Binoculars for Dragonflies in 2023 (1 Viewer)

[crinklystarfish]

Whilst out watching birds and the world in general, I also particularly enjoy watching butterflies and dragonflies.

Were I in the fortunate position of being able to purchase a very high quality binocular that would help with these fast-moving (in three dimensions) varying-habitat creatures, what do others think would be the ultimate?

Qualities like a very smooth and accurate focuser, a very wide field of view, an extensive 'depth of view', ease and repeatability of very fast / accurate eye-placement; as well as excellent optical qualities would all be highly desirable.

Intuitively, A Zeiss SF 8x32 or a Swaro NL Pure 8x32 would seem to be contenders for the 'ultimate' for the task at hand, but it would be very interesting to know what others think.

 

[Binocollector]

Pentax Papilio II. Close distance of 50 cm. I don't think anything else can beat that. But of course there are also more expensive roof prism models that have about 1.5m close focus.

 

[Timbirder3]

Seconded. The 6.5x rather than 8.5 are probably the best choice: wider field of view and a bit brighter. Not expensive but nothing else does the job as well. During the summer these are my go-to binoculars for butterflies and dragonflies. Ok for birding in woods too. Not recommended for seawatching!
Tim

 

[Will K]

Zeiss SFL might be an interesting option. Halfway between a pocket and an alpha, perhaps?

 

[Troubador]

SF 8x32 has given me great views of Gold-banded Dragon, Common Hawker, Four-spot Chaser and Black Darter in the west of Scotland.

 

[Cest]

Pentax Papilio II is the way to go. I have the 6.5 and they are wonderful.

 

[james holdsworth]

I use a conquest 8x32 HD…. good close focus, superb fast and precise focusing, wide field of view for tracking flying odonates and butterflies.

 

[Elpha8888]

You may be surprised by how good the little Papilio is, I'd recommend them for close up bug work, the Kowa Kowa BD II XD 6.5x32 was a disappointment for me.
Another option is the Canon 8x20, the IS possible be more pleasurable and could show you more detail, close focus is 2 metres on those.
Lastly the Trinovid 8x32 hd, you'll get those Leica colours and excellent close focus at 1m.

 

[crinklystarfish]

I appreciate the comments.

I'd not really considered a Papilio, mainly because of a somewhat restricted field of view. Would anyone care to advise on how 'fast' and smooth the focuser is, please?

I use a conquest 8x32 HD…. good close focus, superb fast and precise focusing, wide field of view for tracking flying odonates and butterflies.

Useful, thanks.

SF 8x32 has given me great views of Gold-banded Dragon, Common Hawker, Four-spot Chaser and Black Darter in the west of Scotland.

The extraordinary field of view appeals, for sure. Could I ask for your view on the focuser, please? My current state-of-the-art reference is an NL Pure. Is the SF as good?

Thanks all, and any more ideas / recommendations would be gratefully received.

 

[has530]

I appreciate the comments.

I'd not really considered a Papilio, mainly because of a somewhat restricted field of view. Would anyone care to advise on how 'fast' and smooth the focuser is, please?



Useful, thanks.



The extraordinary field of view appeals, for sure. Could I ask for your view on the focuser, please? My current state-of-the-art reference is an NL Pure. Is the SF as good?

Thanks all, and any more ideas / recommendations would be gratefully received.

I have 2 Papillios, the 6.5 papilio ii and the 8.5 OG model. The 6.5 model is in my opinion far better having easier eye placement, superior depth of field, a brighter image, and a wider FOV. The focusing on both is smooth (although my 6.5 has a bit of a "hitch" where it catches a bit at around 10 ft focus when it is 100°+ outside which I've only noted a handful of times in Phoenix) but it is not particularly fast. The focus wheel is small and takes many rotations through the whole focus range. I don't however view this as a problem as it is necessary to have slow focusing with how shallow the depth of field gets in the ultra close focus range. If you already have an NL I would give them a try, nothing else will be drastically better than the NL in a significant way and they close focus is really nifty (also the price being ~25x less than the NL you dont have a lot to lose!). I have used it to view many pinned butterflies and even took it to the aquarium and it is one of my favorite little toys. I even just sit at my desk sometimes and observe the objects on it through them.

 

[jring]

Hi,

I have forgotten how many Papilios I have tried (I have given a few as gifts over the years), but all but one were 6.5x and all those were just great. The 8.5x does not quite compare - was probably demanded by sales as 6.5x is not competitive...
I have used normal 8x32 roofs (old Pentax 8x32ED and Zeiss 8x32 FL have quite close range) for insects too, when I only had those at hand, but the Papilio allows you to get much closer - if the insect allows that...

