Binoculars?

For some casual bird watching? A buddy of mine and I have a canoe and like to go out for a trip on the water to see what we can see. Thinkin bout pickin up some binoculars for it. Tryin to do a lil research online and seems that these are a real good buy for beginners. The fact that they are water/fogproof really appeals to me as I wouldn't want something like that to break my stuff.

Anyone have any experience with such things? Would love to hear if ya think thats a good buy.

I think your choice of the Nikon is probably a good one for canoing. 8x40 is a good compromise between seeing birds "close up" and having a lens along enough to let a decent amount of light in. With any higher magnification, you might have stability problems, particularly in a boat. And if you go for a longer lens length, say, a 50 or 60, it'll get pretty heavy.

At home I use a 8X25, which is a pretty good backyard birder, but I just got a very cheap Bushness 16x32 because I wanted good closeup views of birds at my feeders. The latter does give the views, but it's very shakey and doesn't bring in a very bright image...it's good for mid-morning to late afternoon viewing.

Jeff in Boston

You might want to get this one and then get a very inexpensive

I like these better in that price-



And a few bucks more for the 8x30's- a big upgrade these

Jim said:

I like these better in that price-

And a few bucks more for the 8x30's- a big upgrade these

Click to expand...

+1 on the Leupolds! I got a pair for hunting and I love them. Very comfortable to look through for many hours of glassing. IIRC they were fairly inexpensive as far as good binoculars go.

Nikon glass is super, giving a razor sharp image.

I picked up a near mint vintage 7x50 Japanese pair in a thrift store today, for the princely sum of $8AU. The optics are surprisingly good.

I have a smaller set of Leica and Nikon, but having the brighter view of a bigger pair when looking at the moon, birds in the yard, etc will be good when I don't need to hike with them.

I like the old school leather case as well, which will look the business if I take them to the races.

Wow! 50mm gathers plenty of photons. Old school rules!

Yes, indeed. Older Japanese optics are superb! and can frequently be had at garage sales, Goodwill, etc - my best 7x35s were from a neighbor who moved. Impressed with that glass! Congrats.

AA

Laugh at me if you want...lol...For the past couple of years, I have been using
10x50 binoculars from Harbor Freight. After a coupon, they were 15 bucks. I have a pair in both of my daily driver trucks, boat, and a pair on the kitchen table. I like them better than some of the more expensive binoculars I have tried. I have beaten a pair around all summer spotting varmints. They haven't failed me, yet. Would I recommend a pair for a trip of a lifetime where you needed good glass? Probably not.

I really like my Nikon Acula 10x42 (porro). They're brighter than most of the 10x50s I've used in the past. They're great for stargazing as well as daytime nature watching.

The best part is the eye relief! I wear glasses, and optics can be a big problem for me. This is the first pair I've found that I can get a good view without taking off my glasses.