Your major binocular use, POLL

[Tero]

1. Birding
2. Not birding
3. Multiple uses with no major use, but birding a large part of it

Just curious. We have astronomers and all here.

Mine:just birding.

[lucznik]

3.

[Backyard Birder]

Birding almost exclusively. We do a little astronomy and sports use but not much.

[Sancho]

Birding. I don´t know enough about astronomy and it´s usually cloudy here.

[Marcus Conway - ebirder]

1 .

[Andy Bright]

Hi,
do you fancy rewording it a bit, and we'll add a proper poll to the thread.
cheers,
Andy

[Vectis Birder]

1. but also astronomy.

[Tero]

Andy, what would you like to add?
1, 2, 3 are the major divisions here. I do not really need to know if it is astronomy or boating or hunting. But they can explain all that if willing.

[Andy Bright]

Andy, what would you like to add?
1, 2, 3 are the major divisions here. I do not really need to know if it is astronomy or boating or hunting. But they can explain all that if willing.

ok, no problem, I'll just do the options you have... it just didn't look right to me but i can't think of anything better and everyone seems to get the idea.
cheers,
Andy

[Jos Stratford]

4. dog toy

[postcardcv]

4. dog toy

I though that was your car... ;)

[Simon S]

1 but mainly collecting

[orbitaljump]

Hunting
Astronomy
Wildlife
Boating
Peeping....Oops!

[Andy Bright]

As we're a birding/nature site and almost all birders will view other nature with the binos, I've taken the liberty of adding birding/nature as one.


cheers,
Andy

[Kevin Conville]

I see what Andy might be alluding to regarding Tero's categories.

1 and 3 OK, but 2? This IS Bird Forum after all. I doubt there will be many 2s, if any.

BTW, I'm a 3. Breakdown is something like 95% birding, 4% astronomy, 1% concerts.

Addendum: A lot of posts at the same time! I now see the poll Andy

[orbitaljump]

Ive been known to take some to a sporting event, but I dont go too often....mostly football games.

[Kevin Purcell]

1 but mainly collecting

What, use the bins ... but they'd get all messy.

The wording is rather odd, Tero.

1. X
2. Not X
3. Neither of the above

Finnish three-way logic perhaps? ;)

Perhaps some extra options:

4. Viewing dollar bills and other resolution targets

I'm mostly 1 with a tiny bit astronomy and some 4 too.

[orbitaljump]

4. Viewing dollar bills and other resolution targets


LOL! :D

[JohnJos]

birds, birds, birds

[Steve C]

I voted #3 on the poll, but I'm equal use between birding, hunting and other general viewing.

[marcus]

No.1.

[Tero]

As we're a birding/nature site and almost all birders will view other nature with the binos, I've taken the liberty of adding birding/nature as one.


cheers,
Andy
fine, OK

This IS Bird Forum after all. I doubt there will be many 2s, if any.
I know they are here, maybe they will vote now as it is anonymous.

[Stewart J.]

Mainly 1 with a little astronomy and sightseeing.

Stewart

[OwenM]

My use is pretty general.
Dogs, cats, birds, squirrels, my favorite and least favorite of God's creatures-women. The occasional deer or other wildlife. City lights, landscapes, industrial complexes, trains, etc. from a 100ft. tank I get on top of at work, plus arriving and departing aircraft from the nearby airport. Boats on the river at my best friend's place, and the rest of the world from the boat. Beaches and mountains on vacation. Moon, stars, Jupiter and Venus since they're both highly visible right now, constellations(though I mostly have no idea what I'm looking at). Football games, godson's 8 yr. old soccer games. Signs, and any other thing that gets in front of me at a distance when I'm not driving...
I have bins out every day, several times a day:t: Looking at stuff would be a cheap hobby if I could just stop buying more dang binoculars.

[John M Robinson]

I put down #3. I'd say 80% of my use is out our windows or off our deck watching, wildlife, birds and maybe the neigbors a mile away. We live out in the Montana countryside so there is a lot going on. The rest is hunting, hiking, boating, anything out in nature.

[GeneralEverything]

I see what Andy might be alluding to regarding Tero's categories.

1 and 3 OK, but 2? This IS Bird Forum after all. I doubt there will be many 2s, if any.

BTW, I'm a 3. Breakdown is something like 95% birding, 4% astronomy, 1% concerts.

Addendum: A lot of posts at the same time! I now see the poll Andy

To be fair, birders ARE the most demanding of optics critics. I know several people, and several forums, all of which recommend people go to birding forums and ask for advice on binoculars. So, even people who aren't birders look to birders opinions on optics... Dare I make the pun? Like a... canary in a coal mine perhaps? [Dr. Evil Laugh]

[Kevin Conville]

To be fair, birders ARE the most demanding of optics critics.

