• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Binocular Sightings (1 Viewer)

Eagle Optics was a sister company of Vortex and indeed Vortex is handling repairs on Eagle Optics binoculars.

Sad at Leica's absence.
 
All across the board… this is what I am seeing unless I hit a popular birding spot … and then Swaros rule. Otherwise, the average guy, experienced or not, have just what you saw.
 
Eagle Optics was a sister company of Vortex and indeed Vortex is handling repairs on Eagle Optics binoculars.

Sad at Leica's absence.
Too bad the retail outlet went out of business… I thought the staff were very knowledgeable and I enjoyed buying my optics from them. Local jobs too
 
Out today enjoying a break from the weekend storms ran into 3 other birders and their equipment list was:
Birder 1: zeiss dialyt 7x42
Birder 2: leitz trinovid 8x20b and a Sony Bridge camera
Birder 3: Zeiss victory tfl 8x42 and a swaro ATX 95
And myself with my now standard shoreline setup of my prion grandview ed65 scope with a pentax xl10.5 eyepiece and canon 8x20is for one handed viewing while carrying the scope.
 
At Simmons pond Merrick NY:

Birder 1 Zeiss conquest 42.
Birder 1 Zeiss HT 8x42
Birder 1 Nikon DSLR with large 600mm lens.
Nature and optics geek (me) 1 Vortex 8x42 UHD, 1 Nikon 8x42 MHG, 1 Nikon E2 8x30 and 1 Oberwerk SE 8x32.
 
At Simmons pond Merrick NY:

Birder 1 Zeiss conquest 42.
Birder 1 Zeiss HT 8x42
Birder 1 Nikon DSLR with large 600mm lens.
Nature and optics geek (me) 1 Vortex 8x42 UHD, 1 Nikon 8x42 MHG, 1 Nikon E2 8x30 and 1 Oberwerk SE 8x32.
just curious ... why 4 8x bins ? did you leave them in the car and then decided which one to use at the park ? Or did you carry all of those around ?
 
ahhhh this reminds me of a few weeks or so ago when I saw an elderly man with a 50mm Trinovid BA or BN; it was huge. The other binos that day were Leica Ultravid 42, SF 42, an older Nikon Monarch (DCF I think).

Lifers I still need:
Kowa Genesis
any Meopta
any Maven

rarities that I may never see in my area:
Kite
Hawke
Viking
Delta

increasingly considered rare nowadays:
Swift
Alpen

only 1 sighting so far of these relatively newer bins:
Nikon Monarch HG
GPO Passion HD

Haven’t spotted Swaro NL Pure yet.
Since this post I’ve seen one guy with NL Pure (last year).

So far this year I haven’t been out as much as I’d like. I was sick for almost a month with a stubborn cold that lingered.
 
just curious ... why 4 8x bins ? did you leave them in the car and then decided which one to use at the park ? Or did you carry all of those around ?
Lol, because I didn’t have more with me that day🤣. I don’t leave them in the car. When I’m testing out a new acquisition, in this case a Vortex 8x42 Razor UHD I bring along 3-4 or more binoculars of the same configuration of varying price points to compare to the subject binoculars. Sometimes Ill use a large range bag with all the binoculars in their cases and other times I’ll just put the bins in camera cases for easier access to all of them without laying them on benches or the floor. I’ll set set up in a comfortable area and work from the cases. Here’s some pictures of how I usually do it. I don’t have one of that specific day I was testing out the Razor.

Paul
 

Attachments

  • D3F8FCD4-84A2-485D-AE83-BD62F91EA1F5.jpeg
    D3F8FCD4-84A2-485D-AE83-BD62F91EA1F5.jpeg
    383.9 KB · Views: 31
  • D8FC1BB0-88F4-469E-BCEB-2B956D971160.jpeg
    D8FC1BB0-88F4-469E-BCEB-2B956D971160.jpeg
    581.2 KB · Views: 31
  • 90C6CE60-EE41-4B96-BA0F-A8321D7BDCDB.jpeg
    90C6CE60-EE41-4B96-BA0F-A8321D7BDCDB.jpeg
    494.7 KB · Views: 31
Lol, because I didn’t have more with me that day🤣. I don’t leave them in the car. When I’m testing out a new acquisition, in this case a Vortex 8x42 Razor UHD I bring along 3-4 or more binoculars of the same configuration of varying price points to compare to the subject binoculars. Sometimes Ill use a large range bag with all the binoculars in their cases and other times I’ll just put the bins in camera cases for easier access to all of them without laying them on benches or the floor. I’ll set set up in a comfortable area and work from the cases. Here’s some pictures of how I usually do it. I don’t have one of that specific day I was testing out the Razor.

Paul
It helps to have some really nice views as well.
 
Three birders at the San Diego River (Calif, USA) yesterday.
A Kowa 60mm angled spotting scope on tripod, an older pair of Japanese Porro 7x35s, and an off-brand hand held straight view scope.
 
I’ll set set up in a comfortable area and work from the cases.
It reminds me, you know, of a lot of movies or series, where the hero is looking for a gun, and meets a dealer who opens the same kind of suitcase, with several models lined up inside... you're a binos dealer !! Lol !
 
Last edited:
Three birders at the San Diego River (Calif, USA) yesterday.
A Kowa 60mm angled spotting scope on tripod, an older pair of Japanese Porro 7x35s, and an off-brand hand held straight view scope.
I have never yo my knowledge seen a Kowa in the wild
 
This is a very interesting thread to me.

I really like reading about what people actually see in the hands of practicing nature freaks.
 
Field trip with Golden gate Audubon this morning and my counts were:
Binoculars:
Swarovski EL - 4 (3x 8.5x42 and 1 8x32)
Leica UV 8x20
Canon 15x50 IS (me)
Nikon Monarch 5 10x42
Zeiss SF 8x42 - 2
Zeiss Conquest 8x42
Bushnell Custom Compact 7x26
Swift Trilyte 8x40
Zeiss Dialyt 8x40

Spotting scopes:
Opticron 80mm (unsure of the model)
Swaro ATS (1 65mm and 1 85mm)
Zeiss Diascope 65
Vortex Razor 50mm
Konus (?) 65ish mm entry level scope

5 interchangeable lens cameras, 1 Sony alpha, 3 Canon (1 mirrorless), and 2 nikon DSLR. All had supertelephoto zooms.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top