Survey of your fellow birders instruments.... (1 Viewer)

One of the neat things about birding is the variety of ways it can be enjoyed....you can go alone, just you, your bino(s) and/or scope and field guide and have a great time. Or you can take one or two others along (more eyes & ears in the field are a plus). On walking trips, any number up to about 12 or so (after that, things can get a little disjointed). Now if visiting a dedicated site with observing platforms (often found at NWR's, Cape May et al), then even more folks can join in and have a great ol' time.

Now, all of us here have posted ad infinitum about our inventories, arsenals or whatever euphemism ya wanna use.....and nearly all here are likely optics mavens (y'all thought I wuz gonna say binoholics, diddencha? See?....) BUT,....how many of our fellows are? Folks can be dedicated birders and not be real concerned about what they're lookin' thru, I've found. Our local Audubon Club (not affiliated w/the Nat'l Society) has about 75 card holders....probably no more than half make it to monthly meetings throughout the year, and a little less than half of those go on the weekly outings (either local or up to 100mi out) or the semi-monthly 3day trips which go out as far as 400mi. Nearly all our members are over 40, the majority of those are over 50. The mix is about 50/50 men/women and the optics cover the spectrum from 60's porros and Balscopes to the latest alphas & flourite scopes.

So, for something a little different, I thought it'd be interesting to see what the "rest of the world" carries for their hobby. Maybe you've just got one other birding friend you go out with, maybe several: next time y'all get together, take a quick notice of what's around necks and on tripods and report here.

To get ball rolling (no pun intended), I'll start. There are only two other folks in my group who might be termed "enthusiasts"....one has 3 Leicas (8x42 Ultravid, 8x32BA, 8x20 Trinovid) and a Swaro 65 scope....the other I've seen at various times with a Pentax 8x43SP, Leica 10x50 Ultravid and a Swaro 15x56, along with a Kowa 82 scope. The two who have the highest ABA lifelist totals (both around 715 last I heard) are each well equipped....one with an 8x42FL and a Kowa 82 scope, the other with 8.5x42EL and a Swaro 80 scope. Then we have an old Sears 7x35 11* monster (carried by one of the best birders in the group), and his pal who has two around his neck all the time....an old Jason 7x35 and some brand of cheapo Chinese 10-20x50 zooms (both are awful). Moving along, for porros, an old Swift 804 Audubon, Nikon Action EX 8x40, Bushnell Custom 8x36, and a 10x25 reverse porro (never have been able to see the brand name). In roofs, I've seen a Tasco 8x42 Rarebird, two Alpen 10x42, Swift 8.5x44 HHS, another Swaro 8.5x EL, Nikon Monarch 8x42, a Leupold Gold Ring 8x42 and a Leica 10x50BN.


So next time you're out with the group, take a silent inventory and relate what ya saw.



Rgds Douglas

In our local group,
-one zeiss
-a couple of SWs
-one spotting scope
-mesc binoculars

edj

I think spyglass pretty much sums it up ... there's a lot of everything out there.

Favorites seen in the field:

Zeiss West 7x35 carried by a 30 something birder (good birder too).

Of the top ends there seem to be more Swaro then Leica then Zeiss though when leading my section of the CBC last year we split into one subteam that had a Zeiss 10x40B, 10x42FL and my 8x32FL.

I do think the single most common model I've seen though is the Monarch 42mm. Especially among twitchers (going for the rarities) who haven't found the need to upgrade to one of the Top 4 bins. It seems to be a good enough bin and light enough too.

Other bins I own that I've seen rarely are: Canon IS 10x30 (once) and Nikon SE 8x32 (once ... a nicely worn one ... it has seen a lot of birding in the last decade).

I've also seen a lot of crud even used by decent intermediate birders (level focus porros!!).

Scopes seem to be mostly Top 4 in the field: Swaro then Leica and Zeiss (about equal) and the odd Nikon Fieldscope III and the odd Kowa. Curiously I seen rather fewer midrange spotters out there. Are people who really want scopes (and are wiling to carry them) only willing to buy the best.

I suspect you might divide birders into:

1. Not good enough but don't know any better
2. Low end just about good enough
3. Mid-range but would rather spent money birding than buying very expensive optics
4. Top-end either because they buy the brand (because that's what they do) or they're more serious birders.
5. Optics geeks (different set of bins each outing).

