Bird Watching Binoculars

[capecodder1]

Our house backs up to a preserve and we enjoy watching the birds, ducks, etc., but our binoculars are not powerful enough. We have Nikon7 by 35.
Recommendations for something a little more suitable ?
Thanks
Ernie

[DAVES]

Our house backs up to a preserve and we enjoy watching the birds, ducks, etc., but our binoculars are not powerful enough. We have Nikon7 by 35.
Recommendations for something a little more suitable ?
Thanks
Ernie

I at one time used to sell optical goods and had binoculars. Like many things there are many choices. People sometimes do not understand what 7x35 means 7 is the power.
What you are looking at appears 7x closer. The 35 is the diameter of the exit lens-ability to gather light. Another common 7 power binocular would be a 7x50 and all things being the same it is roughly 3x brighter. It is of course bigger and heavier.

As you buy more powerful binoculars you also magnify shake and reduce the field of view-how wide you can see. About the most powerful binoculars you can hold would be about 10 power. You already have the 7x35 a good all purpose binocular. I would keep them. For more power, you might consider binoculars that come with a tripod mount or you can purchase adapters. You might consider zoom binoculars. A telescope.

Multi coated-beware that it is not meaningless advertising. There is optical goods out there where only the outside lenses are multi coated it does nothing but to make it more difficult to clean and subject to scratching. Multi coating does cut glare and gather more light but you want all elements multi coated.

Zoom optics. If, of good quality it can be good. On inexpensive stuff you loose brightness, contrast and resolution also the zoom can slip on its-own and be stiff in the cold.

[NoMo50]

I have a pair of Canon Image Stabilized binoculars that are fantastic. If your hands are a little shaky, and you don't want to fool with a tripod, you might give IS a shot.

[DAVES]

I have a pair of Canon Image Stabilized binoculars that are fantastic. If your hands are a little shaky, and you don't want to fool with a tripod, you might give IS a shot.

Perhaps but they are like $1,500. They are heavy and the image stabilization requires batteries. Also the exit lens is 50mm. The brightness is a mathematical calculation.
As the power goes up, at a given size exit lens the brightness goes down.

Our sight is interesting. Your eyes can open the iris and let in more light. Also, your sight involves your brain. Your eye is a single element lens as in a view camera, we see the world at least your eye sees the world upside down.

It is of course yet another option

[New Englander]

What about a spoting scope?

[chrisinva]

Here are some sites that could be helpful. We trust Cornell. We have Nikon 8 x 42. Cornell also has a great bird identifier. Search, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/search)


Best Binoculars: The Cornell Lab Review 2013 | All About Birds
All About Birds (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/best-binoculars-the-cornell-lab-review-2013/)

Cornell Binocular Review 2019 - 05/2021 (https://bestproductlists.com/review/cornell-binocular-review-2019)

The Audubon Guide to Buying Binoculars - Budget to Premium | Audubon (https://www.audubon.org/gear/binocular-guide)

Best Binoculars for Bird Watching (2021) (https://www.birdwatching-bliss.com/binoculars-for-bird-watching.html)

[chrisinva]

Here are some sites that could be helpful. We trust Cornell. We have Nikon 8 x 42. Cornell also has a great bird identifier. Search, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/search)


Best Binoculars: The Cornell Lab Review 2013 | All About Birds
All About Birds (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/best-binoculars-the-cornell-lab-review-2013/)

Cornell Binocular Review 2019 - 05/2021 (https://bestproductlists.com/review/cornell-binocular-review-2019)

The Audubon Guide to Buying Binoculars - Budget to Premium | Audubon (https://www.audubon.org/gear/binocular-guide)

Best Binoculars for Bird Watching (2021) (https://www.birdwatching-bliss.com/binoculars-for-bird-watching.html)

[Villages Kahuna]

You’ll need more than 7 power binoculars to get the “reach” you’re looking for. Be aware that higher power binoculars, particularly if you don’t choose (and pay for) the larger lenses that your eyes look into, are very difficult to use without so much shaking that you’ll hardly be able to keep your focus on the subject. Try a 10-power and you’ll begin to see the difficulty I’m describing. For more money, Canon makes binoculars that correct for that vibration. They’re not cheap, but if you anticipate lots of time bird-watching from your lanai, they may be worth the investment.

[dtennent]

After you settle on the binoculars, you might want to consider Merlin Bird ID for your iPad, phone, etc. It is out of the Cornell Ornithological lab in Ithaca, NY. The app asks you a series of questions (including where you are located) and brings back 6 to 8 possibilities. Or it will use a picture that you have taken to ID the bird. I have used a few books over the years but now use this 95 % of the time to identify the birds behind our home. Have fun! Love birds - they don't make snarky comments, well... the Sand Hill Cranes are always making comments about my golf shots.

[JerryLBell]

In bird-watching circles, the choice is almost always between 8-power and 10-power binoculars. 10-power give you a more detailed view of the birds but at the cost of being somewhat harder to be stable with. After that is the diameter of the exit lens. The bigger the number, the more light it can bring in and the wider the view. Again, among bird-watching circles, the choice seems to be 42mm or 50mm with 42mm being more popular.

