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Survey: Practical Magnifications in the Field (1 Viewer)

Thanks, Hermann for the extensive answer. I'd concur with just about all of that.
The point you raised about user unsteadiness in strong winds was new to me but probably very valid.
Troubador had some very dirty weather up on Islay when testing the Harpia with its restricted exit pupil. No wonder he stayed off the Islay malts! ;).

John

PS:- I have been up to Meldorf three times in the last couple of years. The Speicherkoog is a paradise for wader watchers.
 
Troubador had some very dirty weather up on Islay when testing the Harpia with its restricted exit pupil. No wonder he stayed off the Islay malts! ;).

John

Yes, including very high winds of around 40mph / 65kph! Made using a 10x bino tricky let alone a scope. But in between there were remarkable days of calm.

Lee
 

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The point you raised about user unsteadiness in strong winds was new to me but probably very valid.

I think it is quite an important factor. Doing a seawatch in Cuxhaven in a howling gale isn't easy ... :) In fact, it's often better to watch from a place where you get some protection from the wind, even if that place isn't quite as good as other, more exposed places.

I have been up to Meldorf three times in the last couple of years. The Speicherkoog is a paradise for wader watchers.

Yep. It's a very nice place all the year round. The Grey Phalarope is from last autumn. Not really a rarity, still quite a nice bird to look at.

Hermann
 

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After reading this thread and other threads like it on bird forums. 20-30x seems to be overwhelming the popular range of magnification most birders use. With that said, are you not better off using high powered binoculars to have the comfort of two eye views and even bigger field of view? Why deal with the eye fatigue of a single eye spotting scope for extended viewing
 
Hi Dd61999,

With that said, are you not better off using high powered binoculars to have the comfort of two eye views and even bigger field of view?

I actually once met a birder thus equipped. Unfortunately, I don't remember the exact type of binoculars he was using.

One downside of his approach was that it doesn't give you an angled eyepiece option, so you need a high and heavy tripod. His binoculars certainly were massive too, but he had found a good adapter to strap them down on the tripod head, so they were very stable in his opinion.

Regrettably, time didn't allow us to try it out when we met, but I thought it was quite an interesting approach. Still, intent on watching waders on the North Sea coast, I couldn't realistically have replaced my Kowa with his setup.

Regards,

Henning
 
Hi Dd61999,



I actually once met a birder thus equipped. Unfortunately, I don't remember the exact type of binoculars he was using.

One downside of his approach was that it doesn't give you an angled eyepiece option, so you need a high and heavy tripod. His binoculars certainly were massive too, but he had found a good adapter to strap them down on the tripod head, so they were very stable in his opinion.

Regrettably, time didn't allow us to try it out when we met, but I thought it was quite an interesting approach. Still, intent on watching waders on the North Sea coast, I couldn't realistically have replaced my Kowa with his setup.

Regards,

Henning

Size and weight was preventing me from considering this.

But I read some nice reviews on the monarch 5 20x56 ED. They are light and compact (relatively speaking) and you can find gray market versions for $500
 
20-30x seems to be overwhelming the popular range of magnification most birders use. With that said, are you not better off using high powered binoculars to have the comfort of two eye views and even bigger field of view? Why deal with the eye fatigue of a single eye spotting scope for extended viewing

Two reasons: 20-30x is too much for birds that are close. Try to sort out a bunch of warblers flitting around in bushes some 10m away. Not enough depth of field, slowish focussing. And it's not enough magnification if you want to decide if that wader next to the water edge, some 250 meters from where you are, is a rarity or not.

That, by the way, is IMO the reason why the Zeiss 20x60S never became all that popular popular among birdwatchers, despite its many advantages. Too much and to little at the same time. Magnification that is. Neither fish nor flesh. And carrying a small pair of binoculars + the 20x60S + a tripod with a scope for viewing at high magnification ... No, not really. Especially since you'd likely also carry a camera nowadays.

Hermann
 
Two reasons: 20-30x is too much for birds that are close. Try to sort out a bunch of warblers flitting around in bushes some 10m away. Not enough depth of field, slowish focussing. And it's not enough magnification if you want to decide if that wader next to the water edge, some 250 meters from where you are, is a rarity or not.

That, by the way, is IMO the reason why the Zeiss 20x60S never became all that popular popular among birdwatchers, despite its many advantages. Too much and to little at the same time. Magnification that is. Neither fish nor flesh. And carrying a small pair of binoculars + the 20x60S + a tripod with a scope for viewing at high magnification ... No, not really. Especially since you'd likely also carry a camera nowadays.

Hermann

I would just eliminate the scope all together and enjoy the two binoculars. So you can glass for longer period of times

Obviously there are trade offs. But one eye scope fatigue is enough for me to consider this set up
 
After reading this thread and other threads like it on bird forums. 20-30x seems to be overwhelming the popular range of magnification most birders use. With that said, are you not better off using high powered binoculars to have the comfort of two eye views and even bigger field of view? Why deal with the eye fatigue of a single eye spotting scope for extended viewing

Yes, it would be nice but is unfortunately not technically/financially feasible.
I posted this two months ago: https://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=3765754&postcount=1

John
 
If you can't see it at 8x, upping to 10x won't help much. Going from 8x or 10x to 15-20x gives a noticeable difference. If you can't see at 20x, increase to 40x. About twice as much as the previous in each case.
 
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