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A penny saved is a quality binocular earned (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter WJC
- Start date
Jack Speer
Well-known member
I do sympathize with the new birder who wants to go out and try this new hobby but feel barred by the cost of a binocular. My advice to new birders has always been to save their money and go out with the local birding club. Not only do they usually have loaner binoculars, but you will also see a lot more with the help of experienced eyes and ears. Once you have about $300 saved, you have plenty of options of quality binoculars. Even $200 now can get you a Japanese made Leupold Mojave 8x32. I used the 8x42 version for years and that was a great buy.
I may buy your book in a month Bill (I am still recovering from my alpha purchase). Some extra wisdom may help when I am deciding Mrs. Speer's birthday gift. Plus I have found I am enjoying my time here reading about optics.
I may buy your book in a month Bill (I am still recovering from my alpha purchase). Some extra wisdom may help when I am deciding Mrs. Speer's birthday gift. Plus I have found I am enjoying my time here reading about optics.
A2GG
Beth
Bill,
If I knew you were going to frequently post sections of your new book for free here on BF, I wouldn't have ordered your book...jk :-O
I should probably get it in today, but I'm slow to read new books. I'll probably jump to the sections I'm interested in first instead of a cover to cover read.
~ Beth
If I knew you were going to frequently post sections of your new book for free here on BF, I wouldn't have ordered your book...jk :-O
I should probably get it in today, but I'm slow to read new books. I'll probably jump to the sections I'm interested in first instead of a cover to cover read.
~ Beth
WJC
Well-known member
And that’s why I said at the start: a penny saved is a quality binocular earned. And as for the book—I, too, have to budget everything I buy. I will have to wait for the first royalty check to buy some to sell locally and even to return a book I received from England to sign—13 oz. to southern England, $22.50 by mail and $83.94 by FedEx. I would love to be able to “put on the dog,” but, more often than not, honesty has served me well and I’m too old to change for something that inconsequential. :cat:
Bill
WJC
Well-known member
As you will read in the book, I’m in love with the idea of cutting, pasting, and pressing a button to answer questions. I was turned down by one publisher because I was “too quick to give things away.” But, long before looking for that “burger money,” I was all about helping my neighbor when possible.
Why did you buy only one? Don’t you know they’re great for birthdays, weddings, graduations, Christmas, house warming presents, and party favors? :t::cat:
Bill
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Strontium Dog
Well-known member
Laws of diminishing utility apply here, of course. A £3000 optic is not going to be ten times better than a £300 optic. There is a lot of snobbery around optics which I find tremendously off-putting. Most of the time I use a 12x25 Tasco binocular that cost me £2.99 in Home Bargains. Now, as I increase my birding, I will certainly be in the market for something better, but for the most part it is perfectly adequate for my needs. At its most basic, this is and should be a very cheap hobby.
A2GG
Beth
One of the best birders in my area used a cheap 10x25 Tasco for a couple of years. He was great at ID and learned super fast. He's a young man and moved on beyond birds to Ecology at the local University (won some awards too).
Being on this forum for years now I notice the "snobbery" does work in both directions. You are correct there are bino snobs who look down on people with "lesser" optics and it's all just silly. I've also noticed people who suggest anyone who spends 2k or above for a binocular are stupid and/or wasting their money. As James H. once said, it's "alpha shaming..." or whatever you want to call it. Both types of bin snobs can be just as smug and annoying.
It's up to the individual how much money to spend on this hobby. Ultimately, it is a relatively cheap hobby compared to other hobbies.
I bought enough binos over the years to the point of wasteful spending, but I am also an enthusiast of optics as well as wildlife study. I spent a lot on my Leica bino, but it brings me enjoyment. I love the pretty view of birds and other wildlife it gives me.
Jack Speer
Well-known member
Well said GiGi. Feel free to be happy about spending only $3 on binoculars, or be happy that you have one of the best in the world. Just don't rub it in people's faces.
wdc
Well-known member
Good points. Birding, and having a stable of binoculars is relatively cheap, just the way cycling 'could be' relatively cheap, if one just got on a mechanically sound bike and pedaled off down the road. Ironically, in the case of bicycling many folks are willing to pay more and more money to get 'less and less' in terms of weight. Collecting guitars, or cars, could be far more financially challenging as well, not to mention the amount of space that they take up.
As an eye glass wearer, I do find that the need for eye relief eliminates well over half the binoculars that are on the market, including many of the revered models of yore that I wish could suit me. In addition, as has been often pointed out here, the eye relief specs are inconsistent from manufacturer to manufacturer, and that, even then,
what fits one spectacled observer, may not fit another. So, if one wants to dabble a bit in optics with a narrow set of parameters, well... research is needed! As one who has had to wear glasses for over 55 years, I find binoculars and telescopes to be a sort of magic window to the world, and birding, much like observing the night sky, is a sort of treasure hunt, or a stroll through a gallery of riches.
