Binoculars for viewing wildlife in garden?

Arequipa

Good evening!

I am looking at purchasing a pair of binoculars to view the birds @ birdfeeders in my garden.
I also would like to be able to view wildlife for example on the mudflats of Bull Island.

I am also interested in aviation & would love to be able to view aircraft at altitude( up to 40,000 feet ) on a clear day & on approach & takeoff from Dublin.
I am happy to spend around 100-€150,

Any recommendations?

Thanks for reading!

swifts need our help!

My new pair of bins will be Hawke Frontier 10 x 43 but they are more than you want to spend. They are around £320 but £285 on Amazon

The older model is £150. A friend bought them. I'll ask what the model number is

Mark

Arequipa

Thanks for your reply!

Half-cocked

Opticron make a variety of decent quality models to suit all budgets. If you want excellent optical quality and don't need shock and weather proofing, look out for old East German Zeiss 8x30's on ebay (Jenoptem or Deltrintem models) for under €100.

Arequipa

Thanks! I found a pair of Opticron 10 x 42 WP Binoculars for £129.95 Sterling: any good?

magicbastarder

have you checked the birdwatch ireland website? they sell opticron binoculars; i'm not sure which model WP corresponds to though.

whyulittle

I picked up a pair of Opticron Discovery 8X42s a while ago after reading the threads on here. Unfortunately BWI, Conns, and a few others were a good €100 dearer than Amazon.

Half-cocked

Arequipa wrote: »

Thanks! I found a pair of Opticron 10 x 42 WP Binoculars for £129.95 Sterling: any good?

They're about as good as you'll get for that price for new bins.

Half-cocked

whyulittle wrote: »

Unfortunately BWI, Conns, and a few others were a good €100 dearer than Amazon.

Afraid that's true. While I'd love to support BWI, they're optics are just too pricey compared to the UK.

V_Moth

magicbastarder wrote: »

have you checked the birdwatch ireland website? they sell opticron binoculars; i'm not sure which model WP corresponds to though.

I use these:

http://shop.birdwatchireland.ie/birdwatchireland/product_info.php?cPath=21_22&products_id=697

Excellent value for performance. Before buying I would suggest trying out different models from different manufacturers. Everybody has different preferences in terms of the weight and "feel" of the bins/scope.

Also, if you are intending to use on a regular basis, I would suggest going for a more expensive pair as the quality of the glass used will be that bit better. This pays off in low-light conditions, as well as in the quality of the image delivered (less chromatic aberration etc).

Arequipa

Would Opticron, be like the Skoda of the binocular market: ie great quality at not so high a price?

Are binoculars better than a compact teloscopic with a stand?

Thanking u!

V_Moth

Would Opticron, be like the Skoda of the binocular market: ie great quality at not so high a price?

Kinda. They perform quite well when compared to top-end products from Swarovski, Leica or Zeiss.

Are binoculars better than a compact teloscopic with a stand?

Do you mean a telescope or tripod mounted binoculars? In the case of the former, yes and no. Binoculars have the advantage of being much easier to carry around (<0.5kg vs 2 to 3Kg) and quicker to get "on target". The disadvantage of binocularss vs telescopes is that they don't have the mahnification of the latter (avoid any binoculars with greater than 10x magnification or zoom lenses).

In choosing between binoculars and telescopes, it is really about what you are doing. If you are doing a lot of static observation in open habitats (for example mudflats), than a telescope would probably be a better idea. If you are just starting birding or mainly birding in enclosed habitats (gardens, woodlands) than binoculars would be more useful.

Mothman

Perhaps this thread is worth reading.
While some of the info may be outdated, a lot of the advice is timeless

Arequipa

Hi! I was just looking through the Lidl Catalogue & tgey have a spotting scope from Thursday @ €29.99.

http://www.lidl.ie/cps/rde/xchg/lidl_ri_ie/hs.xsl/index_16246.htm

What do u think of it for bird watching & aircraft viewing?
Would it compare to Opticron or Nikon binoculars?

I appreciate your feedback!

V_Moth

Arequipa wrote: »

Hi! I was just looking through the Lidl Catalogue & tgey have a spotting scope from Thursday @ €29.99.

http://www.lidl.ie/cps/rde/xchg/lidl_ri_ie/hs.xsl/index_16246.htm

What do u think of it for bird watching & aircraft viewing?
Would it compare to Opticron or Nikon binoculars?

I appreciate your feedback!

The simple answer is no. I don't know about the quality of the glass (what you are paying for in optics), but a zoom lens would not give good results on anything other than sunny days. Also, the close focus range is terrible (12m!)- most quality optics should give ranges of 3 to 4 metres. The tripod looks next to useless, meaning you would have to spend €60 to €100 on a new one.

If you are looking for a relatively cheap and fairly good telescope, I would recommend this:

http://www.telescopes-binoculars.co.uk/acatalog/_Opticron_MM2_V2_Mighty_Midget_travel_scope.html

Note that it takes a good bit of practice using a telescope to pick up birds/planes in flight.

Arequipa

Thank you for your reply!
I suppose you get what you pay for!
I seem to be narrowing down towards these....

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B000L3L3HK/ref=redir_mdp_mobile

Or

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0052CKRRM/ref=mp_s_a_3?qid=1323871429&sr=8-3

They seem to get good reviews & offer good quality @ a good price?!

sineadgalway

My Da has a pair of the Lidl (or maybe Aldi ones) and they are perfect for sitting in the kitchen and looking at the bird feeder. They might not be great for ditance though but you get what you pay for.

If all you want to do is look at birds in the garden they'll do the job.

trebor28

I bought a set of Bressar ones in lidl a whole back for less than €20.
Theyre not perfect but do the job fine for me. I would say they'd be more than adequate for looking at birds in your garden and more beyond.

Arequipa

Thanks for replies!