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Martin Fagg · Sep 5, 2010

brocknroller said:
No, unfortunately, that only happens when Superman turns the earth from east to west.

Brock

Is he going to do this soon? I am deciding particularly middle-aged today and I'm longing to regain the careless days of youth.

So long as I can keep modern optics at the same time though.

brocknroller · Sep 5, 2010

Martin Fagg said:
Is he going to do this soon? I am deciding particularly middle-aged today and I'm longing to regain the careless days of youth.

So long as I can keep modern optics at the same time though.

There's no free ride even with Superman. If you get younger, so does your optics. So you lose all those incremental change$, but that will leave you with more change$ in your pockets!

If he turns us back 30 years, I recommend three bins, the Swaro 7x30 SLC, the Zeiss Jena 8x50 Octarem, and the Zeiss 15x60 B/GA (never tried the 15x60, but I heard it was "to die for").

You won't miss your latest and greatest alphas, because they haven't been invented yet so you won't know what you're missing (and among the above bins, you're not missing much anyway).

Also, here's another tip - invest all your savings in mortgage backed securities and cash out before September 2008. By the present day, when everybody else is pinching their pennies, you will be living like a hedgehog manager, and you'll be so filthy rich you could keep an SV EL in your Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren's glove box as your "go to" bin.

Of course, the problem is, if you go back in time, you lose memories of what happened after the "restore point". But, you've seen "Back to the Future," you can write yourself a note as a reminder!

Brock

looksharp65 · Jan 9, 2011

Tero said:
I only had an 8x32 last summer in Finland. I was able to ID lapwing and nightjar at 11 PM or later. The smaller birds will be hard, but one usually learns to ID by song at night, in Scandinavia.

In winter, there is only a dozen species to be found, mostly at the bird feeder. Tramping through snowy woods, might find a grouse. [just kidding, though I would have about 30 species for the year, and people I know get some 100 birds for the year by Jan 30]

This winter, like the previous, we have had lots of snow and really cold weather, even though I live in Southern Sweden with its coastal climate.
However, this has not stopped my birding. This far, I have seen 48 species in 2011. I reached all of them by foot or bike, no motor vehicle was used (yet).
https://sth-se.diino.com/looksharp65/Birds_2011
Password is "avesMMXI"

edwincjones · Jan 11, 2011

If you are considering the Garrett or Fujis, you will probably need a tripod,
so why go with one of the 70mm binoculars by them?
note the individual focus

edj

looksharp65 · Jan 11, 2011

Thank you edj,

but this thread is very old and that thought of giant bins is long gone now.
I now realize the Zeiss easily could be bettered when it comes to the view, and with some effort and $$$ even the ergonomics.

Maybe I will get myself a 10x50, but since it's hard for me finding even a 10x42 that fits my requirements, I may split into a nice 10x32 or 10x36 for hawking/long distance and possibly a 8.5x50 to 8x56 for the late long evenings.

My Vortex Fury with its exit pupil of 4.9 mm is very bright, so I may stick to the idea of the 6.5x complemented with a very good 10x.
All other bins just for secondary use like keeping at work or as garden bins.

The giant bins really are suitable for astronomy only, and the individual focus is not the way to go. "Been there, done that"...

Swissboy · Jan 20, 2011

looksharp65 said:
........And, if I reverse my argumentation, in areas close to the equator, anything beyond 10x32 is a complete waste because the sun drops down the horizon in a 90 degree angle, making the dusk period last only a few minutes.

........

It's only after having read about half of the first page that I realized this is a rather old thread. However, I'd still like to comment on a particular argument (c.f. post #8) that I think is only correct in parts.

I agree about the generally short dusk periods in tropical regions, and the long ones closer to the polar areas. But some regions of the tropics have all-day dusk, the understory of the rainforest. It's precisely because of this that I felt the need to change from my otherwise excellent Trinovid 8x32 to the FL 8x42.

I might add that one can also get too much light without looking into a light source. I sometimes feel a bit blinded when pointing my 8x42 FL towards a bird up in a tree with white clouds in the background. Part of the problem may well be age related, I assume.

looksharp65 · Jan 20, 2011

Swissboy said:
I agree about the generally short dusk periods in tropical regions, and the long ones closer to the polar areas. But some regions of the tropics have all-day dusk, the understory of the rainforest. It's precisely because of this that I felt the need to change from my otherwise excellent Trinovid 8x32 to the FL 8x42.

