Best Birding Binoculars/Bird watching Binoculars, Scopes, Optics review
Birding Binoculars can make bird watching a fun and relaxing hobby. Some of us are content to just watch only the ones that are in our backyard, but other people take it more seriously and want to get out to nature and study more birds up close. For these people bird watching binoculars and birding scopes are a must.
Does Weight Matter When Choosing Bird Watching Binoculars
A few things to consider when researching for birding optics would be weight; you must consider a lightweight compact binocular as in bird watching you have to hold the binoculars for a long time not to mention the hiking and walking to get to some prime viewing spots.
What Things to Look for in the Best Birding Binoculars
Whether you are thinking about standard binoculars or compact optics try to get the Best Birding Binoculars that you can afford, it's a great investment and will give you years of viewing pleasure. Make sure the binoculars are build durable and feels good in your hands, put them up to your eyes and make sure that they are comfortable.
With the focusing controls make sure they are easy to make adjustments.
Your birding binoculars should be able to focus very quickly so to make sure they're right for you by trying them in different lighting conditions from low light to bright light also in regular conditions as well. To capture some memories of your images you may want to try and review some digital camera binoculars.
Several camera and birding supply stores will have good birding optics as with some outdoor outfitters. Before the purchase of your new bird watching binoculars you should read several birding binocular reviews and try different manufacturers as they do very in style and feel. Binoculars are at very personal choice and only you can pick the best set for yourself.
How to Choose Birding Binoculars for Your Bird watching Activities
- Magnification: Most birdwatchers will choose 7, 8 or 10 x magnifications for overall use. Having too much power will give you a smaller field of view; less light will enter giving poor image quality. A stronger binocular will have to be held steadier to stop shaking, as they are usually heavier.
- Objective lens diameter: That is the front of the birding binoculars and also where the light enters the optics. With birding you should as a general rule look for a optic lens of almost 30 to 50 mm. Compact pocket binocular optics usually come in sizes below 30 mm. Remember the bigger the optic lens the more heavier the binoculars.
- Exit pupil: This is the diameter of light that you can see in the eyepiece. As a rule choose a pair with a 4 mm exit pupil size.
- Focus adjustment: The best bird watching binoculars will let you adjust the focus of your bird very quickly.
- Eye relief: If you wear glasses then this will affect you the most as the eye relief is how far back in millimeters you can hold the binoculars away from your face and still get a full field of view image.
- Field of view: This is the amount of image area that you see when you look through your binoculars.
What Are the Binocular Prism Designs and How Can They Affect You in Your Decision
Porro prism: The optical is Z shaped and will give you a wider pair of binoculars these are usually bulky and heavier and are not well sealed as the O-rings are on the outside allowing dirt and moisture in meaning they are Less expensive and not as durable.
Roof prism: More slim and lighter weight. These binoculars are more expensive but are easier to waterproof or at the least be water resistant. They are more durable than the Porro optic binoculars and will probably withstand a lot more abuse.
What Is the Best Lens Coating You Could Have for Your Birding Binoculars?
Lens coatings: Lens coatings will enhance and let more light through giving you a high quality image. Your best coating is to have a fully multicoated lens for your birding binoculars. You may want to consider at water repellent coating to help with fog and light rain conditions.
Below are the abbreviations for binocular lens coatings and a description
- Coated (C)- one layer coating on one lens surface.
- Fully coated (FC)-one layer coating on all air to glass surfaces.
- Multicoated (MC)-several coated layers on at least one-lens surface.
- Fully multicoated (FMC)-several coated layers on all air to glass surfaces.
The Binoculars That Bird Watching Enthusiast Should Avoid
Birding binoculars are very essential for bird watching, as they will bring life to your images. Make sure you don't get binoculars with a small field of view as you will miss a lot of sightings and will be restricted to how much you can see. Zoom binoculars are a poor choice for bird watching because of the image quality that you will get.
Binoculars that focus each eye separately are no good either because of the time it takes to focus on a bird you will have missed the opportunity, these types of binoculars are good for Marine or boating if you are concerned about waterproofing.
The more expensive binoculars will give you high quality optics, which in turn will give you high quality images. In all the best birding binoculars are usually in the mid-price range. If you stay with a reputable manufacture such as Bushnell or Nikon binoculars and do some research by starting with birding binocular reviews then you won't have to worry about replacing them for a long time.