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

10x or 16x monocular (1 Viewer)

Monoculars are hard to hold steady and as their power increases it becomes harder to hold them steady. For that reason alone you probably will be better off with the 10x25. Also their field of view gets smaller as the power increases.

Have you considered small, light weight, compact binoculars instead? You can hold them much more steadily. There are many on the market and the Nikon Travelite is just one example: They come in 8x25, 10x25, and 12x25. They are well made and durable. It is hard to find binoculars with decent optics at a much lower price than these.

http://nikon.com/products/sportoptics/lineup/binoculars/compact/travel-vi_25/spec.htm

Bob
 
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Ceasar thanks for the input.
I already have a 12x optical P&S cam which servers me good
in field do you think having 10x monocular
will really help.
 
I think that a good 10x25 monocular will give you a clearer and better view in the field than your 12x optical P&S camera will but you still will have the issue of keeping it steady.

You should be able to hold your small P&S camera steadier than you can hold a monocular.

At least I can hold my Nikon P530 steadier than I can hold my Zeiss 6x18 monocular. I have to use 2 hands to keep it steady. However I am not impressed with the tiny viewfinder on my Nikon P530. It is much easier overall to use my little Nikon 9x25 Travelite.

Bob
 
Ceasar thanks for the input.
I already have a 12x optical P&S cam which servers me good
in field do you think having 10x monocular
will really help.

Bought one when started - total waste of time and money.

Forgot and bought another one - same waste of money.

If you want a single lens get a proper telescope.

Best general purpose instrument I ever bought was a pair of Pentax Papilio binoculars - proper stereo vision but also focus to 16" for insects, butterflies
They come in 6.5 or 8.5 magnification - I've got the 8.5.

They are tiny and very light.

I see them on Ebay here.

Buy once - buy good - buy what you really need.

I had 6 pairs of binoculars and an equal amount of cameras, monopods, hide mounts, three scopes.

I now carry a pair of Swift bins that are very light and a plastic camera - for Winter sea watching I take an Opticron Mighty Midget and a carbon fibre tripod both of which are very light.

Most monoculars are as useful as looking down a toilet roll tube.

Most of the really good birdwatchers I go out with use a scope to pick up birds at great distance and then switch to binoculars to follow them as with any sort of telescope or monocular it becomes difficult to follow them - same works in a forest - they also often just use their eyes as you should develop the skill of identifying birds by what they do, how they look, how they fly, where they are then get the camera out.

It's too easy with a scope or monocular to get fixated on looking at distance just because you can - we had a Humpback Whale cruise past recently that folk with scopes missed.

Phew....
 
Agree with everyone else, you'd be better off with a decent pair of binoculars then with any kind of monocular.
 
I have a very cheap 8 X 21 monocular and I must say they are not particularly good for bird watching .

But , I find them usefull for carrying in my shirt pocket ---- can`t tell it`s there ----- when I am on holiday just for the occasional look at a distant view , interesting building etc .

Always carry them with me and for under £10 have over the years found them usefull if far from perfect.

Graham
 
I am blind in one eye so I use a monocular...10 X 36..Vortex brand. Awesome instrument.Lightweight ..fits easy in hand or pocket or around the neck using the strap. I have no trouble holding it steady. Easy to focus with a clear image. I HIGHLY recommend it!!
 
My rule of thumb is to never go over 10x when hand holding whether mono or bins. Can't hold it steady over that mag. Then it it tripod/monopod time.
 
Capturing the bird detail in real time

Hi there- just starting out and maybe not the right place to be asking, but I was wondering if there is anything on the market that takes an image/picture of the bird your looking at tells you what it is. Reason being my memory is bad and i keep forgetting the detail of the bird by the time i look it up in my book.
 
A bridge camera with a decent zoom can help, in conjunction with a field guide. I don`t think technology has advanced to the stage that the two can be combined yet!
 
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