Best binoculars for birding

Fendtro11

Hi,

Could anyone recommend a good pair of binoculars. Will be used for work and alot of birding. Budget would be around 800 euro. I have 8 x 42s now but might try 10s this time. Any suggestions welcomed!

Cheers

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Stick with 8x42.

captain_boycott

Adrien Purple Poem wrote: »

Stick with 8x42.

Depends!

I've always gone with 8x42, but as you get older, your pupils get smaller, and as its best to match yours eyes to the exit pupil diameter of the eyepiece, a 10x may be better for the older person... Best advise is to try a few different ones.

BTW - Just been looking for an inexpensive pair for a gift, and a requirement I had not thought of until now is minimum focus distance as this person will be using them inside their kitchen to a nearby feeder. I notice a lot of cheaper bins have very poor minimum focus lengths.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

captain_boycott wrote: »

Depends!

I've always gone with 8x42, but as you get older, your pupils get smaller, and as its best to match yours eyes to the exit pupil diameter of the eyepiece, a 10x may be better for the older person... Best advise is to try a few different ones.

BTW - Just been looking for an inexpensive pair for a gift, and a requirement I had not thought of until now is minimum focus distance as this person will be using them inside their kitchen to a nearby feeder. I notice a lot of cheaper bins have very poor minimum focus lengths.

I'm almost 74 and haven't noticed any need to change from 8x as yet.

captain_boycott

keep eating those carrots!:D

Fendtro11

Hi thanks for the advice. I Would be looking at fairly long distance views along with the scope. Maybe I will stick with 8 x 42s!

WildIreland

captain_boycott wrote: »

Depends!

I've always gone with 8x42, but as you get older, your pupils get smaller, and as its best to match your eyes to the exit pupil diameter of the eyepiece, a 10x may be better for the older person...

Not necessarily -- there's absolutely no imperative to match your binocular's exit pupil to your maximum pupil dilation size -- and certainly no real benefit in moving from 8x to 10x as you get older.

It just means that as your eyes age, depending on your maximum pupil dilation, you may not experience the full benefit of the larger exit pupil of an 8x42 as the light fades. Other benefits like the significantly wider field of view and the fact that lower magnifications also magnify hand/body shake less remain the same. That last benefit in particular tends to become more relevant as we age and find it harder to hold things as steady as we once did.

My main bins are 10x42s -- I've always preferred that bit of extra "reach" and have no problem holding 10s steady enough. Anything less than a 42mm objective though and I'd go for 8x -- my travel bins, for example, are an excellent little pair of Kite Lynx HD 8x30 -- super little wide angle binocular.

WildIreland

Fendtro11 wrote: »

Hi thanks for the advice. I Would be looking at fairly long distance views along with the scope. Maybe I will stick with 8 x 42s!

If you're viewing very distant subjects you may find the extra detail the 10x pulls in beneficial... IF you can hold them steady enough. Then again, if you're using a scope, and just need bins to pick up distant subjects before keying in to detail with the scope, the wider field of view of an 8x42 might work better.

All depends on what you're looking for.

raspberrypi67

I have 10 X 50's and they are perfect for bird watching...

Fendtro11

Hi guys,

Thanks for all the advice. I went with Zeiss conquest 8 x 42s and they're great!

Much appreciated.