As a photographer, I know the basics: objective lens size and light gathering, focal length, etc.
Looking for some good binoculars that don't break the bank. Weight is an issue since these would go on hiking/camping trips where I sometimes walk a few miles and generally try to limit the weight I carry.
The last time I bought binoculars I ended up with a lovely Olympus piece, but it is long gone and it was heavy. I know Zeiss, Canon, and Swarovski used to be the cream of the crop, but it has been 25 years since that Nikon I bought.
The objective here (pun intended) is to get a decent pair of glasses for identification of bird species and observation of behavior, but not examining them for fleas. What do you birdwatchers recommend?
I was impressed with the quality of the binocs that Harbor Freight sells. I bought a pair for my younger son, but I probably use them more often. As good as they are, particularly for the money, I suspect that you are in the market for something, ah, shall we say, better?
I have recent experience with a Nikon riflescope. Impressive optical performance to my relatively undiscriminating eye. Good value. So, Nikon?
I just bought Nikon Prostaff 3S 10 x 42 last week. They're very nice, waterproof, etc. $130 pretty much everywhere, (not sure what you want to spend) but you won't need to upgrade later.
In reply to Steve_Jones
What kind of updates are you talking about?
For the same price, maybe cheaper you could take a Sony A7 Mark III it's also good for photography.
I haven't looked at this market for years. I have wondered recently what's up with the pricing for image stabilization binoculars. Since you're a boater, those could be particularly functional.
Image stabilizing binoculars? What is this wizardry you speak of?
If you don't want to spend a bunch, check out https://www.shopgoodwill.com/
In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :
I'm curious as to the specifics of how these work. Is the user looking at a digitally manipulated image or are the binocs making the lenses do some kind of magical dance?
mmabel1212 said:
In reply to Steve_Jones
What kind of updates are you talking about?
For the same price, maybe cheaper you could take a Sony A7 Mark III it's also good for photography.
They are waterproof, fog proof, rugged binoculars. Good field of view, etc. Many people buy a $50 pair, then want waterproof, or better field, later. That's what I meant, these are already a good setup.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
Image-stabilized binoculars are binoculars that have a mechanism for decreasing the apparent motion of the view due to binocular movement. Such binoculars are designed to minimize image shaking in hand-held binoculars. Wikipedia
I really don't know much more than that they're a thing you can get.
pheller
UltimaDork
7/23/20 7:34 p.m.
I've been getting more into bird watching recently and was torn between getting a longer lens for my DSLR (600mm) or doing a "Digiscope" setup based off a 60x spotting scope with a camera attached.
Then I did some great reading from folks who have done both really high end digiscoping and high end long zoom photography, and they all suggested:
Nikon Coolpix P900/950/1000
It's basically an awesome set of binoculars, a pretty decent point and shoot camera, and a very long range spotting scope combined into one easy to carry camera.
