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I would appreciate some advice when buying my first birding binoculars. (1 Viewer)

Y

Yashca

Well-known member
Hello everyone. I am completely new to the forum, and pretty new to birding in general.

So far I have been using a pair of binoculars that I inherited from my grandad, they are PRAKTICA Sport binoculars, 10 x 25.

They work pretty well, but I wouldn't mind getting something with a bit more zoom and a bigger objective lens.

I found some binoculars on ebay, PRAKTICA again, with 20 x zoom and a 50mm objective lens,

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Praktica-20x5...&otn=2&po=LVI&ps=63&clkid=6255958161480616102

But I really have no idea if these are worth the money, or are a cheap option that sounds good but don't really work that well.

Unfortunately money is an object, so cheaper binoculars are better. I am happy to save up if need be |:d|

Thank you for any advice anyone can give me.
 
Welcome to Birdforum.

I had some PRAKTICA 10 x 25 ... terrible bins. They worked but you can do a lot better.

I'd forget the PRAKTICA 20 x 50 zoom too. Zoom bins are a bad idea. High magnification doubley so.

So let's see if we can point you in the right direction.

How much money do you have spend on these?

You can also try a search ... there are plenty of "my first bins threads" here and they might start to give you an idea of what you might want.
 
Yashca,

Wellcome to the forum. Take a bit of time and read round the various posts. 20x is probably going to be a bad choice. Most would suggest 8x or 10x at the most. When hand held, the extra "wobble" normally overides any advantage of higher magnification.

Tell us more about what you think the limitations of your Practica are and how you want to use the binos. Hand held, on a tripod, nature ramble, from a hide etc.. £20 is a very tight budget. How much head room can you manage? If you can be more specific it's going to help.

David
 
Hi Yashca,

Welcome to Birdforum.

I agree with Kevin, zoom-bins are a "no-go", but I'm not quite sure from your post what you mean by "zoom". The way I read it you simply want a fixed higher magnification?
Real zoom-bins have connotations like 7-15x35, or 8-20x50. Single magnification binoculars only have a single digit for the magnification factor, like 10x25, 8x40, etc.

If you want 10x magnification, like you already have in your 10x25 binoculars, you can do a lot better than Praktica. Nikon Action 10x50 porro binoculars are reasonably cheap and will astound you if you compare them to your 10x25 binoculars.

But there are many others that will fall in a modest budget and will wipe the floor with your Praktica 10x25's, if you don't mind me saying this.
I'm sure you will get plenty of good advice here.

Best regards,

Ronald
 
Hello Yashca,

And welcome.

First I like to say a few things that I think is important when choosing binoculars.


1. Quality of the view, that is: brightness, sharpness and contrast. In low budget binoculars you're likely to get better results with the classic porroprism style than roofprisms. So you're on the right track there.


2.Magnification (what you call "zoom"): I find lower magnifications easier and more comfortable to use handheld. Due to less handshake it gives a more relaxing and enjoyable view.

I currently use X8 & X8.5, but considering to go for X7 next time. That's perfect in woodland and shrubs.

But for open areas like fields and lakes a X10 might be better due to the longer ranges.


3. Field of view. The more the merrier! As my signature says it's useless with binoculars if you can't get the bird in the field. Geese sitting in a pond is easy, but flying birds or warblers sitting in bushes nearby are harder.

Here you'll also get more for the money with porros.

4. Eye relief. More is better (to a certain point), especially if you're wearing glasses. Normally you'd like at least 15 mm, with glasses more (maybe 18-20, depending on design). Less can be OK, but might be a bit uncomfortable to use. I have a pair of wide angle porros with 13 mm eye relief; they are good, but a little annoying in the long run.


Here are some suggestions. Haven't used any of them, but I think they'll be OK:

http://www.binoculars-uk.co.uk/acatalog/Viking_Standard.html

http://www.birders-store-opticron.co.uk/opticron_vega_ii_binoculars_67.html#
 
Yashca,
It is quite natural to think that more magnification will show you a better view. But having used binoculars of a wide range of magnifications, I find that even 10x, used in the natural freehand way, is starting to be somewhat limited by hand vibrations, and that 8x is more pleasant to use and shows 95% as much detail, with a wider field of view. Over 10x, please trust us on this, forget.

Your little 10x25 has suffered several cruel insults already, but one thing about it that is terrific, that you may take for granted at the moment, is its very small size and weight.