For terrestrial use.

Astronomers are the ultimate critics, by far. Hair (and star) splitting is de rigueur. To some (many?), the whole exercise at a star party is to attain the ultimate view. I have a friend who takes a 36"! Dobsonian regularly to our local mountain viewing area. That's a man who's dedicated to "the view".

[ronh]

I'm 100% natural, half terrestial, half astronomical. I've been into astronomy since I was a little kid. I knock myself out looking at dim galaxies and splitting close double stars. Even at 7x! I'm newer to birding, and just about the worst birder around. But I'm learning. They are so beautiful. And, yeah, so hard to see. I LIKE hard to see.
Ron

[Tero]

Any new voters?

(bump)

[lulubelle]

Mainly birding and since you usually notice other things when you are birding - bugs, spiders, snakes, lizzards, etc - that too!! The night sky poses my next bin "frontier"!

[falcondude]

I consider myself type 3. I have a pair of binoculars by the window at all time. So, it is not just limited to birding.

[Tero]

So we are doing some 95% of people that have at least seen a bird through binoculars.

[FrankD]

I seem to fall into the last category. I use them for birding/nature observation for a good percentage of the time but also use them for extremely amateur astronomy and hunting as well.

[etudiant]

There are uses beyond birding for binoculars, theater or sporting events for instance.
But it's really birding that drives the decision to buy so does that make me a 1?

[jjg213]

Birding-70%
Other nature/ scenery- 20%
Boating-10%
John

[Tero]

Many users who do not bird can get away with narrow field, 7x power etc. depending on the use. Birding is a very demanding job.

I found I get seasick in a boat with binoculars. 7x would be good, maybe even 6x.

[mooreorless]

I would say 3. When I first started looking at this site I wasn't that much into birds, but I have found that I have become more interested in birds as time goes on. I was always interested in hawks. Astronomy is a big interest with me as well. I do like testing binoculars and spotters with charts etc.

The Yosemite 6x30 would be worth a try while in a boat. I have used it in our vehicle looking at signs ahead for my wife while she drives, first binocular I could use in a vehicle while moving.
Regards,Steve

[Apodemus]

.... I do like testing binoculars and spotters with charts etc.

.... I have used it in our vehicle looking at signs ahead for my wife while she drives ....

See - there are two uses there that I would never have dreamed of!

Is she such a fast driver?

Mike

[mooreorless]

Hi Mike, No she is not a fast driver, in fact she doesn't do the speed limit sometimes whilst we are going to the Daughter's place 3 1/2 hour trip.;) Makes for a longer trip. She missed a road one time and now I like to look ahead to make sure of the signs and I was just trying to see if I could use this binocular for this.
Regards,Steve

[Birdbrain]

Yeah Number 1. for me just birds ?

[falcondude]

sometimes, I watched other birders at distance. There were awkard moments when we found out that we were binning each other..oops ;)

[Tero]

Well, Dude, its OK to check out the ladies walking away, you are just testing your optics. If you see them facing you, best just to go up and shake hands. ;)

[rjwims]

Being new to all this, while my primary reason to buy bins is to observe birds, I look at just about everything and anything at the moment..just to get used to using them and to learn the differences between the several sets hat I recently purchased.

So, at the moment I'm a 3

Richard

[bkrownd]

1) Bird spyglass
2) Plant spyglass
3) Who the hell are these other people on my trail spyglass
4) What the hell is that over there in the bushes spyglass

[Can Popper]

I'm #3.

I use bins for astronomy, nature viewing, sporting, bullet hole spotting at the short ranges, birding, theater viewing, digibinning, and general tourist travel viewing. Got a bin for each of the above purposes too...LOL.

[Wachtel]

Birding and other use in nature. But it's usually a bird I look at even if I'm out doing something else |=)|

[Tvc15_2000]

Birding and careful observation of the two legged deer.

[Jaff]

Anatomical studies of members of the opposite sex in their natural habitat. |:D|

[James Bean]

When I used film cameras regularly, I ended up becoming a collector, by deriving greater enjoyment from using them than actually taking pictures. Digital cameras don't hold the same fascination for me: I love my Canon G9, it's a superb image recording device, and I don't need any other 'digitals', thank you. So I've switched my enthusiasm to binoculars. My main use is for birdwatching. I suspect that's a convenient justification for going out to play with several binoculars, although 'birding' is definitely growing on me. Otherwise I might indulge in spectating motor racing or aviation events.