What do beginners notice most when looking through binoculars. (2 Viewers)

[Northman]

Started some 10+ years ago when I worked on oil plattforms in the North Sea.

First came across a Fujinon 7x50 FMTR-SX which was so easy to look through and 3D. Looking at birds on the helideck made me want to buy my first binocular for watching stars.

After resarch, Fujinon 10x50 FMT-SX was bought… Large AFOV, crystal clear and 3D effect was noticable.

Then I bought a Nikon 18x70 Astroluxe. HUGE AFOV and so so so nice looking at stars.

Moved to another oil plattform, where they had a Black Zeiss 7x50 marine binocular and a Zeiss 20x60 IS binocular. Both clearly Worse then my pair, small AFOVs.


So for ME its ease to look through, AFOV and 3D porro binoculars.


.

 

[KC Foggin]

.
"What do beginners notice most when looking through binoculars?"

The crispness of what I am focusing on.

 

[Paultricounty]

Hello Will,

If that 4,000 quid binocular lasts 20 years, which is perfectly possible, it may cost less than two or three pints each month, down at the pub. Up front, you may have a good deal of cost but not over a lifetime of bird watching when it may be worth every penny.

Stay safe,
Arthur

I think most of us would agree that if we buy one of the high end binoculars today for around $2000, I’d feel confident it would last at least 20 years, as long as Swaro works out their armor issues. I was thinking about the vintage Bushnell rangemasters , I believe the 1955 catalog published a retail price of $149.00, today that would be a little over $1700. I wonder what the average monthly salary was in 1955.

Its amazing that if taken care of ( not water proof or water resistant) these binoculars have lasted close to 70 years, that’s almost a lifetime and still going strong. Back in the day did the manufacturers try to make an optics with coatings as good as they possibly could to make them last a lifetime, did they have that in mind. Do modern day manufactures design binoculars and coatings to have a shelf life ? Do they build binoculars today with a certain lifespan in mind. I remember growing up refrigerators, washing machines, televisions etc. etc. would last well over a decade or longer.

Sorry to digress.

Paul

 

[Paultricounty]

Sigh…..

I’m just messin withya Tom, you know I enjoy your rants, I mean your well thought out , common sense articulate posts. 🙏🏼✌🏼

 

[GrampaTom]

Just to be clear tho. The question was,

What do beginners notice most when looking through binoculars?​

Not how did you evolve after your first encounter....

 

[Paultricounty]

Just to be clear tho. The question was,

What do beginners notice most when looking through binoculars?​

Not how did you evolve after your first encounter....

Lol, I must’ve deviated by accident, nobody ever does that, I shouldn’t either 🤪.

 

[GrampaTom]

Lol, I must’ve deviated by accident, nobody ever does that, I shouldn’t either 🤪.

Wasnt thinking of just you.

 

[ReinierB]

What I hear the most: What?? Did you pay 1500-2000 euros for a pair of binoculars? And reluctantly I say: I even have 3 of them...
They just don't understand why I really like good optics.
What I sometimes hear too when they look through them: now I just see one picture instead of two circles. They really like that.

3 years ago I had a porro 10x50 from around 200 euros. Then I bought an EL 10x42 and thought, why didn't I do that earlier?? I went from pretty cheap to quite expensive. Maybe a step between them would have been nice.
I recommend other birders with cheap binoculars to upgrade at least to around 1000 euro bins like conquest or trinovid. The step from cheap to 1000 euros is the biggest step. From that the improvements are minor imo. Although I can't go back now I am used to SLC, NL and EL. I bought a terra 8x25 and still think, why didn't I go for a CL or Leica instead? I see the difference between top end and a bit below that. I do not really enjoy the view anyome. I am spoiled...

Beginners really like the SLC 8x42. They do not really like the NL 10x32 that much. I think it's because 10x32 is more "advanced". A 8x42 is more comfortable with it's bigger DOF, exit pupil, FOV and steadiness.

I must confess though, I have never seen chromatic aberration myself... Am I not trained enough yet? Or don't the swaros suffer CA? I do not see the rolling ball effect as well, altough I have EL and NL.

I once lent out my SLC 8x42 and he was smoking above it and spilled ash on it, or eating something and spilled crumbs on it (not using the rainguard or putting the binos aside). I was quite annoyed! Please be careful with "my precious" (gollum...). Yes, it is expensive and I value every bit of it. Please be careful with it!

 

[CharleyBird]

Beginners I've watched first notice how fiddly it may be to adjust the binocular to their eyes, and then focus.
Then they notice the magnified view, which takes all their attention.

 

[Redneckbmxer24]

The majority of the people I hand a pair of binos to make a comment about how WOW the view is in some way or another and many I have to show how to bend the hinges to fit them, and how to work the focus wheel. They’re usually my EL 8.5’s since that’s what I grab the most because they’re always handy.

I think most people can tell the difference between crappy glass, ok glass, and top of the line glass.

 

[pianoman]

Daughter to father before looking through the telescope..

'No daddy, the two moons are to the right of Jupiter'.

LOL I can remember being able to see 4 of Jupiter's moons with the naked eye when I was younger...no longer unfortunately

 

[Conndomat]

"The view looks very different from the James Bond movies!"

Andreas

 

[tenex]

Clear and bright are the two things I hear the most.

I wonder why... the view is of course slightly less bright than with the naked eye, and no clearer as bins can't remove haze etc. Did you ask any follow-up questions?

Of course no one would say "big" or "close" since that would suggest they didn't know what bins were for... but maybe "sharp", since any myopia would be corrected. What I tend to hear is just "really good".

 

[Paultricounty]

I wonder why... the view is of course slightly less bright than with the naked eye, and no clearer as bins can't remove haze etc. Did you ask any follow-up questions?

Of course no one would say "big" or "close" since that would suggest they didn't know what bins were for... but maybe "sharp", since any myopia would be corrected. What I tend to hear is just "really good".

I do ask follow ups😄. There is a perceived feeling of being brighter because when one looks with the naked eye at an object, say 100 yards away , it s hard to see it well. But in the binoculars it brings the object closer so they see it better and think it’s brighter. And many times on a very bright day with the sun in a certain direction looking through binoculars can be to bright on the eyes, that’s why some of us wear sunglasses.

Haze is another story. I do hear people say everything is so close, especially if I hand them a 10x. They say it seems like they can reach out touch it. One of the things I find with a beginner, is before they really can give an opinion or be wowed is to help them get the right IPD set so they can combine the image and not have blackouts. Once that’s done I tech them the focusing by letting them look at a sign , and asking them to move the focuser left and right in and out of focus so they know how to focus well on other objects to get a clear focused image.

Id ad that many beginners have at one time or another used binoculars, so they’re kind of aware that they need to open or close the hinge to make it work.

If they are staying interested I’ll have them focus on a telephone pole or the ocean horizon and tell them to move left and right or up and down to show them distortion. For some reason the bend or curve of the object allows them to see the aberration and they’re kind of smitten with themselves , that they can see it.