the 10x42. Both have focus adjustment that is just right, and the diopter ring stays put once set. They both seem to be well made and sturdy, and unlike offerings from many other binocular manufacturers they come with the very useful harness, and with lens covers for both objective and ocular lenses. A well earned five stars.

Very good value, and superb customer service. In the months prior to a family rain forest trip, I researched the internet endlessly and read every binocular review I can find (spending 10s of hours, even read British reviews and European reviews), and read many discussions on various forums. I purchased the Carson 3D 8x42, a 8x42 Nikon Monarch 7, a 8x30 Nikon Monarch 7, and a Leica monocular. The Carson was the cheapest by a large margin, and it came with binocular straps. The "best" binocular of the bunch was the 8x42 Monarch, which had the widest field of view, and slightly better optics. The most expensive of the four is the tiny Leica, but it is a pain to use and very difficult to find that bird/object in the distance. The 8x30 Nikon is a smaller and less bright version of the 8x42, not a surprise. By far the best value is the Carson 3D 8x42 with ED. The quality difference between the Carson and the Monarch 7 is small. The price is $267 vs $477. Therefore, in terms of value, there is no contest. I also read hundreds of reviews of binocular harnesses, and even bought two different brands. The Leupold broke on day one. The Mossy had a very poor attachment to the binocular. The Carson came with a free harness, and it is better than the two that I bought. After returning from our rain forest trip, I called Carson to (1) obtain the eyepiece protectors, and (2) attempted to buy another binocular strap from Carson as the two I bought were so bad. To my surprise, the company said "we don't sell the harness separately, but we will find one to send you". Sure enough, a package came to may house one week later, free! Now, I would have happily paid for another harness, as the Carson harness is better than the Leupold $27 harness (I even told the company they should sell the harness separately). I was already please with the $267 purchase. One phone call later, I ended up with a second harness to use on my Nikon. I have zero affiliation with the company and called to try to buy their very good harness. Amazing.

I was really happy with these Carson 3D's. They were perfect for what I was looking for - good binoculars that were not expensive. I tried many varieties and these performed just was well as the Nikon and other competitors - but I saved at least $100. They worked great at dawn and dusk which was very important to me. I liked the size, the feel of the rubberized coating, and the nice focus wheel movement. I used the neck strap - the case kept coming off and falling in the dirt, so after that happened a couple of times I said forget it and stopped using it - the case wasn't conducive to my deer hunting but I'm not going to ding them for the case because it is a nice design - you can order lens covers from them for free; they should include them in with the box though. They weren't heavy and had a crystal clear bright field of vision. Great value for the price! Great warranty too. I would highly recommend these to the average hunter or outdoors person.

I was very pleased with these binoculars. First, the packaging was very high quality and a lot of pride went into the packaging design and the presentation of the product to the consumer. The binoculars look good and feel good in the hand and feel like solid, high quality instruments. They are easy to hold and the focus knob is ergonomically designed and very smooth. Before purchasing these, I tried Nikon Monarch 5's, Monarch 7's, Steiner Merlin Pro's, and Vortex Diamondbacks. I compared the Carson's side by side with the Monarch 5 and 7 in a variety of lighting conditions and I felt the Carson's suited my needs best, which is mostly night time viewing. The Monarch 7 was just a tad better overall with a wider field of view and slightly brighter image, but the Monarch 7 had a major problem with severe glare from strong lights when viewing during night time, and with the higher price of the M7, that was the determining factor in returning the M7 and keeping the Carson's. The Carson's do have some glare when viewing strong lights at night, but it was not as severe as the Monarch 7. The accessories that come with the Carson's are also very high quality and once again, a lot of attention and pride went into the design of the bino armor case. I did not go into any detail describing product specs since those are on the product website, I just limited this review to my opinion about the product. I was very happy with these binoculars, especially since I compared them to so many others. Overall a great product and I keep saying this, but it was apparent that Carson takes a lot of pride in their product as evidenced by the overall quality of the packaging, product, and accessories. The price also makes these an awesome value!