And I think in each group you get people who have different price sensitivities and perceived needs.

I had a friend who was in that first. Decent birder but now focused mainly on ducks rather than passerines who was birding with some terrible cheap Bushnell porros with no ER. Truly awful bins. I sold him my Vortex Diamondback 8x42 (bright, wide field, waterproof, easy view with his glasses on). He was so happy with them. He'll probably never upgrade as the DBs are plenty good enough for him.

I think most birders out there have no idea what has happened to birding optics in the past couple of years with the introduction of mid-range ED objective bins from multiple makers. I think most would be very happy with a pair of those if only they new to try them.

zeiss
bausch and lomb old pairs
swarovski
nikon monarchs
a couple of eagle optics

I am the only Pentax user

Spyglass and Kevin:

Nice topic and followups. For many, optic use can be the end to the means, or just
a beginning to open up to really see what you are looking at. It seems some here, just
want to see things just as good as possible. It can be fun to have someone say "WOW"
when looking through quality optics.

Jerry

Three People in the Hawk Watching site on Stone Mountain Pa. all had Swarovski SLC binoculars.
Regards,Steve

Kevin.....a Zeiss West 7x35? That's a rara avis...I know they made them, but have never seen one. Did, however, see an 8x30, the really stubby one, that a young lady was using at an overlook above the Missouri River a few yrs ago. She offered me a look thru, and I think to this day that it would truly give the Nikon 8x30E (or even the EII) some real competition....in fact in that genre, maybe the only glass that could. I trust the 7x35 version would be equally good, would love to see one.

Jerry....amen to your take on the subject. (In another vein, are you close to Minot? I've heard that some of the city parks there are birders' nirvana during the migrations.)

It was a Zeiss 7x35 ... it's very open habitat and I prefer 10x in that location so I was impressed with a 7x user. They were in very nice shape.

Bushnell in general seem to be the most common brand I see.

Binocular-wise:

On this side of the Atlantic you see a lot of Swaro ELs. Also lots of Leica bins of various ages but not that many Zeiss bins.

Very few Kowa (I can't recall seeing any).

In the mid-range there's lots of Opticron but also a lot of other stuff of a greater variety than at the top end (as you'd expect). Since getting into porros. it seems to me that there are quite a lot of birders using low price porros. I never really noticed before. Never seen any EIIs in the field but have seen aging Zeiss West 8x30s

I expect that what I see in the middle range here, you see over there but with a different name badge on it.

My dad was saying yesterday how many people he notices with Swaro kit that don't seem to know what they're doing! Not that he and I are experts by any means. There's a lot of people out there with a lot of money to invest in a hobby at the early stages, it seems. I've looked through the top end stuff and it's good, no doubt about it, but I don't think the huge price increase is worth the small optical increase. Ask me that if i win the lottery and I might have changed my mind but now I like the 3d porro thing so much I can't agree

I think that if I spent a day taking note of what people I met had around their necks, Swaro ELs would win by far. They seem to be everywhere.

EDIT- I should clarify- I think most ELs are 42mm. I expect 8x but who knows when they're round someone else's neck.

Scope-wise:

a lot harder to judge but Swaro stands out. Hard to tell when they're in their stay-on-cases. There seems to be a lot more old scopes around than old bins.

The few birders I know here in Vietnam are all excellent birders or professionals (the only beginning birder I know here is myself) I do not know how much bins they have at home (we tend to talk more about birds than bins), but my impression is that most have basically one good bin, of either Leica Trino or Ultravid, Swaro EL or Zeiss Victory (in that order).

Of the alphas, I see FAR more Swaros than I do the other 2. I know a couple - he uses10x50's Eagle Optics Ranger SRT's and she uses a pair of Zeiss 10x50's. Have seen only a few Leicas and fewer Zeiss.

Mid range, the Monarchs and the Ranger SRT's take the the top spots. When I bird any where, with my usual group or out on field trips - I always look at the bins carried and the power. Occassionally I see Bushnell. I have 2 friends who always use Pentax DCF WP's - both 10x50. I have never seen anyone else use Pentax until recently on some of my trips to the Texas coast & valley. Have seen quite a few women using 10x50's too.

