new bins

Hi Sparrow, I just have to say.......WE ARE SO ALIKE it's scary sometimes! LOL

Unknown said:

Thanks for your links which I have saved and will start going through.  OH said something about not getting anything bigger than 10x magnification but not sure where he got this from.

I agree 8 or 10x magnification is ideal, anything greater than that and you will struggle to keep the image clear and still, also they are likely to have larger optics to allow for the extra light required, this means more weight and more expense, if you find the 8 x 42 too heavy there are often some good 8 x 30 models available which are a bit lighter (and often not as expensive).

ND

Hi ND

Thanks for the links - You have more or less said the same as Buzzard but not sure I can warrant paying a £1,000 or more for a pair of bins.   If I thought I would be out there at the break of dawn everyday or every time I had a spare minute or two, then I wouldn't think twice about it.  At the moment my hobby is really at weekends and only then if we get the time.  We have the garden birds which I just love watching and my love now from learning from this forum is growing each day that I do feel a need to go further afield but again as work is an inconvenient necessity I need to be realistic on what we buy at the moment. 

We also want to buy a spotting scope which again a good one can cost - need to find a happy medium between the two.   The links you have posted together with Buzzard and Squirrel are really useful so hopefully we'll find something.

Oooh Sorry ND , it took me so long to reply to your first post you've managed to outpost me!  Thanks for the info, another piece of useful info to add to the equation.

Hi MarJus and thanks.  That's such a lovely story, I hope you get many years use from them.   Are they the big ones with the rough mottled casing for a better grip?  My Grandad had a pair, which were humungous!  I don't know what happened to them but I don't think they were any thing posh.  When his eyesight failed and he had lost his glasses (normally tucked down the side of the chair), he used to use his binoculars to read the paper - he sat at one side of the room and the paper was laid out on a stool at the other end of the room - he did it on purpose to get a laugh which we did everytime!

Hi,

have you tried a bungie strap by Niggeloh or even the RSPB ? :)  It halves the weight of your bins- absolutely indespensible.

:)

S

seymouraves said:

for Birding the best sizes are -

8x30 , 8x 32, 8x 40, 8x 42, 7x 42 , 10 x42, 10 x50. 

The pair you choose depends on whether you are a sit inside and watch the bird table watcher,  a wander the marshes all day watcher, or an amble with the dog around the lanes watcher. :)

Hi S.

Thanks for this information - I am a garden birdwatcher, but also "an amble with the dog" watcher, mainly whilst on holiday. Which size would be best for me? I currently have 2 pairs, my very old fashioned 8 x 30 and a compact pocket size 10 x 21. I notice you don't feature a 10 x 21 in your list.

Hi Seymouraves, is it possible to get one pair, for say watching the bird table and rambling with the dog around country lanes, and if so what which would be the best to go for ,as in magnification and light.

Sparrow just noticed you've asked the same thing LOL, it would be nice to be able to have a good all rounder  that would do everything wouldn't it.