why are most recommended binocs for bird watching only 8-10X ? i tried some in the store for about 300$ and they were like 15X and seemed unreal (the magnificaiton is great). imagine all those raptors i couldn't see b4 are now closer...moreover, you can get cheap under 50$ high mag binos on ebay..am i missing something?
thank you all
The higheer the magnification the smaller the field of vision so it is harder to find the bird you just spotted. Also they are harder to hold steady, and won't focus on birds that are nearby. Lower magnification binocs are useful in a broad range of situations, not just for birds on a branch a long way off.
The weight is usually the main issue. 8x40 is the usual size birders use. Plus usually the cheaper the Binocs, the cheaper the lens manfacturing. As with your $300 ones,it is easy to go 10x that price for Binocs. So you would be best to work out how much your willing to spend and then read reveiws on the models in that price range. As for Ebay, buy from reputable dealers, 98% and higher rating is what I look for. Also a lot of Counterfeit copies around, so be careful..
Kippa-ring, Qld.
okay, makes sense, high magnification binocs need a tripod where as binocs are meant to be free flowing and easy to use on the fly. so not much point in having excessive magnifications on them. but the skymaster from australian geographic was about 15X, and i could find the objects easily enough (tested it in the shopping centre though) and get up much closer compared to my 8X (had that with me). maybe 15-20 is the ideal range. 15X seemed much more useful than my 8X - could see lovely details not showing in the 8X. so i'm still thinking, aren't we better off with 15X??? the field of view isn't as large as my 8X, but it's still much larger than a spotting scope. and i think it would be easy to locate flying birds above - i located the objects in a flash. i'm just thinking of all those times i wanted to see a raptor closer, with more detail and i couldn't. 15X skymaster Aus. Geographic would do the trick.
once again, what about 15- 20 X for magnification in binocs? that's not better than 8X? this last line is my main question for this post.
More magnification is more powerful: yes. But is it better? For birds a long way away it would be best, but
(a) if you're in a woodland/forest/garden/park/scrub/whatever you only need 8 or 10X and we make that compromise because
(b) you sacrifice quality for money when you increase magnification. Higher magnification will mean inherent reduction in fov and usability and practical reduction in lens quality
viz. http://www.allaboutbirds.org/finding-the-best-binoculars-for-birding/ it is 2013 but very informative
cannot advise on quality of Aust geo bins...
i drove far to some stores today (one of them was shut :( ). still, i tried out a 20X80 binoc. it was heavy and big, ORION brand, but it gave me closups of stuff far away. i think i could manage this with hawks/falcons etc soaring high above. not sure though, maybe i'm greedy :) it is not too dificult to find the target (56m/1000m FOV). the Aus. Geo model is actually a celestron 15X skymaster, which was also quite good. so i htink that one of these 2 migh be quite good for looking at soaring raptors above. when they are really close of course, i could pull out my minis 8X. they didn't have zoom bins so couldnt try them. the scopes are great too but it was harder to find targets on the fly, unless they are very very far away. beutiful products...
(padon speeling/grammer. so bsy..)