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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Starter spotting scope recommendation help wanted (1 Viewer)

My only concern about the scope would be if you wear glasses. I have never tried the scope, but some reviews suggest the 80mm version has little in the way of "eye relief", which means you may have difficulty seeing the whole field of view unless you take your glasses off.

Let us know how you make out and hope you have a good holiday.

Best,
Jim
The discription notes that it is glasses friendly. I need glasses for reading, though they do improve my overall vision as well. My wife, however, needs them full time. I will post & let everyone know & Happy Holidays to you as well!
George
 
The Sandpiper can't be 'had' anyplace ....so not an option. The Vixen has good quality but you will have to remember that with that scope you need to also order an eyepiece with it, not just the scope. So add that to the cost. Bushnell makes some excellent starter scopes. Try the Legend series which is step up from the Sentry. You should be happy with that for what you do.

Thanks, but too late! I purchased a Nikon ProStaff 16-48x65mm Angled today.
I had pretty much decided to go with the Vixen but the extra cost of the eyepiece was the deal breaker. I understand most serious birders would prefer it that way so they can tailor their eyepiece quality to their viewing needs. But, we are new to this & at this point, not sure how serious we'll get in the future. We're planning a vacation to Yellowstone National Park next summer so we'll make go use of it there.
So, for now, the Nikon is the one. I hope it's good!
George
 
My scope arrived yesterday but Santa doesn't until the 25th! I also added what I hope are some good books to start us off in the right direction;

The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America
National Audubon Society North America Birdfeeder Guide
National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Fifth Edition


Just off hand I'd think one would need to commit much to memory in order to use the reference books quickly in the field. Any tips?
George
 
My scope arrived yesterday but Santa doesn't until the 25th! I also added what I hope are some good books to start us off in the right direction;

The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America
National Audubon Society North America Birdfeeder Guide
National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Fifth Edition


Just off hand I'd think one would need to commit much to memory in order to use the reference books quickly in the field. Any tips?
George

The first and third are among the best guides available. I'm not familiar with the middle one.

If you think you might get into general field birding, you might also want to get something like "Sibleys Birding Basics". This should give you some good tips on learning how to approach the hobby. Learning to identify birds is a gradual process, one that never really stops for even the most experienced birders. Best to start by learning the birds in your local area and proceed from there. Also try to familiarize yourself with the taxonomic order used in most field guides (there is some variation). This will allow you to find birds more quickly in the field guide.

Also, as others have mentioned, binoculars are the primary tool of the field birder. You mention above that you have some low cost zoom binoculars. Zoom binoculars are not a good choice for birding (or really anything). The optics are almost always poor. Fortunately, you can get some very good non-zoom binoculars at relatively low cost. Since you are on a limited budget, you might want to keep an eye on the used binoculars section of this forum, and also review the many threads on low-cost binoculars. (You might even start a new thread specifying your needs and explaining the problems you have had with bins you've used in the past). You mentioned you had trouble holding your current binoculars steady at any magnification. Not sure what magnifications you are dealing with, but 7x or even 6x bins may reduce this problem. Also, there are image stabilized bins which might be in your price range if used.

I'd suggest starting some new threads if you have more general questions about getting into birding. (Try the "tips for new birders" and "binoculars" subforums).

Hope this helps,
Jim
 
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