subject: Three Must Haves In The Best Binoculars For Bird Watching [print this page] Understanding how to pick the best binoculars for bird watching boils down partly to a set of numbers. These numbers express the optical qualities of the binoculars and you will find that the best binoculars for bird watching are not the exact same as the top binoculars for astronomy or boating or shooting. Let's take a look closely at the numbers and what to search for in birding binoculars.
1) Power. It is often a temptation to on line and buy the strongest binoculars for birding that you can locate. It's a rookie mistake! Experienced birders commonly use binoculars which are 7, 8, 9, or 10 power. Less than this and they tend not to actually deliver much. Binoculars more than ten power have two issues. First, they are hard to hold still. Greater magnification translates into additional jiggle. Second, the field of view for high powered binoculars is narrower. This makes it tricky to locate the bird, especially when it's flying.
2) Aperture. This is where the light enters the binoculars and it is the second number, for instance, in 7 x 50, 50 will be the size with the front opening where the light enters. Find a number in between 30 and 50. Compact binoculars may possibly have a number between 20 to 25, possibly less. That's acceptable for compacts, but they won't have the identical general performance as a bigger set. More light will mean a sharper, brighter image, particularly early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Binoculars bigger than fifty are going to become heavy and you will get tired of carrying them around your neck. You should search for a pair somewhere close to 8 x 40 or so and you will locate the best binoculars for bird watching.
3) Eye relief. This is how far from your eyes the lenses ought to be. This number is especially critical for people who must wear eyeglasses. Should you wear glasses, at least 14mm of eye relief will probably be required to allow for them. Actually, this isn't much of an issue with modern binoculars as most have plenty of eye relief. If thinking of buying old, estate sale binoculars, this might be a factor.
The great thing about the best binoculars for bird watching is that they are great all around binoculars for other pursuits. The very best birding binoculars aren't too huge, not too tiny and not too powerful. Later, you may desire to add a stronger spotting scope to your equipment for nest observing, etc., but getting started with a good set of bird watching binoculars will get you going in the right direction
