chirundu
Well-known member
Pentax 8x43 DCF SP Binoculars - Best Birding Binoculars in 2010?
I came across the Binoculars.com 2010 Binocular of the Year Awards page the other day and what really interested me on it was their winner for the best birding binocular - The Pentax 8x43 DCF SP Binoculars.
Now I know every one will have their own favourite and I will agree that these Pentax Binoculars are a great pair of optics with plenty of great features, but they have selected a pair that in my opinion has a pretty poor field of view for an 8x binocular: 330 ft @ 1000 yards. For comparison the Swift 8.5x44 Audubon Binoculars have a FOV of 430ft @ 1000 yards and even the Swarovski 8.5x42 EL's is 399ft @1000 yards and both have a more powerful 8.5x magnification!
Surely unless you do most of your birdwatching out in open areas like on a dam or around the coast, a wide field of view is one of the most important features you look for and is something that most people stress when giving advice on choosing a good bird watching binocular: See this article I wrote on choosing the best binoculars for bird watching on my binocular reviews website for example.
So for my money, yes they are a good pair of binoculars - but not specifically for birds and definitely in no way should they win an award for being the best?
I would love to hear if anyone else has any thoughts on this?
I came across the Binoculars.com 2010 Binocular of the Year Awards page the other day and what really interested me on it was their winner for the best birding binocular - The Pentax 8x43 DCF SP Binoculars.
Now I know every one will have their own favourite and I will agree that these Pentax Binoculars are a great pair of optics with plenty of great features, but they have selected a pair that in my opinion has a pretty poor field of view for an 8x binocular: 330 ft @ 1000 yards. For comparison the Swift 8.5x44 Audubon Binoculars have a FOV of 430ft @ 1000 yards and even the Swarovski 8.5x42 EL's is 399ft @1000 yards and both have a more powerful 8.5x magnification!
Surely unless you do most of your birdwatching out in open areas like on a dam or around the coast, a wide field of view is one of the most important features you look for and is something that most people stress when giving advice on choosing a good bird watching binocular: See this article I wrote on choosing the best binoculars for bird watching on my binocular reviews website for example.
So for my money, yes they are a good pair of binoculars - but not specifically for birds and definitely in no way should they win an award for being the best?
I would love to hear if anyone else has any thoughts on this?
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