Scopes vs. Binoculars?

[Marley]

All,

I was just curious to know what percentage of the time BF members use binoculars and what percentage of the time they use a scope.

I realize that we all live in and visit different areas and given our individual locales, we may be able to use one or the other more often.

My question is really based in dollars (how unique, right?). I have spent a fair amount of money obtaining two really nice Swaro bins and I find I use them all the time. I also have a Nikon Fieldscope III ED that is also quite excellent, but I find that I use it less often, mainly due to portability. On top of that, I have a Nikon 82 ED on order, as the price is very good and I can use the eyepieces from the Fieldscope, so all I have to buy is the body. After lugging the Fieldscope and tripod around the New Mexico desert for awile, I am starting to question my sanity with regards to buying another scope.

Folks outside of BF think we have lost our minds if we pay $1500.00 for a pair of bins. If we can justify the expense with daily usage for many years, then perhaps we can get away with it. If you are like me and you use bins far more often than a scope, the same $1500.00 (or more!) for a scope purchase seems to border on the ridiculous. :eek!:

My question for all is:

Do most BF members have and use both bins and scopes or are some of us (like me) guilty of obtaining more fun toys than we really use? Do you really find yourself reaching for that scope as much as that pair of FLs (or ELs or Ultravids, or.....) or do you lean towards the lightness, quickness and portability of binoculars?

Thanks for the help. I was just curious to know if I am the only one with a slightly dusty scope! ;)

Rgds,

Steffan

[Tim Allwood]

HI there Steffan
you are not alone!

I think i have a similar approach to you. Your scope is already an excellent one and a light one at that. I have a mega light Kowa 614 and a larger Nikon ED78. I sometimes take the Kowa on a shoulder pod but the Nikon is a bit of a pain to lug around. Abroad, in the rainforest I never take a scope - it is just way too cumbersome, hot and sweaty and would get in the way horrendously. Both scopes were very cheap though.

When i bird with mates in Norfolk we sometimes take one scope between us. It certainly lightens the load, if you can get out of being the one to carry it of course!

bins can be used in UK away from busy places/twitches as you can appraoch the birds more easily. Once a good bird is found and the crowds arrive a scope can become essential as close approach is out of the question... but can be attempted!!!

Tim

[Richard Scott]

Hi Steffan,

I carry a scope 99 times out of 100. Its only left at home if I'm birding in enclosed forest habitat, but most of the time I'm looking at distant wildfowl, waders and gulls, so I can't do without it. Having said that, I've seen plenty of experienced birders at migration hotspots who only use bins.

Rich.

[michaelboustead]

I have one of the little 65 mm scopes with a fixed 30x eyepiece on it. I use it only when I am birding and the terrain is such that I expect long distance unobstructed views-marshland, rivers and ocean. Usually the scope comes out of the car and is carried a short distance. Carrying a scope for a mile or more is not my idea of fun. I find it difficult to carry a scope and use my binos. Some people are better than me at this.

When a scope is useful it can be very useful. In the forests of the Northeast US it can get in the way.

I am going to Costa Rica at the end of July. My scope will stay home.

Stay safe,

Mike

[Pinewood]

I have both, but I have used my 'scope, an 85mm, only once in the last six months, for birdwatching. I carried it and the tripod about 1200 meters to look at a rarity. Of course, I do not have an auto, which differentiates me from many other bird watchers. Additionally, the 'scope was purchased with astronomy in mind.

I believe that a similar thread revealed that serious bird watchers in the U.K. were more likely to have and use both than serious bird watchers in the U.S.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood :brains:

[lvn600]

I haven't had too much need for a scope because I do mostly shrub/woodland kind of birding. If I move on to more of the gulls/waterfowl I may use a scope. Also people often let me take a peak through their scope which is nice.

[Jaeger01]

Both the wife and I have a scope (mine small, almost never carry, her's is an 80 mm, she carrys it almost all the time), I use my bins almost a 100% of the time, she uses her scope about 95% of the time, maybe more. Difference in what we prefer. Of course, I can see a good one through her scope almost when I want to, she focuses it and I usually just take a glance through it.

[salty]

i only take the scope out if i am visiting a hide or going somewhere a scope is essential, such as the coast or moorland and mountanous areas.

thats why i prefer 10x mag bins, just that little easier to id and watch things when you aint got that extra mag that a scope gives, handy.

[Chabi]

Hi

I always caught my scope to go birding but sometimes I don´t use it.

[Curtis Croulet]

I have both bins and a scope. When I first bought the scope, I always took it with me. I'd spent a lot of money, and I thought I had to justify the expenditure to myself. Now I use the scope less and less. If you're contemplating a choice between good bins on the one hand and mediocre bins plus mediocre scope on the other, then go with the good bins. But every tool has its purpose. If you have a good scope, you'll find it invaluable for places where the birds are just too far away for ID or enjoyment with bins.

[Tero]

My scope is in use when I can drive to the spots and set up. Such as marshes, lakes, rivers. If I have to carry it a mile, I don't take the scope. So about 10% of my yearly trips. It may be in the trunk some 20% of the time total, just in case.

[Seaside]

We have both bins and scope especially when working hides. Scope and hide clamp are carried in a small backpack this. I find this method secure and comfortable leaving my hands free to use bins. Hide clamp has quick release plate. Would hate to miss a good bird because I left scope at home

[Bill Atwood]

Depends on the quarry and grounds. If I'm shorebirding on big mud, or waterfowling on big water, I'll take a scope. Woodlands or grasslands, just the bins, although obviously there are times I wish I was carrying the scope.

[Bill A]

I have a nice little Zeiss 65mm scope that I use frequently, but certainly not as often as my binocs. The scope is indispensible for shorebirds, waterfowl, raptors, and for everything else in the winter, when, because of temperatures our British cousins simply cannot comprehend, binocs are impossible to use (breath freezes on the eyepieces, rendering the binocs inoperable).

Bill

[Otto McDiesel]

Depends on the quarry and grounds. If I'm shorebirding on big mud, or waterfowling on big water, I'll take a scope. Woodlands or grasslands, just the bins, although obviously there are times I wish I was carrying the scope.

Same here.

[photo1]

I have a 65 Swaro and a carbon fiber tripod I carry just about every time I go birding. It's very light weight and it seems there's always a bird just out of reach of my bins that I can't identify for sure. The scope really helps in the ID many times throughout the day. The only exception to carrying it is if I'm in deep woods. My hands are just not very steady and I love the motion free look at a bird through my scope. Most of the people I bird with rarely carry their scopes however.

[postcardcv]

I have both and always take both out (almost two years since I went birding without the scope and that was only because it was on the way to a friends wedding...) That said I use the bins far more than the scope - I always start with bins and then use the scope if it's needed for IDing, or purely to enjoy better views of a bird.
I know a number of birders who don't always take a scope out, but they always (and I mean always) end up wanting to look through mine...
If I'm out (but not birding) I only have bins with me, it's rare for me to leave the house without a pair - they really are essential.

[alexmclennan]

hi guys what do you think of the new compact scopes