Bill
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A2GG
Beth
Nice capture of that N. Waterthrush :t:
WJC
Well-known member
Some are wrong on BOTH ends. Do you have to Spend $3,000 on a handheld binocular of more than adequate quality that will last a lifetime? No. The law of diminishing returns certainly applies. Does buying opto-mechanical chum for a plastic-eating shark set you apart as some sort of opto-financial wizard? It does not, except between the ears of some people who, upon knowing a little more about what they were talking about, might understand. For birding I usually use my 8x32 SE, which has been almost unanimously accepted as an ... drum roll, please, “A l p h a.” But, I am often just as happy with my late 50s Jason 7x35. I’m an adult and can use whatever I bloody well want.
What is it that makes birding valuable to you? Is it being out in nature? Is it the participation in ornithological science? Is it camaraderie? Is it the edge to edge quality of an image? Is it the right to brag about your spendy new purchase—whether or not you can SEE the difference without being told you can by your best friend—or is it the candy bar price you paid?
“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”—Aristotle
“Different strokes for different folks.”—Alfred E. Newman
Please excuse me if I got the two confused; I do that sometimes. :cat:
Bill
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oldfortyfive
Well-known member
It's up to the individual how much money to spend on this hobby. Ultimately, it is a relatively cheap hobby compared to other hobbies.
Somehow I haven't seemed to have acquired a cheap hobby :eek!:
Somehow I haven't seemed to have acquired a cheap hobby :eek!:
I have been looking through various assemblies of glass and metal tubes all of my adult life.
Last year I had a chance to look at an exotic goose through a $4.000 Swarovsky spotting scope.
There was not one iota of snobbery involved.
The image was truly breath taking, and it was as if I was looking at the goose, not an image. The optics were undetectable.
Nixterdemus
Well-known member
"... a hundred dollars isn't going to buy a new instrument of superior performance and lasting value from any reputable manufacturer."
Perhaps as a loose rule of thumb though bargains are to be had on occasions that counter your claim.
I purchased a discontinued Leupold B-3 Yosemite 10x30 for under 70 clams TTD that, even though the redheaded stepchild porro & 10X at that, is waterproof & backed by a warranty worthy of the paper printed upon.
I dare say few would disagree that, despite being modest, these are good/cheap optics.
Just to prove I'm not a snob I refuse to proofread or spell czech!
Perhaps as a loose rule of thumb though bargains are to be had on occasions that counter your claim.
I purchased a discontinued Leupold B-3 Yosemite 10x30 for under 70 clams TTD that, even though the redheaded stepchild porro & 10X at that, is waterproof & backed by a warranty worthy of the paper printed upon.
I dare say few would disagree that, despite being modest, these are good/cheap optics.
Just to prove I'm not a snob I refuse to proofread or spell czech!
WJC
Well-known member
I once bought an early 20th century Zeiss—still collimated, by the way—at a pawn shop in Lynnwood, WA. For $6. I sold it for $250, knowing it was going to a collector in Japan for $500. I also bought a $680 Fujinon (in new condition) for about $100 after showing the proprietor that it was massively out of collimation. It happens. But, those are exceptions to the rule, NOT THE RULE. So, I will stand by the statement as written for the average consumer. I’m bad about that.
“Always be sure you’re right, then go ahead.”—David Crockett
At school in Jonesboro, they warned me about you Little Rock types. ‘Guess they were right, huh? 8-P
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Nixterdemus
Well-known member
Your examples are used bins from which I refrained. As well you compounded that mistake from the get-go by choosing an arbitrary sum, that back in your day was a princely sum no doubt, of 100 USD.
I still agree for the most part the logic of spending more up to a point as the quality benchmark/curve rises faster until stalling/overtaken by the rule of diminishing returns. So, you go from junk blister pack, Simmons comes to mind, to something w/bak-4, decent armour, FMC and possibly waterproof.
My one example being a discontinued model is an exception. "I will stand by the statement as written"
Sweet weepin' Hey-Zeus on the cross Cookie you have to stand by the statement.
You printed it in the book ...
I still agree for the most part the logic of spending more up to a point as the quality benchmark/curve rises faster until stalling/overtaken by the rule of diminishing returns. So, you go from junk blister pack, Simmons comes to mind, to something w/bak-4, decent armour, FMC and possibly waterproof.
My one example being a discontinued model is an exception. "I will stand by the statement as written"
Sweet weepin' Hey-Zeus on the cross Cookie you have to stand by the statement.
You printed it in the book ...
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A2GG
Beth
Just got this bit of bad news...I had to press the 'request cancellation' link.
Looks like Amazon is using their own private carrier on this shipment and they lost the book
First time this ever happened.
I just got the book in...
"Nevermind"
