Binoculars for Arthritic Hands (1 Viewer)

[brianfm]

I've been asked by an elderly lady (in her nineties I believe) who has arthritic hands if I could advise re: small, light binoculars. I'm assuming, ones that are of low cost. Any advice/suggestions would be welcome.

Cheers

 

[AnotherNightOwl]

Brian,
roughly what do you class as low cost?

 

[brianfm]

Good point. Less than £200.

Cheers

 

[AnotherNightOwl]

Hi Brian,

I have severe rheumatoid arthritis.
I used to have the Nikon Travelite EX 8x25. Small, light and in my opinion the shape helps in making them comfortable to hold.
They also fit easily into your price range.

Whatever you choose I hope she loves what you get for her.

Good luck. :t:

Deano

 

[typo]

Hi Brian,

Another possibility is the Olympus PCI 8x25. It is even lighter than the Travelite 280 vs. 355g, optically very good and normally a bit cheaper. It's non-waterproof and the 'Star Trek' looks may not appeal.

At the top end of your price range might be the Opticron Traveller 6x32. It's physically very small, heavier at 465g but is going to be much more robust. Note that the focus is at the 'wrong end' which may or may not be helpful. I mentioned this one because the 5.3mm exit pupil, should make the eye positioning far less critical, the 6x will steadier in the hand, the 19mm eye relief may be beneficial and the IPD can be locked. I believe the line has been discontinued and there may be bargains about.

Hope this helps. Good luck from me as well.

David

 

[brianfm]

Thanks a lot Deano and David. This is very useful. I'll check these out.

ATB
Brian

 

[brocknroller]

I've been asked by an elderly lady (in her nineties I believe) who has arthritic hands if I could advise re: small, light binoculars. I'm assuming, ones that are of low cost. Any advice/suggestions would be welcome.

Cheers

If she has arthritic hands, she might not be able to hold any bins steady, and at her age, the "shakes" are fairly common and a lightweight bin will make that worse.

So a Canon 8x25 IS might be the best solution.

It's a good match for her small entrance pupils, and at $235, it's within her budget even after you add 20% VAT.

The only question is will she be able to hold down the IS button w/out pain?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&Q=&sku=245431&is=USA&A=details

 

[brianfm]

If she has arthritic hands, she might not be able to hold any bins steady, and at her age, the "shakes" are fairly common and a lightweight bin will make that worse.

So a Canon 8x25 IS might be the best solution.

It's a good match for her small entrance pupils, and at $235, it's within her budget even after you add 20% VAT.

The only question is will she be able to hold down the IS button w/out pain?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&Q=&sku=245431&is=USA&A=details

Thanks for this. I'll pass advice on.

Cheers

 

[AnotherNightOwl]

The Canon 8x25 IS are above the less than £200 quoted.
Also the CR123A Lithium batteries are not as easy to buy (day to day shops) as say the AA batteries for the Canon 10x30 IS. They can be bought online and more optics shops sell them now. They can also be bought rechargeable. If I need AA batteries for mine I can go to a shop or store at any time 24 hours a day and find some.

Regards,
Deano

 

[brianfm]

The Canon 8x25 IS are above the less than £200 quoted.
Also the CR123A Lithium batteries are not as easy to buy (day to day shops) as say the AA batteries for the Canon 10x30 IS. They can be bought online and more optics shops sell them now. They can also be bought rechargeable. If I need AA batteries for mine I can go to a shop or store at any time 24 hours a day and find some.

Regards,
Deano

Thanks for the clarification Deano.
The lady in question, along with her family, has been very grateful for the advice within this thread. A good advert for the many positives of Birdforum.

Cheers

 

[AnotherNightOwl]

Thanks for the clarification Deano.
The lady in question, along with her family, has been very grateful for the advice within this thread. A good advert for the many positives of Birdforum.

Cheers

You are welcome.

The 8x25 IS that brocknroller mentions would be good if the lady's budget were raised, and that you checked that you could find the batteries/rechargeable ones easily. Also that she found them comfortable to hold and the IS button easy to use.
They are excellent at giving a very clear and stable image. I have the 10x30 IS ( a bit bigger than the 8x25) that I have already stated takes the AA sized batteries. I love them.

I have had Arthritus since I was a teenager (nearly 34years) and my hands are not brilliant and quite deformed. My grip isn't very good and they are shaky as well. Using the CANON IS removes all my shakes from what I am seeing.

As I first posted the Nikon Travelite EX 8x25 shape I think helped a great deal with comfortable holding for myself anyway.

My favourite binoculars are without question the CANON IS image stabilized ones. I also find these comfy and I manage the IS button with no problem. Though I don't hold it down for long periods. Very solid, stable image.

Its a shame I didn't live closer to you as I would have willingly let the lady try them.

I do wish her the best of luck and I do hope she loves the binoculars that she gets.

Best,

Deano

 

[brianfm]

Thanks Deano, for all the information and also the very kind thoughts.

I shall keep all of the info in this thread near by me as in my role as a volunteer I often get asked about binoculars by people new to birding. I confess knowledge of binoculars is not my strong point. Perhaps rather selfishly, once I have my own gear sorted out I have in the past not given too much attention to what other people use. I'll try and put that right. This will I'm sure crop up again in the future.

ATB
Brian