Good thinking, Swissboy! I have to admit I was writing in generalities, when I actually had safaris on the savanna in mind.
The point I was trying to make was that there is a greater need for bins with large exit pupil in Scandinavia, not really to take a judgemental attitude towards other's choice of binoculars. Mea culpa!

Swissboy said:
I might add that one can also get too much light without looking into a light source. I sometimes feel a bit blinded when pointing my 8x42 FL towards a bird up in a tree with white clouds in the background. Part of the problem may well be age related, I assume.

In another thread I made comparisons between two of my bins, one having a 4.1 mm exit pupil and the other with 4.9 mm. The latter was significantly brighter when I looked into shaded parts of shrubberies or other situations with major differences in illumination, like the one you described above.
Both were high quality bins, but the more expensive one (with 4.1 mm EP) fell short in this regard. And I have never felt blinded with the other.

This is why I have been trying to find the "end of list" as described in the thread, but now I am inclined to believe I can do better with a 10x32 >> 10x36 for daylight and a 8x50 >> 8x56 for the evenings.

EDIT: By the way, the new Swarovision 50 mm seems to be what was looking for in the OP. I am not really sure I could justify the expense, though.

Swissboy · Jan 20, 2011

looksharp65 said:
.......EDIT: By the way, the new Swarovision 50 mm seems to be what was looking for in the OP. I am not really sure I could justify the expense, though.

Yes, that one is likely some kind of financial overkill, since you already have excellent equipment.

If anything, I'd suggest replacing that trusted old 10x40 Zeiss with a Zeiss 10x42 FL. You'd be surprised how much you gain. Not just in brightness, but also in close-focus ability.

By the way, that blinding effect is likely due to the fact that eyes don't adapt very quickly anymore to light changes as one gets older. I know pupils won't dilate as much anymore,but how about closing up, can they still close up as much as in younger people?

looksharp65 · Jan 20, 2011

Swissboy said:
...a Zeiss 10x42 FL. You'd be surprised how much you gain. Not just in brightness, but also in close-focus ability.

Of course. One of the best. If I get tired trying to raise the funds for a SWV50, I might halt and run away for the FL.

It is improbable that any of these events will occur. Not even the strength of the Swedish currency krona will boost my finances to that level.

Swissboy said:
By the way, that blinding effect is likely due to the fact that eyes don't adapt very quickly anymore to light changes as one gets older. I know pupils won't dilate as much anymore,but how about closing up, can they still close up as much as in younger people?

Yes, they can. When my pupils don't dilate like they still do (I'm 45), I may get hold of mydriatic droplets (usually used for diagnostic purpose by ophtalmologists)

Swissboy · Jan 21, 2011

looksharp65 said:
...... When my pupils don't dilate like they still do (I'm 45), I may get hold of mydriatic droplets (usually used for diagnostic purpose by ophtalmologists)

Those may help to dilate, but not to reduce the blinding effect. I wonder, by the way, whether the droplets dilate further than what one can still do unaided in the dark. At close to 69, I'm of course further ahead with these problems than you are.

looksharp65 · Jan 21, 2011

Swissboy said:
Those may help to dilate, but not to reduce the blinding effect.

That's so true.

Swissboy said:
I wonder, by the way, whether the droplets dilate further than what one can still do unaided in the dark.

Yes, much larger. And insensitive for light, so they won't react if you direct the flashlight beam towards your face.
And they are not just to use for any layman, as they can cause serious conditions if no doctor is there. But it would really be cool to try them at night, for owling, with an 8mm exit pupil bin

ceasar · Jan 22, 2011

These drops do make a difference!

I remember coming home rather early on an August afternoon about 5:30 PM or so after seeing my Opthamologist. My eyes were still quite dilated. It was nice and clear and well before sunset and I sat on my deck looking around. It was still very light and I saw a star rather high in the west and that was quite bright. No other stars were visible. I thought at first it was Venus but that was not possible at that particular date. I kept watching it and finally I realized that it was Arcturus.

It was still daylight!

Bob

looksharp65 · Feb 13, 2011

Good news and bad news.

Good: I found the Holy Grail.

Bad: It's the Swarovision 50. Chances I will buy it are diminutive, the price tag is scary.

Also good new for you folks, as this probably is the last time I resurrect this old thread.
A Nikon ED50A will help to cheer me up later this spring.

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=2060334#post2060334

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