The Easy View (1 Viewer)

[yarrellii]

What is different about holding it up to the night sky and holding it up for Peregrines? I am usually seated when observing raptors or from a hide.

Mmm, that's an easy one: I can assure you constellations and nebulae are not as fast as peregrines.

When seating on a reclining chair stargazing, there are many times where binoculars don't move at all, or move very little; the crucial bit is that there's no need for rush to follow any object. Recent example: just 4 hours ago I've been watching a couple of peregrines chasing each other and playing with really fast movements and moving swiftly across the sky. To follow the scene with your binoculars you had to be concentrated follow the scene (at some point, turning my neck and my torso where not enough to follow the course of the flight). Had I been seating, I would have simply missed the action.

 

[dries1]

Dennis when was the last time you were in a hide?

 

[dries1]

The Fujinon FMT-SX 7x50 is not much heavier or bigger than the Zeiss FL 8x56 or Swarovski SLC 8x56 that some members use as their primary birding glass, and it kills the Zeiss FL 8x56 in many ways. It has higher transmission, better DOF, a bigger exit pupil for easier eye placement, way less distortion. less coma, way sharper edges, way more 3D, and it is 1/3 the price.

Fujinon FMT-SX 7x50 - binoculars review - AllBinos.com

The best binocular tests on the net. The comprehensive database of binoculars with their parameters and users opinions. Interesting articles and comparisons.

www.allbinos.com

Carl Zeiss Victory 8x56 T* FL - binoculars review - AllBinos.com

The best binocular tests on the net. The comprehensive database of binoculars with their parameters and users opinions. Interesting articles and comparisons.

www.allbinos.com

It (Fuji 7X50) is a marine glass that some use for astronomy, that is it.

 

[yarrellii]

In my experience, observing raptors because they are so wary usually involves longer distance observation where you really don't have to be standing up and seated is usually fine. When I observe Bald Eagles, I usually have a place to rest my binoculars, so a larger binocular is not a problem. I know many people that use a tripod for longer distance birding in Yellowstone National Park, and again the weight of a bigger binocular is no problem.

Then, if you are observing raptors:

• which involves longer distance
• you can be seated and have somewhere to brace/rest
• you can even use a tripod

Then why not simply use a 10x42, 10x50, 12x42, 12x50, etc. which will give you a better and much detailed view of the raptor, with more possibilities of ID and enjoyment of the little markings, plummage and features of the bird? Well, this is just an idea, and what I would do, but obviously we are all different. I'm a 7x devotee, and a Porro-lover, and have enjoyed the 7x50 FMT, but I don't think I'd recommend the 7x50 FMT to any friend as a birding binocular, I think you can invest that money in other alternatives. But, again, that's just my opinion, and, as they say, YMMV. So enjoy the view

 

[Dennis Mau]

Then, if you are observing raptors:

• which involves longer distance
• you can be seated and have somewhere to brace/rest
• you can even use a tripod

Then why not simply use a 10x42, 10x50, 12x42, 12x50, etc. which will give you a better and much detailed view of the raptor, with more possibilities of ID and enjoyment of the little markings, plummage and features of the bird? Well, this is just an idea, and what I would do, but obviously we are all different. I'm a 7x devotee, and a Porro-lover, and have enjoyed the 7x50 FMT, but I don't think I'd recommend the 7x50 FMT to any friend as a birding binocular, I think you can invest that money in other alternatives. But, again, that's just my opinion, and, as they say, YMMV. So enjoy the view

You're correct that a higher magnification would show you more detail, but then they are harder to hold steady. I believe some of the most famous raptor observers use 7x for that reason. I am not saying a Fujinon FMT-SX 7x50 is the ideal birding binocular, far from it, but it can be used when you are not using it for its primary use which is astronomy.

 

[Trinovid]

Then, if you are observing raptors...which involves longer distance

The only ones that I know very well are bald eagles and am able to see them from pretty close distance quite often. Eagles and ravens are two of my favorite birds to watch and seeing them close enough for the naked eye makes them all that much better with virtually any binocular.

 

[Dennis Mau]

The only ones that I know very well are bald eagles and am able to see them from pretty close distance quite often. Eagles and ravens are two of my favorite birds to watch and seeing them close enough for the naked eye makes them all that much better with virtually any binocular.

There are nesting Bald Eagles along the Poudre River Trail, where I ride my bike. You get close up views of them all the time when they rest in a tree.