Birding Binoculars
Part 6
Comparing Binoculars
and
Choosing a Binocular
How
to compare binoculars
Indoors, where you can control lighting conditions, tape a dollar bill
to a wall. Then compare how well various binoculars resolve the same details,
both at the center and at the edges of the visual field. Test the binoculars
without support, hand holding them as you would in normal use. Is one
pair more comfortable to hold? Do you prefer looking through it? You can
also test binoculars on a tripod or a beanbag support. You may obtain
different results from what you find in the hand-held test.
If you get the opportunity,
try a binocular you're considering in the field. Consider the weight.
After an hour are they still comfortable around your neck? You may want
to try using a replacement strap made of neoprene rubber. Wide and stretchy,
it helps to absorb shock and protect the neck.
What to avoid
in birding binoculars
Zoom binoculars are usually optically inferior to regular binoculars.
Avoid fixed focus binoculars. They won't focus up close. And don't get
binoculars that focus each eyepiece separately. Individual focus is appropriate
for marine binoculars, which require complete waterproofing, but it's
too slow on the draw for birding.
What
are the best birding binoculars?
It's really a matter of your personal use. Different models are best for
different purposes and different birders. The 10 power that's tops for
distant shorebirds may be outperformed by a 7 power with a wider field
of view when searching for warblers in dim light.
How
to choose binoculars
Buy the best. Superior optics really pay off for birders in the quality
of experience they provide. They will stand up to heavy use and keep their
resale value. It's a false economy to buy less.
Try before you buy.
Binoculars that are perfect for somebody else may not be the right binoculars
for you. See if you can borrow a model you are interested in from a friend
and bird with it for a day. Or ask the dealer if you can take two or more
models into the field for comparison. If you haven't pretested a particular
binocular, don't buy it without the assurance that you can trade it in
for a different one.
The human eye has
a great ability to compensate temporarily for slight misalignment or focus
problems. For the few minutes spent evaluating models in a store, a pair
of binoculars may look fine. But after an hour in the field you may begin
to experience eye fatigue or even a headache. Subtle differences between
binoculars may take some time to show up.
The best binoculars
will disappear from your awareness while you're using them, so that your
attention is on the bird, not the binoculars. The mark of good binoculars
is that they make you feel as if you are simply seeing through your own
eyes, only closer. You can look through good optics all day long with
no sense of strain. With inferior optics, you feel a subtle sense of relief
when you stop looking through them.
It pays to invest
in the instrument you really want. You will never be sorry you bought
the best binoculars.
—Michael and Diane Porter
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