Joachim

 

[crinklystarfish]

...If you already have an NL I would give them a try, nothing else will be drastically better than the NL in a significant way...

Thank you for the useful information.

I should have clarified my NL is a 12x42 so notwithstanding a truly exceptional focusing mechanism is just not terribly useful for fast-flying insects.

 

[Troubador]

I do not want to carry additional binos such as Papilios so rely on either my SF8x32s (close focus 1.5m) or, when really prioritising close focus, my Trinovid HD 8x32s which focus down to 1.0m. I find these work fine in the vast majority of circumstances and when they don't I pull out my lightweight Zeiss 6x18 monocular which focuses as close as 30cm.

 

[Will K]

Thank you for the useful information.

I should have clarified my NL is a 12x42 so notwithstanding a truly exceptional focusing mechanism is just not terribly useful for fast-flying insects.

I guess it might be a good excuse to get an NL 8x32, as well? 😉

That said, I’d definitely consider the SF or SFL. Never tried the little Pentax, but glad to see it has a fine reputation.

 

[PeterPS]

Qualities like a very smooth and accurate focuser, a very wide field of view, an extensive 'depth of view', ease and repeatability of very fast / accurate eye-placement; as well as excellent optical qualities would all be highly desirable.

Perfect description of a pair of (good) eyes: you'll miss some detail (if you're too far) but nothing else beats them wrt the above criteria.

 

[[email protected]]

I reread your post and I think you answered your own question. If money isn't a problem, and you want a premium binocular for both birding and dragonflies, the SF 8x32 or NL 8x32 would be the best choice. You might want to try them both, to see which one works best for you. They both have silky smooth focusers and a huge FOV. The ergonomics are a little different, but that would come down to personal preference. The big difference between the two is the NL has tack sharp edges right to the field stop and the SF's are a little softer. I like the sharper edges of the NL, so that is what I prefer, but you may be different and prefer the SF.

 

[mfunnell]

I suspect it really depends on how close you're getting to the dragonflies. For static observation, up close and personal, I very much like my 6.5x Papillos.

But the other day, while testing my new 10x40 SFLs I noticed dragonflies flying about while I was out on my balcony, so followed them in flight from my new bins as best I could (which turned out to be "pretty well"). I noted that the image scale the 10x magnification gave me really helped with the views. It also helped that the dragonflies would hover, from time to time, for 5-10 seconds - allowing me to give them closer inspection (one species showed bright metallic green on its head and thorax, which was quite the sight in the sun).

So: up close and static, I'm thinking "Papillo" while from further distances I'm thinking "10x". Not necessarily my SFLs (though they're nice) - but any decent 10x binoculars. Something with good close-focus might help if you want to use 10x bins for more static viewing (note: my SFLs focus as close as about 4' - but I'm sure others do well-enough too). Fast focusing might help as well, to get the dragonflies in-focus as fast as possible.

...Mike

 

[Patudo]

I have to admit I never gave much thought to what some have memorably dismissed as "looking at bugs" until one bright summer day at Walthamstow Wetlands when the stream was alive with blue damselflies and other species - one larger and a kind of golden yellow, the other smaller, exquisite metallic green, with bold black patterns on its wings. I couldn't identify that latter species then, but after a bit of swotting I think they had to be banded demoiselles. I stopped by the waterside thinking I'd take a brief look at those flashes of iridescence, but ended up there for a good twenty minutes or so. They were amazing and absorbing in their own right, and now as I look out of the window into the dead of winter the memory of those brilliant blue and green creatures darting back and forth in the lazy summer air is a welcome one.

I was using the 8x32 FL that day and thought it worked pretty well - the fast focus (which I actually don't like for long-range birding) came in useful, field of view was wide enough that capturing a target wasn't too difficult, and what I was seeing looked very good. Modern fast focus binoculars with a short close focus do come in handy for situations like that.

 

[crinklystarfish]

I was using the 8x32 FL that day...

Now, that's an interesting option to add to the shortlist. Many of the optical attributes I listed in my OP would seem to be present: plus I could maybe score a very good example at a good price.

What's your (or any of the many 8x32 FL owners') experience of the quality of focuser? Any slack, tight spots, gritty sensation or any other dubious characteristics?

 

[mfunnell]

What's your (or any of the many 8x32 FL owners') experience of the quality of focuser? Any slack, tight spots, gritty sensation or any other dubious characteristics?

Mine seems perfect, at least to me. (Full disclosure: my 8x32 FLs might be my favourite binoculars, and are certainly my most-used.)

…Mike