Birdwatching is a hobby enjoyed by millions of people worldwide and if there is one thing that all birders need it’s a good pair of bird watching binoculars. Were going to give you some tips to help you find the right pair of binoculars to suit your needs.
Compact and Lightweight
A good pair of bird watching binoculars has to be compact and lightweight enough to carry with you all day long but also have enough magnification to help you easily observe and identify bird species. The most popular sizes for birdwatching binoculars are 8×40 and 8×42. These will provide 8x magnification and a 40mm or 42mm objective lens diameter respectively. A 40 or 42mm objective lens diameter is large enough to gather plenty of light but small enough that it doesn’t add too much weight.
Long Eye Relief
In addition to magnification and the size of the objective lens there are a number of other things to look for as well. Buying a pair of binoculars with a wide field of view will allow you to follow birds that take flight. A pair of bird watching binoculars should also have a relatively long eye relief. Eye relief refers to the distance that light has to travel from the eyepiece lens until it reaches your eye. A longer eye relief will keep your eyes from becoming fatigued even when using your binoculars for an extended period of time. It’s also a good idea to look for a pair of binoculars that has a good lens coating. Multi-layered anti-reflective coatings will give you true color rendition, higher contrast, optimum brightness and overall better image quality.
Weather Resistant
Birdwatching binoculars are going to be traveling with you outdoors and exposed to the elements so it would also be a good idea to look for a pair that is labeled as waterproof or weatherproof or at least weather resistant. If moisture was to find its way inside the binoculars the lenses would fog up which is obviously something you would want to avoid. A few other things to look for would be an ergonomically shaped design and a rubber coated grip that will help prevent slipping, you don’t want to drop and damage your new pair of binoculars.
Binoculars that are available today come in many different shapes and sizes and have lots of different features you can choose from. Some binoculars will have mounts for a tripod, some pairs have image stabilization capabilities, some even have digital cameras built into them. These kinds of features are great but the items that we discussed above are some of the most important things to look for to make sure you get a good quality pair of bird watching binoculars.
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