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Large bins (1 Viewer)

swalker

Well-known member
Does anyone have experience of using large bins for watching sea birds from 50-200m? And how does it compare to using a scope for this purpose?

I have a pair of 8x32SEs and a Mirador 20x60 scope. I prefer using both eyes and want a "nearer" and brighter image.

Thanks
Steve
 
swalker said:
Does anyone have experience of using large bins for watching sea birds from 50-200m? And how does it compare to using a scope for this purpose?

I have a pair of 8x32SEs and a Mirador 20x60 scope. I prefer using both eyes and want a "nearer" and brighter image.

Thanks
Steve

Hi Steve,

viewing with both eyes has its own advantages. At the same magnification, for example 15x you will always able to view more details with a binocular comparing to a scope. Human brain manages putting two different pictures together and make much more of this as one might expect. As a rule of thumb some astronomical users estimate viewing with both eyes increases perception of optical information of about 30 percent.
Swarovski SLC 15x56, Leica Duovid 10+15 and Canon IS 15 or 18x50 are all excellent high power binoculars for the distances you want to go for. An interesting insiders' tip could be the Fujinon 16x70 FMT-SX which provides excellent performance for the money.
But when it comes to detailled views of a bird a scope shows most of course.

Steve
 
Thanks Steve, very interesting. Those Fujinon 16x70 FMT-SX you mentioned do look good. I have also been looking at the "Binoculars-Observation" on the warehouse express site and wondered what they would be like. My bins (8x32Se) are great but lack the power to really pull the subject in. The scope (Mirador 20x60) pulls it it but the image is not great and I get tired of looking through one eye. If I was into digiscoping it would be no contest and I would get a good scope. But I am quite happy just looking and will try some of these large binos on a tripod or monopod.

Steve
 
hinnark said:
Swarovski SLC 15x56, Leica Duovid 10+15 and Canon IS 15 or 18x50 are all excellent high power binoculars for the distances you want to go for. An interesting insiders' tip could be the Fujinon 16x70 FMT-SX which provides excellent performance for the money.

Don't forget the Zeiss 15x60BGAT and the (ridiculously expensive) Zeiss 20x60S. I have some limited seawatching experience with both of them, and they're excellent. I always fancied getting a pair 0f 15x60's, but I can't really justify buying it only for seawatching ...

However, in most situations I scan the sea with a pair of 10x resting on my scope, and switch to the scope whenever I see anything interesting.

Hermann
 
Hermann said:
Don't forget the Zeiss 15x60BGAT and the (ridiculously expensive) Zeiss 20x60S. I have some limited seawatching experience with both of them, and they're excellent. I always fancied getting a pair 0f 15x60's, but I can't really justify buying it only for seawatching ...

However, in most situations I scan the sea with a pair of 10x resting on my scope, and switch to the scope whenever I see anything interesting.

Hermann

Hermann,

I can confirm this. I thought on these but their price let me be quiet ;) Well, to beat this I could mention the Kowa Highlander Prominar which magnifies until 32x and is an optical dream but unfortunately a financial nightmare.

Steve
 
15x60's

I use the Zeiss 15x60's for binocular astronomy. As I point it well over the horizon, I keep it on a on a camera tripod. This whole apparatus gives beautiful views of the moon, but it is hardly portable, so I do not use it for birding. For the price of those binoculars, I could have bought a 'scope, but i like using both eyes.

It should be possible to use a monopod with a fifteen power glass, but I find that a monopod barely stabilises a twelve power glass.

Happy birding,
Arthur Pinewood
 
Last edited:
Pinewood said:
It should be possible to use a monopod with a fifteen power glass, but I find that a monopod barely stabilises a twelve power glass.

Well, it depends to some extent on what exactly you mean by "stabilize" - no monopod will stabilize a pair of binoculars or a scope as well as a good tripod.

However, the main problem with monopods is that they normally don't dampen movements in the horizontal plane well enough. Movements in the vertical are not the problem. Give it a try, it's fairly obvious, and when you think about it it's also clear why this is so.

That's where the Monostats I mentioned in another thread are different - that rubber foot dampens the movements in the horizontal plane very well indeed. They really are quite different from conventional monopds. I used them quite extensively over the past five years or so, and I'm still amazed at how good they are.

By the way, when birding in woodland monopods have one significant advantage over three-legged tripods. I often carry the monopod with the tripod mounted over the shoulder, and I'm a lot faster on the bird than with a normal tripod.

Hermann
 
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