Comments on: Birding Binoculars

By: Muhammad

Muhammad — Wed, 04 Apr 2018 07:55:12 +0000

Thanks for the awesome reviews. It’s really helped me to understand the major difference Like your blog and writing mate

By: Mills Jack

Mills Jack — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 11:10:48 +0000

Nice article. Simple and conversational language that makes everyone understand.
Thank You.

By: Nathan Fridley

Nathan Fridley — Fri, 29 Sep 2017 07:41:09 +0000

I’m looking for a pair of binoculars that are ready to go out for a trip or for a concert. Thank you for sharing. Your article is very useful for me.

By: Rifen

Rifen — Fri, 06 May 2016 06:27:00 +0000

Truly speaking A birdwatcher is that person who have travel most and its recommended to use a lightweight bino rather than a bulkier. I would prefer 8 x 42 bino for birdwatcher.

By: Sofia

Sofia — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 10:24:32 +0000

My family use Levenhuk one, We are very satisfied with it plus the price is more than good

By: Daniel J. Andrews

Daniel J. Andrews — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 05:02:19 +0000

I have the older 8.5×42 Swarovski model–the one that gives you sore fingers when trying to dial the focus to near and far. They’re great for tundra, mountains, open areas, but for forest birding it takes too long to change the focus. After three days at Point Pelee, both my focusing finger tips were sore.

I also have a 300 dollar pair of Pentax DCF series. Slightly less wide field of view, not quite as sharp when pushing the optics to the limit, but when I first looked through them, my thought was, “I shouldn’t have bought those Swarovskis”. They are also lighter, more compact and focus much faster. On my birding trips (pleasure and work-related) I take the Pentax unless I’ll be working or hiking in the mountains or tundra, or at the ocean.

Before then I used Bushnell 10×50 with the instafocus. They worked well for me although I had to buy a new pair (50 to 75 dollars back then) every couple of years. Then I looked through a good pair of ergonomic binoculars and that was it for those Bushnell types (they do have some nice middle-grade binos, but I tried one and I didn’t find them balancing quite right in my hand–which is why it is important to actually try binoculars yourself as you need to know how it fits in your hands).

I also have some Leopolds. Definitely not as sharp, but I use them for close focus (they focus down to under 5 feet) for butterflies and other insects. At close range they’re good–for distance birding the lack of sharpness may mean the difference between a lifer or just another unknown bird. When in Arizona we saw a bird’s heading popping up from the top of a cactus. With the Leopold’s I couldn’t tell what it was. I switched to the Swarovski and the pattern on the head was sharp and I could see it was a mockingbird. My wife (to be) was using the Pentax and she also was able to identify it with those.

Anyway, if buying binos again, I wouldn’t bother with the high-end ones. The ones in the mid-range 300-500, or even to 700 will offer views that may be almost indistinguishable from the high-end binoculars. If I wear the high-end ones, I feel a bit silly as they might be saying, “Here’s another sucker conned into buying overpriced alpha binoculars”.

By: Comrade Carter

Comrade Carter — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:01:03 +0000

I just make absolutely sure I get binoculars with no “key logging” software, and absolutely make sure they aren’t made by Apple.

By: hannah's dad

hannah's dad — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 14:27:38 +0000

My family conspired together secretly over a period of months to buy me a pair of Leica Ultravid HDs for my 65th birthday. They took the advice of my nephew a PhD ornitologist.
When I got them I was overwhelmed, too damn scared to pick them up cos they just scream quality and cost.
The most expensive things I have ever owned was/is my house, my car[s] and now … these binos.
I love them.
I used them on my trip to SW USA recently and saw some great birds.
I am privileged and humbled.

By: Ole Phat Stu

Ole Phat Stu — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:06:19 +0000

You can’t hold anything above 12x steady, so if you are going for higher magnifications or zooms get a tripod or at least a monopod. Something else to lug around, so probably better for cabins etc. I use a spotting scope. My friend Andreas uses a superzoom digicam 🙂

Whatever. Get a large aperture too, it collects more light.
Aperture divided by magnification = exit pupil, e.g. 7mm at disk, 3mm in bright daylight. So 50/8=7 is a dusk-capable size, 30/8 =~4 is a daylight size.

By: rturpin

rturpin — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:40:20 +0000

I’ve never found stabilization that important for 7x or 8x glasses. Except at sea. On the low end, my typical pocket glass is the Brunton 6×30 monocular. It’s waterproof, and I don’t have to worry that any mishap will knock it out of alignment. And it fits in my pocket. Larger and better binoculars let you see more. But I end up having this one with me more often.

YMMV.