It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Subscribe to our Patreon, and get image uploads with no ads on the site!
Base theme by DesignModo & ported to Powered by Vanilla by Chris Ireland, modified by the "theFB" team.
Comments
I need binoculars to read the pension statements!
were by far the best to my eyes. They are full size, very bright, robust but not a boat anchor and have a brilliantly wide field of view. If you shop around they can be had for £199 at the moment
Kate Middleton's Mum better keep her curtains closed.
They worked well too & weren't too heavy either .
Also, a narrow FOV tends to exaggerate any perceived binocular shake, even when looking at a stationary object.
Agreed on going for a wide FoV, though. 10x are nearly always narrower than 8x in the same range of bins (113m and 131m for the 10x and 8x Opticrons linked above). The buggers can move quickly, and it's definitely a little skill to be able to look at something with the naked eye, raise the bins and get on target immediately.
For a given objective lens diameter, increased mag also means less light transmission, which can be quite important for bird watching because dusk can be a good time - they start to congregate when they come in to roost. Also good for peering into dark, shady spaces among trees.
8x42 are generally the most popular choice for bird watching.
When I decided my little Miranda 8x21 things were truly shit, I got a pair of Barr & Stroud Sierras...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01MG7FNOH/ref=asc_df_B01MG7FNOH58557236/?tag=googshopuk-21&creative=22146&creativeASIN=B01MG7FNOH&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309924713643&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1031386254854729280&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007366&hvtargid=pla-562965215168
Good budget bins that punch well above their weight. About the only thing they don't have is ED glass. Some chromatic aberration at times, and the eyecups can lose their smoothness (fixable if you can operate a cocktail stick with a tiny bit of Teflon grease on it). Cheap, very cheerful, and they live in my bag as knockabout bins.
I later decided to splurge a bit and got a pair of Vanguard Endeavour EDIIs...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vanguard-Endeavor-ED-II-8x42/dp/B00XWEHOUU/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1550525955&sr=1-2&keywords=vanguard+endeavor+ed+ii
They've come down a shitload since I got mine. Excellent build quality, and optically superb. Diopter adjustment much easier to use than the friction ring types (clicks to lock / release - much easier to turn when setting it). They're my "I'm going out bird watching" bins.
In use, the main difference between these two is the amount of turning on the focus wheel - quite a lot on the Sierras, very little on the Endeavours. Lots of turning means you can get very precise focus on static subjects, but can miss birds in flight because they're still blurry by the time they've buggered off. The fast focus on the Endeavours makes it much easier to lock on to a flying bird and get it sharp. In practice, getting the focus precise for static subjects is fine - you just develop a slightly finer feel when you turn the wheel.
Nomad
Nobody loves me but my mother... and she could be jivin' too...
I found that I soon got used to changing focus as I was tracking, though it can take a while to perfect bringing your bins up to your eyes whilst keeping track.
I have a set of the old RSPB brand HD 10x42s which I got very cheap, as my wife works at the RSPB headquarters I was told by a good few people that I wouldn't get anything better for the money (i.e. at full price). My wife has a set of the RSPB Avocet 10x42s and although I can tell the difference, they're way better than they have any right to be at the £135 asking price.
My advice would be to get yourself along to your nearest RSPB reserve that has a shop and try out what they have around your budget. They do binocular hires as well and I believe that you get the price of the hire back if you buy a set afterwards, but don't quote me on that!
I said maybe.....
The Endeavour EDIIs are very well regarded, but the difference between those and the Sierras isn't huge. They are better, but I don't then look through the Sierras and think they've become crap. Binoculars are like most things if you think in terms of a quality/price curve. The cheap and nasty stuff at the bottom can be improved upon by spending only a little more, until you get to a certain point where diminishing returns kick in and you have to spend a lot more to get small improvements. To my mind, the Sierras are at that point where you get a lot for your money, and buying something else for 20 quid more might not get any improvement at all (or could even be poorer).
It's important to understand that the differences can be subtle, and that some supposed flaws don't really get in the way if you're looking at the subject rather than looking at the performance of the bins.Shit bins can get in the way - the Miranda 8x21s I mentioned failed first time out looking at birds because it was dusk and I couldn't see a damn thing in amongst the trees. It was just grey mush. When I got the Sierras, the difference in light transmission was amazing - I called them my light amplifiers. The difference from the Miranda grot tubes to the Sierras was big, but from the Sierras to the Endeavours was definitely better, but not as big a jump. I went to the local RSPB reserve and had a shot of their Leica and Swarovski bins. I couldn't see any difference with the Swarovskis, and the Leicas 'felt' better rather than having anything discernably visually better - they seemed to be more immersive, as if the use of the binoculars disappeared. In terms of focusing on and resolving distant objects (like a wire fence), they all seemed as good as each other.
Ultimately, you can't really know what bins will suit you until you get something and get used to them - you need to spend time establishing a reference. I would say the Sierra 8x42 is a good place to start. They're cheap enough to not be a big deal if you decide to change, and easily good enough for backups or as something you're less likely to worry about if living in a daily carry backpack. The Miranda 8x21s on the other hand haven't seen the light of day since I got the Sierras a few years ago - they're tiny, light, and pocket-sized, but they're shit for bird watching.
Nomad
Nobody loves me but my mother... and she could be jivin' too...