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Birding Tips #15 Binocular specs

seymouraves
16/03/2010 05:13

 

BINOCULAR Specifications

for Birding the best sizes are -

8x30 - small lightweight ,     porro prism normally--  General birding, bird tables etc

 8x 32 -  small lightweight ,  normally roof prism-  General birding-

 8x 40 -  general use bins- porro or roof prism - good field of view -   at home in woodland, rain forest etc

 8x 42 - probably the birder bins of choice atm-  roof prism -  good field of view - at home in woodland, rain forest etc

 7x 42 - bright image, huge field of view and deep depth of field, roof prism- excellent in rain forest and on dull winter days etc.

10 x32 - small and powerful but not great in rain forests, leafy woodland  or at dusk. Narrow field of view.

10 x42 - Popular size , big image , normally roof prism- great for open country birding, not so good in rain forest and woodland.

 10 x50. - Big and heavy - bright image,bulky  but optically excellent  roof prism, also available as porro.

As a guide, divide the second number by the first- the higher the figure, the better the light gathering power of the bins. Anything below 4 is probably not bright enough for birding in all conditions.

  • 0 24/06/2012 00:28 in reply to Seaman

    Hi-

     REMEMBER-   a good 2nd hand pair of bins is often  better than a new pair of not so well made at the same price

    :)

    S

  • 0 08/02/2021 17:06

    For would be buyers; as is always recommended ..... do try before you buy binoculars. I visited a dedicated optics store and tested out a pair of Swarovski's EL 8.5 x 42 but couldn't get on with them at all so I opted for Leica Ultravid 8 x 42 which I love. Other half preferred the Swarovski's so it's down to the right binoculars for the right person ! Never buy directly online as you do need to hold them in your hands, feel the weight, look at the field of view given and see if they suit you as an individual !

  • 0 09/02/2021 17:15 in reply to HAZY
    I could not get away with any of the 3 big names in binoculars but that was maybe because I had used porro prism bins for so many years they did not feel right. It was only hand grip problems that made me want to change, 10x50 porro prism bins are quite a handful though Chris still swears by hers at 10x42. I ended up with Opticron roof prism in the end but its a real minefield out there in bino land.
  • 0 09/02/2021 19:32
    Hi

    the Swarovski Diana porro 8x42 and 10x42 have been wowing people for 50 years :)

    S
  • 0 10/02/2021 10:46
    The Swarovski are still wowing Mike - but still not winning me over ;)
    The next lenses I buy will be via surgery and will unfortunately cost a lot more than Swarovskis ! as my eyesight is appalling and I'm already at the extent of the dioptre adjustment on the bins - I just can't get on with wearing glasses whilst using binoculars :( so no wonder I'm not seeing many birds at the moment Seynobirds lol
  • 0 10/02/2021 13:25 in reply to HAZY
    Poor eyesight is the dread of all us birders, I was diagnosed with a slow form of malacular degeneration, probably aided by the Crohns Disease, which does not stop me birding but means I miss more birds than I see unless Chris gets me onto them. I can see birds in both left and right of my field of view but they vanish in the middle. What I'm meaning Hazel is that I understand what you mean,if you can get your eye problem sorted go fot it,
  • 0 10/02/2021 15:40 in reply to Seaman

    Sorry to hear you have macular degeneration/Crohns  Pete;  my late aunt also had MD where her central vision was affected and she had to give up driving.     I had Lasik treatment over 20 years ago which freed me from glasses for a good 18 years so will investigate my options again as I'm missing so many birds and relying on Mike to spot them  !!    Just that everything is harder to arrange with the pandemic and main concern is keeping a careful watch on Mike to ensure the oral cancer stays at bay,  fingers crossed for all those suffering from health problems at the moment including yourself Pete.        

  • 0 11/02/2021 11:47
    Unfortunately with MD surgery is not an option but I'm lucky that mine is quite slow at deteriorating so I can read and walk about and also manage the cooking,Chris is chuffed with that.
    I did break the rule on buying bins at Christmas time and bought myself some compact 10x25 bins for our local walks. A couple of our local exercise walks are through built up residential areasand we were getting funny looks walking through with full size bins so these slip inside my jacket they will also be ok to pop in the car glove compartment when we are able to drive around again. Just don't tell Seymour that I ignored his, and mine, advice on purchasing optics
  • 0 11/02/2021 12:30
    I've had a used/ third hand / ex demo pair of Swarovski 7x30 SLC since about 1996- they are tiny and perfect for dog walks / National Trust gardens etc. £200 AND APPARENTLY A COLLECTORS ITEM NOW!
    They normally live on the lounge window sill - I loan them out to visiting birders spouses- then the birders complain that the other half wants a pair! ***

    S


    *** One birders other half on a tour in Texas was complaining they couldn't see anything through their bins- I checked them - so far out of collimation every bird was a Killdeer.