Once you have chosen the "power" and the "angle", it really comes down to the quality of the lenses (and perhaps the design of the prisms within the binoculars). Unfortunately, there is no magic number that describes lens quality. Somebody mentioned Nikon 8 x 42 binoculars. Nikon makes at least six different series of binoculars (Trailblazer, Monarch, Monarch HG, Prostaff, Travelite and Aculon) and sometimes has multiple models within the series (such as the Monarch 3, Monarch 5 & Monarch 7). Which is right for you (assuming you want to go Nikon)? The only way to really tell is to try them out yourself. You may be able to briefly borrow some from birdwatchers during birdwalks or you may got to an outdoor sporting goods store (Cabella, REI, etc.) and try them out in the store.

Lastly, you really need to consider your budget. You can find binoculars for under $50 and you can find them costing several thousand dollars. What are good optics worth to you? How much pleasure will you get out of what you are seeing and watching? I know birders who have Swarovski or similar binoculars worth around $3,000 a pair who justify it by having birdwatching as their primary hobby. That's cheaper than buying cars as a hobby and perhaps cheaper than higher-end golf clubs!

Be aware that the relationship between cost and quality isn't a flat line. That is, $1,000 binoculars are not twice as good as $500 binoculars. As you get into better and better binoculars, you will pay more and more for smaller and smaller improvements. My wife and I have gone through several pairs of binoculars over the years, starting from some that cost around $50 40 years ago to recently upgrading our Nikon Monarch 5s (costing around $500/pair) to Vortex Razor HDs (around $1,000) and Razor UHDs (around $1500). They are worth it to us. To somebody else no as much into birdwatching? Maybe not so much. And to somebody else really into birdwatching? They may not be good enough. It's all relative.

[J1ceasar]

as said - higher magnification will cause shaking... another option is to use a camera with higher magnification and you can even use a wire to your tv screen !

I at one time used to sell optical goods and had binoculars. Like many things there are many choices. People sometimes do not understand what 7x35 means 7 is the power.
What you are looking at appears 7x closer. The 35 is the diameter of the exit lens-ability to gather light. Another common 7 power binocular would be a 7x50 and all things being the same it is roughly 3x brighter. It is of course bigger and heavier.

As you buy more powerful binoculars you also magnify shake and reduce the field of view-how wide you can see. About the most powerful binoculars you can hold would be about 10 power. You already have the 7x35 a good all purpose binocular. I would keep them. For more power, you might consider binoculars that come with a tripod mount or you can purchase adapters. You might consider zoom binoculars. A telescope.

Multi coated-beware that it is not meaningless advertising. There is optical goods out there where only the outside lenses are multi coated it does nothing but to make it more difficult to clean and subject to scratching. Multi coating does cut glare and gather more light but you want all elements multi coated.

Zoom optics. If, of good quality it can be good. On inexpensive stuff you loose brightness, contrast and resolution also the zoom can slip on its-own and be stiff in the cold.

[capecodder1]

Thanks to all for lots of great advice. I really appreciate it.
I am going to order Nikon 8 x 42 as they are reasonable and seem to be a good choice for us at this time.
Thanks again.

[AzAuSenior]

Since you are watching from home, maybe you would consider an alternative to binoculars: Celestron 20x50mm Outland X Monocular w/Smartphone Adapter & Tripod for about $90 on Amazon. It is a spotting scope with a camera attached that connects to your cell phone. It features a 20X magnification stablized by tripod and you can use you cell phone to view the image, save the image and share with others. Here is an image of the instrument

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61c10wgPgHL._AC_SL1000_.jpg

[jdulej]

For others who might be interested. Look at Meopta. They are made in either The Czech Republic or here in Florida depending on the model (not in China like 90% of the <$1,000 binoculars). They are known mostly for rifle scopes but make great optics in general. I bought an 8X32 pair called MEOPRO HD to help be with bird photography and could not be more satisfied. They were around $500.

[Grunt 1946]

Buy a spotting scope unless you're walking around. 20X60 to 20X100, and a good study tri-pod. The best bang for the buck is Nikon. I have some Nikon 10x50 binoculars that are fantastic but heavy.

[SFSkol]

Here's a link that started today on Amazon of 15% off Bushnell optics.

Based upon the very informative posts from above you should find something.

https://www.amazon.com/deal/95ea58f0/ref=gbps_img_m-3_5f7f_95ea58f0?creative=9325&camp=1789&tag=dealnewscom&showVariations=true&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=b4ae1fbd-01e4-4638-afa3-dd80b8065f7f&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-3&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=10805321&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=ZW8ZXRQFKNY2BTS9TTVR&ascsubtag=a25qrqui46r5nkdvpntklN5vkHd5s80W

My suggestions:
1. Buy something that you can mount on a tripod. (Has a mounting screw)
2. Buy a decent tripod for above.
3. For long term viewing weight is an major issue. For quick spotting consider a light weight monocular.
3. Consider an ocular that has a zoom lens.
4. I have a few Celestron astronomy scopes that are great. My main scope is a 8" Meade.
5. Have been able to see SpaceX launches from the Villages with this 8-24X42 monocular that I always keep in the golf cart.

Amazon.com (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HKP4719/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

- Good luck and remember things are always looking up.

[SFSkol]

Just saw this posted. 50% off. I bought a few of these for holiday gifts for the grand-kids last year. They love them. $20 final cost

Vilux 12x14 BAK4 Prism Monocular Telescope for $18 (https://www.dealnews.com/Vilux-12-x14-BAK4-Prism-Monocular-Telescope-for-18-free-shipping/19219682.html)