A decent 10x50 is going to give you a great view alright, but will be something of a negative shock when you start dealing with the monster. Almost nobody carries a 10x50 Porro for long birding walks. I think you might be happier in the long run with about 8x40. 10x40, for whatever reason, is not very common in modest but decent binoculars like, just an example, Nikon Action.

Go to a sporting goods store and try some!
Ron
 
Yashca,

ronh said:
Go to a sporting goods store and try some! Ron
Click to expand...

That's the best advice you've had so far. The more you can try out yourself before you decide what you like, the better.

Decide how much you have to spend and go to a shop (preferably more than one as none stocks every binocular) and ask to see all the bins within your budget. I've never known a seller who minds customers playing around with different models (for hours at a time sometimes!)

Hiltons of Hull have a wide selection and might be near you. There must be others in Yorkshire but I don't know them myself.

Anyone else got any suggestions for optics retailers in Yorkshire?

Best wishes
Martin

PS- personally, I think 8x is the highest mag you will need. It's the best compromise of magnification, field of view and depth of field.
32/42mm sized objectives depending whether you want your bins to be lightweight. Mind you, there are a lot of lightweight 42mm bins these days so you can have lightweight with the extra light gathering of the 42mm.
 
they have said it all not above 10x unless like me have canon IS but a 8x30 porro for a first timer S/H but try them and one day you might have a pair of those green things hanging from your neck, l have 5pairs know, just given some 10x50 Zeiss Dekarem away my first class glass from 40yrs ago , but now ware glasses and no good, been a Yorkie you could have had them, and no Zooms
 
Thank you everyone for all your advice. I think it would be best for me to go and try some of these out in person before jumping in. I'm located in Scarborough at the moment, but often travel down to East Yorkshire to see family, so Hiltons of Hull would be easy enough to visit.

I have read a few threads about binoculars, but I'm still trying to get my head around all the accompanying lingo. At least now I won't get 'zoom' mixed up with magnification!

Thanks also for the advice about magnification. I was presumbly falling into the trap of thinking that higher magnification = better, but I must admit to be a little confused about depth of field and field of view. I think depth of field is how much of what you are looking at is in focus, and field of view is the expanse of what you are looking at - am I right?

As far as budget goes, it is quite tight. I could manage £50, or maybe a little over given some time to save up.

As for the type of birdwatching I do, it's a bit of everything really. When I go and visit my parents I often pop to North Cave Wetlands to use the hides there, and I am also hoping to visit Tophill Low more often this year as well. In Scarborough I would use them for sea watching. I must admit I have never gone out into woodland or shrubby areas to look for birds (Don't know where to go or what to look for just yet. Still learning) but if I find a good spot then I'd probably want to use them for that as well.

I have had a read through the thread that shinytopman posted, they certainly sound pretty impressive for the price, first, however, I will go test some out in person.

Thanks everyone.
 
Smith and Wesson! The moderator over at Cloudy Nights has a Browning 8x42. Ah, the world of diversification.

I have a very nice Remington 30/32. But it is a fleece long john.
Ron
 
ronh said:
Smith and Wesson! The moderator over at Cloudy Nights has a Browning 8x42. Ah, the world of diversification.

I have a very nice Remington 30/32. But it is a fleece long john

Ron
Click to expand...

As I recall Smith & Wesson had a good little 8 x 32 made for them which they sold under their name 5 or 6 years ago. When they discontinued them they were sold at a discount and all of them got snapped up almost overnight.

Bob
 
alan_rymer said:
Anyone know what these are like? ( not for me, I love my Smith & Wesson 8x32 )
EBAY £49 (Buy it now )
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Opticron-Asph...Photography_Binoculars_ET&hash=item1e571164f3
Click to expand...

I think they have a good reputation. I remember them winning a budget bino award of some sort a few years back. Or they came top in a comparative review in a magazine, something like that. The only downside seems to be lack of waterproofing and short e/r if your wear glasses.
 
Ive not had any experience with these ( but well reviewed ) but jessops have these on special at the mo

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/36155/show.html

If you use quidco you can get 4% off this price to.

I do have experiance with the 7dayshop bins tho and im pleased with them, and for £20 on your door mat i recon you cant go wrong + if you take this into account

"…plus remember if you buy these binoculars from 7dayshop.com and you are not 101% delighted with your purchase, then please return them to us within 60 days in original condition for a full refund of the purchase price - we promise no quibbles at all !!! "

Its gotta be worth a go.
 
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