Besides myself, I know no one who has more than 1 pair of bins, whatever the flavor might be. I am also the only one who uses 2 different powers. Of the people who know I try out different bins and own several brands - they seem to think I am a bit odd!

I do notice that the people who I see carrying the $30-70 dollar type bins are always brand new birders. When I try to discuss different brands, I have yet to meet any one of either sex (birders that is) who is familiar with Vortex, Pentax, Zen Ray, Celestron, Kowa etc. Hunters seem more familiar with other brands or those I have met who participate in archery tournaments. The majority have the mid range Monarchs & SRT's and seem very happy. In discussions, no one had indicates that they feel that they need better/more expensive bins to ID. I have asked a few people why they chose an alpha and at this point they have all said they wanted the best and could afford it.

Of the best birders I know use most mid range bins and the one I know that is awesome usually ID's the bird before he gets his Swaros up!

Spotters - I have seen only Swaros as far as alphas (oh, one Kowa) & any thing else had been Nikon, Burris, Penatx, Alpen, etc.

It is interesting to see what others choose and if I can, I always ask if I can try a brand I don't always have access to short of ordering on line.

Here in NYC see mostly Zeiss FL and Swarovski EL binocs, plus a huge range of brands, ranging from"ruby coated" Sharper Image 10x25s ( carried by a very capable birder!!) to Nikon AXs and Monarchs. Even some Canon IS binocs. Very few Leicas, but those almost always with top birders.

Kevin Purcell said:

It was a Zeiss 7x35 ...

Click to expand...

Kevin,

Are you sure about that? There's no 7x35 on this list of Zeiss models from the Peter Abrahams site ( http://home.europa.com/~telscope/zeissbn2.txt ) and I've never heard of one, West or East . Could it be a fake?

Henry

Hi Kevin and Henry,
I, too, am curious about a Zeiss 7x 35, never having heard of one or found any reference in my collection of books and catalogues. A mention was made once before in BF of such a binocular, but I did not question it at the time, and there was no supporting evidence.
John

Henry,
A fake would be even more interesting, as a replica of something that never existed.
I've seen lots of make-believe Zeiss binocs, most of the 7x50 or 10x50. But never a 7x35, a combination that Leitz used for their roof prism designs with great success.

In our local group:
- Leica, Leica, Leica, ... and Leica
- few Zeiss
- few Swarovski
- few others

about me, Zeiss 7x42 Dialyt and Leica 8x20 Trinovid

henry link said:

Kevin,

Are you sure about that? There's no 7x35 on this list of Zeiss models from the Peter Abrahams site ( http://home.europa.com/~telscope/zeissbn2.txt ) and I've never heard of one, West or East . Could it be a fake?

Henry

Click to expand...

Now I'm starting to doubt myself

I was pretty sure it was a Zeiss and a porro and was 7x and less sure that it was a 35mm. Perhaps it was a CZJ?

Only seem it once in a casual look. I really should have asked to take a closer look. Next time I bump into him on the Fill.

Of the premium bins, I see probably mostly Leicas with Zeiss, Swaro, and Nikon vying for second. It's really more interesting in that both Zeiss and Nikon have many models from which to choose whereas Leica and Swaro have but several. Of the few models such as Trinovids, Ultravids, ELs and SLCs, they are disproportionately highly represented.

We have a pretty mixed age bunch, from early teens to 60s, with lots of stops all over in between. Some of our group do bird work, and that doesn't seem to be a determining factor for more expensive equipment, or life list totals either.

Several Nikon Monarch 10x42, Leupold Yosemite 8x30, Alpen Rainier 10x42, REI 10x42, Nikon Prostaff 8x25, Nikon Action 8x40, Nikon Action 7x35, Swarovski SLC 8x30, Vortex Diamondback 8x42, Swift Audubon 804 8x44, Minox HG 8x33, a couple of Brunton 8x42 roofs, and another Swift 8x42 roof.

Among us there's a 35 year old B&L scope, a more recent nice Kowa, and a recent Brunton.

Funny thing is the binoculars I'm most jealous of are the SLCs and... the Yosemites.

Well, everyone, thx for all yr posts so far. Seems there are optics enthusiasts and then those who are more interested in just seein' the birds and not as concerned with the gear
on all the continents. That's good....variety is the spice of life.

Rgds Douglas