TM, a hundred posts and six months on I hope you will now be able to test and find a binocular that is just right for you! Or, you could compromise on a less costly model right now with a view to replacing later and you might even find that it is good enough to keep on.
The binocular in that video is not common but not unknown in the UK with a review done there some months back in BirdForum:
link
The setup of makes at the British Bird Fair was described briefly a few days ago in another thread. There will be a wide variety probably including pre-launch models, but it does not seem to be the place for leisurely comparisons! I have not heard of anything similar in London.
Blimey ! Half of those of course are me responding. Seems only courteous to reply, where appropriate, if someone has gone to the kindness of pitching in. People have been very generous with their knowledge and experience.
I think it may compromise the premis of the thread to allow price to become a limiting factor on top of those I've already imposed. I'm in the fortunate position of being able to not have to on this occasion. Six months of no going down the pub or smoking fills the piggybank pretty quick. Plus, you gotta treat youself now and then. Put it this way, £100 set aside for each lump of titanium I now 'own' more that covers an alpha and well on the way to a second. (I no longer smoke and rarely drink- prefer the quiet sunrise just me, a coffee and the birds)
The limits I have imposed may be shared by many but not all prospective buyers- bricks and mortar testing, travel time, all-round flexibility (although I concede that up to a 800g 8x42 is not everyones idea of an all- rounder) etc. Although at various points I've flirted with x32's and 10x I think an 8x or a 7x is a little more versatile for me. The x32 seems not to give me quite as much as is potentially available as the evening draws in - it could of course be my ageing eyes. Look forward to finding out.
What I would definitely concede is that should a buyer ever have any intention of buying a second pair, in parallel rather than serially, so to speak, then this opens up a huge raft of possible strategies. It could be argued that I've almost conceded that point by admitting to developing a tangetial interest in the hardware in its own right. That's the problem with hanging around with GAS junkies on here
There's a guy who's written a couple of pieces (something like, 'greatestbinoculars of all time'?)A cinematographer. One of his contentions is that bins by various marques have their own raison detre in terms of, for example, colour rendition and one picks according to ones own optical tastes and proclivities. I think this is a very important point and can easily be missed in the dash for perfection. We all have our own 'vision' (pardon the pun) of balance and harmony in tonality, palette, range and just inate pleasure to behold.
Choose ones weapon accordingly. There is no right or wrong aesthetically IMHO.
Some of the protracted bunfights I've read on here over some of the more subjective criteria are by turns hilarious and exhausting. Enlightening though.
I used to be GAS mad about stills camera equipment which, if sports optics is a narrow vein to be carefully mined, is more opencast dynamite mining of equipment, if you will. In my defence, I did used to sell the stuff.
I will bash on with my criteria but could easily see a second pair finding its way coming along thereafter to fill a more nuanced roll should a distinct gap emerge.
Were it not for the fact that Mrs.TheMoog (who has by sheer attrition as much as anything else has become as interested in nature watching as I ) that role would be filled by my existing bins. They have therefore already been 'hedged'.
One thing I would humbly hope is that I never get to the point of buying each new micro iterational evolution of a given platform of each marque. If I do I'll be relying on the kindness of the enablers in here to march me off to the nearest Betty Ford clinic !
Good point about Birdfair et al. Having looked at the homepage, much of which seems not to have working links, at least as of last night, I would still like to go. Rutland looks beautiful as a spot. Coupla hours to get there. Could be a very nice day out. Just gotta make sure I only take money for 'soft' purchases though or it could get messy.
TM
