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Binoculars for everyday use should be between 7x-10x. My suggestion is to stick to quality binos. They do
cost a lot of money but can last a life time.
Look at the best binoculars
to see what you can get if money doesn't matter. Then you make the choice of what
to accept for the money you do have (or even better save up to the ones you really
want).
Leica Ultravid, Zeiss FL, Swarovski EL, Nikon, etc., verses middle priced binoculars will continue to be a hot topic. But note that the top name brands all have established quality products that have stand the test of time and demanding consumers.
The familiar "You get what you pay for" is still true today. A cheap middle of the pack bino. can easily be detected as having a darker image, less contrast and sharpness, and usually it cannot handle the accidental drop on the pavement.
What to look for when buying a pair of binos?
Magnification:
People are different, and have contradictory impressions. That's why we will always discuss things like 8x vs. 10x magnifications. I personally find 10x binoculars to bring the subject closer, and thus render it clearer, and in more detail. I also use spottingscopes only about 10% of the time when out birding.
But many people find that an 8x is easier to hold steady, has better features, and that there isn't such a significant difference by increasing the magnification. This doesn't necessary have to hold true but I have eyeglasses, and many of the people I meet who claim 8x are their educated choice have perfect, unimproved vision.
10x
is perfect
for those far away birds. But if you have a hard time keeping the image steady,
don't see much of a difference, or always carry with you a spottingscope the 7x/8x would do even better.
Field of view:
A wide field of view is very important. The ultimate binocular should have over 400feet at a 1000yds, but this is hard to come by for anything but a low powered 7x or 8x. If you go up in magnification to a 10x then you should at least have 330feet/1000yds. You may go around this limitation with certain Porro prism binos, but note that the edge sharpness can take a toll. Usually this is not such a bad thing since the wide field of view is to detect or keep track of birds, and perfect edge sharpness isn't therefore of highest importance.
Image
brightness, and contrast:
Look for a bright image and of outstanding contrast (Zeiss Victory FL
are exceptional, especially the 7,8,10x42).
Focusing:
Can
you easily get the image in focus? Some binos focus very quickly (Zeiss 10x42
Victory FL), and some force you to turn the focus wheel a lot to go from far to
near focus in which time you might have lost sight of the bird (e.g. first generation Swarovski 10x42
EL).
It is important that you can focus close to a bird (3 meter/9 feet is fine).
Weight:
32oz(900g) and above is a pain around the
neck, and can cause injury! Look at low weight options around 21-28oz(600-800grams).
You can relieve some of the weight by replacing the neck strap with one that
uses a shoulder harness to carry the weight (especially for 600g and up).
Note that small binoculars can more easily be brought with you on non birding trips, and birds can show up on the most unlikely places such as on city walks, a bicycle ride home from work, etc.
Armoring, and Waterproofing:
The
feel in the hand is important. Rubber coating is great in cold weather, and will
also protect against dings, and drops. Quality roof prism binos are almost always water, and fog proof. But you can still have great use for non-proofed binos. The key is to learn how to protect them against fogging up, and use rain guards!
One trick against fogging in cold weather is to keep the binos in the trunk of your car, or lower the heat in the car so that they wont fog when stepping out into the cold air. There are also anti-fogging liquids that can be wiped on the eyepieces. Nikon anti fog wipes have been recommended for not leaving a residue on the ocular, and one wipe will last at least a week.
Eye Relief:
For eyeglass wearers it is important to make sure you can get a full field of view without having to take off you glasses. There are still new binoculars being made with insufficient eye-relief, so make sure you test it carefully. 16mm down to 14mm is usually good enough eye relief.
Roof vs. Porro prism:
Roof
prism binos usually have a great close focus (3m/10feet), are fog/water proof,
and have an acceptable field of view (130m/390feet for 8x, 110m/330feet for 10x).
Porro prism binos are often less expensive, have a great image, and a wide field
of view, but can be rendered useless in rainy, humid conditions.
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My
suggestion (August 4, 2006):
ZEISS Victory 10x42 T* FL
is in my opinion the very best birding binoculars out there. The ZEISS is exceptionally bright, and can easily be used for owl watching. It is also very sharp, has a close focus, neutral colors, a wide field of view, and a superb feel in hand.
Leica 10x42 Ultravid on the other hand has an amazing contrast and vibrant colors making it the best binocular in most bright, day
light conditions.
ZEISS Victory 10x32 T* FL is the low weight version of the super bright 10x42 (560g vs. 760g). The image is slightly better with the bigger brother. But the weight, size together with the FL series excellent eyerelief, image brightness, neutral colors, and feel in hand were the selling factors for me.
Leica 10x32 Ultravid is also a low weight option. Its high contrast image makes the image very sharp, and this model retain saturated colors typical of Leica. I have read that some find the eyerelief inadequate, but I personally find it acceptable.
ZEISS 8x32/8x42 Victory T* FL &
Leica 8x32/8x42 Ultravid are the best choices for those who don't insist on 10x magnification. The image details are similar to that of the 10x versions described above. But the specifications are of course quite different especially for the 8x32 that have a very wide field of view.
Leica 8x20 is the ultimate lightweight binocular at a mere 240g. It is extremely sharp, and with excellent contrast. It doesn't have the limitations that I previously associated with mini binoculars; dark image and looking through a hole feel. I tested the Trinovid model, but the new Ultravid have much better design, and features. Note however that the two-jointed design makes it hard to initially setup.
Leica 10x25 Ultravid Unfortunately I cannot hold the 10x version steady as it is too tiny, and has a narrow field of view. Though the size is excitingly small I would stick to the 8x version if I must have a super tiny binocular.
Swarovski EL struggled with a few shortcomings, and inconsistencies such as a yellow tint to the image, slow focusing, and bad eye relief of some models. But a new model should be just as an excellent choice as one of other two brands. If you decided on this model make sure you test eyerelief, fast focusing, and yellow tint to the image. The tint is often hard to notice, and actually increase the contrast (so it isn't such a big deal).
Nikon Unfortunately I do not have enough experience of Nikon to give suggestions, but the rave reviews should put their high end versions in the very top as well.
Image Stabilized binoculars
It becomes very difficult to keep the image steady when using a high powered binocular over 10x. The image will blur unless you use some type of image stabilization.
Newcon Optik have an entirely mechanical image stabilized binocular that doesn't need batteries.
Even though it has individual eyepiece focusing it is worth investigating as a
low cost ($599) alternative to Zeiss 20x60 that is also supposed to use mechanical stabilization.
However the leaders in image stabilized binoculars use a gyroscopic image stabilization that need batteries. This is a big drawback as you can easily drain the batteries in a couple of hours, and if you didn't bring backup batteries you have an awfully heavy, blurry, and fairly
dark image binos that weigh down your neck.
These binoculars are not quite up to par when it comes to high-end optics, but
the ingenious stabilization that is enabled by the push of a button has its niche.
It is a fabulous pair of binos to have at sea! They keep the bird image steady
on the rocky boat, and you can follow the bird easily on a high magnification
(e.g., 12x or 15x).
Image stabilization is also great for raptor watching
where high magnification, and a large field of view are of extra importance.
Canon is setting the standards, and released in 2005 the worlds brightest IS binocular; 10x42 L IS WP (very heavy). Canon 12x36 IS II with up to 4 hours of battery life, have long been the most popular IS bino. on the market.
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