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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

New AX Visio 10x32 binocular (1 Viewer)

As a technology road map, would you and others not prefer the following.....

Alpha 10x30 + Stabilisation + active light booster + variable mag camera + image analysis (Merlin + other pattern matching engines)

All in a 600g small package.
And under 1000USD.
Yes, sure.
Maybe in 50 years.
 
And under 1000USD.
Yes, sure.
Maybe in 50 years.
Yes, forgot the price.

No reason why this road map can't be achieved.....

IMO it is the natural path, but involves technology that Camera companies familiar with active systems, ASICS, image sensors, etc are best suited to.
 
As a technology road map, would you and others not prefer the following.....

Alpha 10x30 + Stabilisation + active light booster + variable mag camera + image analysis (Merlin + other pattern matching engines)

All in a 600g small package.

I don't think all of that will ever physically possible - bare 10x32 ELs weigh 610gm - add a fixed magnification camera lens and you're way over, let alone the multiple elements of a zoom. Stabilisation adds a lot of weight, and so far IS cameras haven't impressed image quality wise. In field image analysis doesn't interest me (I appreciate it might for other people).

Swarovski's current offering is too expensive for me, but the appeal of a combined binocular/camera set up is appealing.
 
I don't think all of that will ever physically possible - bare 10x32 ELs weigh 610gm - add a fixed magnification camera lens and you're way over, let alone the multiple elements of a zoom. Stabilisation adds a lot of weight, and so far IS cameras haven't impressed image quality wise. In field image analysis doesn't interest me (I appreciate it might for other people).

Swarovski's current offering is too expensive for me, but the appeal of a combined binocular/camera set up is appealing.
example of ideas.....

'Recent' camera technology, such as translucent mirror could be employed, instead of additional lenses for a separate camera.

A binoscope, instead of seperate front objectives.....

An electronic view finder......

Think out of the box.

Bigger and harder problems are solved daily.
 
would looking at a smartphone or tablet screen, give the same buzz as peering through a scope and actually seeing it? Isn’t looking at a screen (which is something most of us do too much of) distancing us from encounter? Is it much different from seeing it on a TV programme (but perhaps with the programme made by a more inept camera person!).

I think so much depends on the quality of the image. I mostly bird by myself, but in all fairness if I could press a button and let a non-birding companion see what I was seeing, I suppose that would be pretty cool (though a lot of my targets are a long way off). Not something I'd pay $4000 for, but if the tech advanced and became cheaper I suppose I would consider it - especially so if I had kids etc.

I think the special-ness (for want of a better expression) of a lot of what we observe is because it's of its context - because it's in our particular environment. We have all seen better photos or video of the same species elsewhere - the special thing is seeing it in our own backyard/patch. so yes - I think even something as commonplace as goldfinches at a feeder could be interesting and enjoyable if shared at 10x magnification on a tablet or similar.

Binoculars should be considered as a whole, what needs do I have and what do I not need so much, what are my priorities

I agree with this, and my point was that choosing binoculars is highly subjective because of our own individual sensitivities, requirements and preferences.

There is a lot of tech that could be employed in optics (metalenses etc). Whether it ever does will be down to demand. There are probably billions of potential consumers for a smartphone, so huge incentive to develop smartphone cameras and other aspects of functionality. Wildlife observation devices - it's harder to say.

Maybe one day we'll be able to look at the screen of our iPhone or whatever and see things as well as (or better than) the alphas of today, with zoom, stabilisation, video and apps to identify things if desired. I do think it's more likely to be a company like Apple or Samsung that delivers that kind of viewing experience than Swarovski or Zeiss etc.
 
As a technology road map, would you and others not prefer the following.....

Alpha 10x30 + Stabilisation + active light booster + variable mag camera + image analysis (Merlin + other pattern matching engines)

All in a 600g small package.
Sure. I also believe it would be possible to do this quite fast (most likely with EVF instead of optical oculars). But I don't believe it will happen.
The market is too small for any of the manufacturers to really bother. Zeiss Photoscope, 2 iterations of the Sony Dev, Swaro dg and Visio. That's all we got in 2 decades in attempts to bring the traditional binocular to the digtal age. Not exactly the speed needed to get very far on your road map.
 
Members with the Merlin app:
Is this Allen's or Rufous?
My daughter in L.A. has plenty of those on her balcony, I will try the Visio on them.
 

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As a technology road map, would you and others not prefer the following.....

Alpha 10x30 + Stabilisation + active light booster + variable mag camera + image analysis (Merlin + other pattern matching engines)

All in a 600g small package.
Hmm .. I think it shouldn't be more than 500g.
 
Members with the Merlin app:
Is this Allen's or Rufous?
My daughter in L.A. has plenty of those on her balcony, I will try the Visio on them.

I just plugged it into Merlin and it says Rufous.

That's the thing, Merlin photo ID works great for easy IDs, but it does not work for challenging IDs, or it gives unreliable results.

The bino will be great for a beginner trying to tell a BCCH from a RBNU, but it isn't going to positively ID an empid or a peep. What beginner is buying a bino in this price range? Who is the ID function for?
 
The obvious answer seems to be, someone who's just not familiar with a region's birds. Rich beginners, or global travelers.

That does make sense, although how well does Merlin photo ID work in places with less data points? I honestly have never tried using it much even in my local area (Canada). I guess it will probably do fine on common, easily distinguishable birds.

The $1850 premium over a 10×32 NL Pure will buy a lot of guide days in many regions of the world.

I will give it to Swarovski, they are innovative. Forehead rests, built in camera/AI ID function. They definitely aren't afraid to branch off the tried and true.
 
Now that's a bad argument ;). Today, hundreds of millions of people think its normal to pay 1000 $ for a phone. Phones did cost 10 $ before the introduction of the iphone.
It is not, and was not an “argument.

It was a simple statement of fact, and consequently neutral.

It seems that it was you who turned it into an argument, in order to refute it.
 
Members with the Merlin app:
Is this Allen's or Rufous?
My daughter in L.A. has plenty of those on her balcony, I will try the Visio on them.
Using the Merlin photo app on your photo and giving my location in the LA area gives a Merlin result of choices: 1. Allen's, 2. Rufous, and 3. Anna's in that order. Merlin offers suggestions, not claimed as definitive, which over time have been getting impressively good in my opinion. The Rufous crowd is small compared to Allen's around here. In addition to better view of the back, I watch the behavior since Rufous tend to be a bit nasty on real estate protection compared to Allen's.

Is there, or should there be, a Merlin thread somewhere rather than an add-on here? It seems like the opinions about Merlin and BirdNet deserve there own discussion.
 
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