What Binoculars Should I Get For Bird Watching?
This is one of the most important questions a bird watcher must ask. There are several things to consider when choosing your binoculars. These are in decending order of importance as I view them.
1. field of view. When you are trying to find a bird in a leafy tree, this is of the upmost importance. If the field of view is restricted, you may never find the bird before it desides to fly away. It is also important when trying to find that hawk flying in the sky.
2. brightness. The brighter the image, the more likely you are to be able to see the subtle colorations in a dark environment. Generally speaking the larger the objective lense the brigher the image. This however is also related to the magnification of the binoculars.
3. Are you an eyeglass wearer? If so you must have a pair of binoculars with at least 18 mm of eye relief so that you can see the complete field of view wearing your glasses.
4. Magnification. Most birders prefer 8x binoculars because they have a wide field of view and are relatively free from image instability due to hand steadiness but many also prefer 10x because of the increased magnification. I have used both and I prefer the 8x over the 10x because of the wider field of view.
5. Environment in which they will be used. Some binoculars are water proof and fog proof. If you might wish to take a trip to South America to go bird watching then you will definitely want to consider such a pair.
6. The amount of money you are willing to spend on a pair. If money is not an object most birders will opt for either a pair of Swarovski binoculars or maybe a pair of Nikon Premier LX binoculars. The Swarovskis run about $1700. The Nikons about $1300. The Swarovskis are a status symbol for birds. But a reasonably good pair of binoculars can be purchased for much less. For each 100% increase in price, there is about a 10% to 15% improvement in quality. So a $1000+ pair is about 25% improvement over a $250 pair.
7. close focus. If you might wish to look at butterflies and dragonflies in addtion to birds, then you will need to consider a pair that focuses to about 6 to 8 feet. But 10 feet might be adequate.
The more expensive pairs do have some very nice features not found in the less expensive pairs. One of these is dioptic adjustment lock. Another is screw up eye cups. Another is no fault life time warrenty.
Lets get down to brass tacks.
Most birders will choose a pair of either 8×40 or 10×40 binoculars. Some will select a lighter pair of 8×32 which do not have as bright an image but nevertheless are quite satisfactory.
Many will also choose waterproof and fogproof.
Here are some to consider in various price ranges.
Under $100 Bushnell H20 8×42. reasonable field of view, only 17 mm of eye relief which is very marginal for an eyeglass wearer. Waterproof and fogproof. Twist up eye cups.
Under $300 Pentax DCR HFC Outstanding field of view. Outstanding eye relief. Waterproof and fogproof. Excellent warranty.
Swift Ultra 8×42 Marginal field of view. Excellent eye relief. Waterproof and fogproof. Excellent warranty.
Under $600 Swift Audubon 8.5×44. Exceedingly wide field of view. These are advertised as waterproof, but are really not. They are also not really suitable for eyeglass wearers although they are advertised as so. They are however considered as one of the outstanding choices for bird watchers.
Vortex Viper 8×42. Reasonable field of view. Waterproof and fogproof. Excellent eye relief.
About $200 more is the Vortex Razor with a much wider field of view.
Most of these also are available in a 10×40 version but with a smaller field of view.
