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Forum List General Discussion Binoculars
nrigby
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Beginners binoculars - 2006/04/18 21:47 Many people ask what is the best option for buying your first pair of binoculars specifically for birding when weighing up between cost and quality. Any suggestions?
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nrigby
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Re:Beginners binoculars - 2006/04/18 21:48 I bought a pair of zoom binoculars a few years ago which on the face of it seemed like a good idea. They turned out to be a bit tricky to operate when birding, particularly as the zoom function decreased the amount of light entering the binoculars and the clarity was not great.

I would advise using standard fixed magnification (from 8x-10x) binoculars.

Warning: Gets technical here! The other figure quoted on binoculars is the 'object glass diameter' ie 8x40. You can work out the light gathering capabilities of the binoculars by dividing the object glass diameter by the magnification. So, 8x40 would be a factor of 5 - this is known as the 'exit pupil diameter', and I wouldn't recommend anything less than 5 particularly for performance on cloudy days and dusk.

Also go for a light weight pair which you will be more inclined to carry about with you.

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nrigby
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Re:Beginners binoculars - 2006/04/18 21:49 Hi, having just got into birding I got so confused with which were the best bins to start with, and after a lot of deliberating I became so confused that eventually I settled for a scope instead.

It seemed to make more sense in a lot of ways and the markets I searched weren't half as confusing for scopes as they were for bins. And I liked the idea of tripod mounted scopes, as in photography, which is my main hobby, and of course I discovered that a camera can be attached to a scope (well some) and that was it, my mind was made up.

I ended up buying a Minox 62 ED scope at a special offer on a site I think called cameramad and I am delighted with the staggering quality and the fact the scope only cost £199 on a usual price of £419. I still had to buy the Minox eyepiece for £99 extra but that was small fry in comparison to the total kit.

All I have to do now is get out and use this brill kit, starting with Rushcliffe Park in Ruddington, Notts on saturday next.

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nrigby
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Re:Beginners binoculars - 2006/04/18 21:50 If you don't want to spend a lot, then secondhand can be good if you can try them first. 8x30 or 8x42 are the best to start with.

The key things to try are clarity, colour fringing (look at a small object against the sky - do you see a coloured 'aura' around the object? you shouldn't), smoothness of focusing and weight.
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Forum List General Discussion Binoculars
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