BinocularsBlog – Advice on Digital, Waterproof, & Compact Binoculars for Bird Watching, Sports, Astronomy, Night Vision, & more!

There are some features found on today’s binoculars that we take for granted. Full multi-coating (for maximum image brightness), phase-correction (for better resolution on roof prism binoculars), waterproofing (for all weather use) and more were not common binocular features in past decades and, even when available, were very expensive options found only on premium grade binoculars. Yes, all of those standard features on current binoculars were once available only on the best binoculars, but all can now be found on binoculars well under $200.

As an eyeglass wearer, all my life, the one binocular feature I most appreciate as now easily found is long eye relief. This binocular feature allows you to keep you to wear your glasses when using a binocular and still see a full field of view. Back in the 70s, 80s and even well into the 90s, it was a real hassle to find a binocular with long eye relief. This was especially true on compact binoculars. Indeed, it has not been that long for even premium compact binoculars to have long eye relief. What a relief (okay, bad pun) it has been to be able to get a compact binocular, such as that Leica Ultravid BL 10x25 or that Nikon Premier LX 10x25 that now offers enough eye so I can keep those glasses on my face, where they belong, rather than taking them off every time I want to use my compact binocular. After all, the whole idea of a compact binocular is convenience.

Not sure if the groundhog saw its shadow, yesterday, but I have yet to see a groundhog in the neighborhood or I might have been watching for a groundhog. I suspect we do have groundhogs in this area of suburban Milwaukee, though, since we do have so much other wildlife practically at our door. It may just be a matter of doing a bit more exploring and watching on my part.

Groundhog or not, I still see still see a great deal of wildlife when I walk or ski the trail that starts a couple hundred feet from my door. Even if I discount what I see at my very active bird feeders and what I have added to my birding list, my local wildlife list is quite long. To be sure, I use my binoculars for more than just watching the bird feeders or birding. For instance, I have yet to go a day in the local forest preserve without seeing deer and they are typically so tame and so close as not to need a binocular. I have even taken some nice photos with my film camera, but simply haven’t bothered to do try with my digital cameras. I promise to do that very enjoyable task, shortly, and post some pics.

This morning, I am heading out on the skis, compliments of a two-inch snow we had, yesterday. Fresh snow also makes for good tracking and that, in turn, also provides opportunities for some pics and I will post some of those in a future blog. In the meantime, got to go wax my skis.

Today’s bird is the House Finch, one of the most regular visitors to my feeders. As photographic subjects go, they are not too fidgety. In fact, these two were quite cooperative, the other morning. Enjoy.

Some words with a single definition actually describe a wide range of products. When it comes to optics, “rangefinder” is such a word. The word, itself, is self-explanatory, but there are many types of optical instruments that have rangefinders.

In it’s simplest form, a rangefinder is an instrument that does one and only one thing – determine distance to a selected target. The modern handheld rangefinder is a laser rangefinder; it incorporates an invisible laser that hits the target, then sensors in the rangefinder pick up the reflections of the laser beam off the target and, finally, a computer chip in the rangefinder notes the time it takes to receive the reflection and does the math. You see the distance displayed on a screen in an instant. The laser rangefinder is also incorporated into many weapons systems, surveying equipment and other high tech instruments. However, this technology is also appearing in many sporting products, such as target and hunting riflescopes, such as the Nikon Laser IRT riflescope.

That’s a far cry from the old mechanical optical rangefinders. In this type of handheld rangefinder, you see two images superimposed on each other. You then merge the images into one single image and read the distance on a dial. These handheld optical rangefinders have all but disappeared, but that system still can be found in rangefinder cameras, such as the Leica M9 camera, which is one of the very few manually focusing cameras in production.

Lastly, there are rangefinder binoculars that get you a binocular and rangefinder in one package. However, you must exercise caution, here. Only binoculars advertised as laser rangefinder binoculars use a laser rangefinder and these typically start in price with the Leupold RXB-IV . Less expensive binoculars that advertise a rangefinder do not include a laser. Instead, you see a grid of lines when you look though the binocular. You then bracket the object you wish to see between two marks on the grid, do some calculations and determine a distance. However, the one caveat with this system is that you must know the height of the object in question to do that math. This is an old technology and, for most users, not very useful. It is still offered in many marine binoculars as much out of tradition than out of practicality.

In some respects, winter, up here in the north, is an “off” season for birders and birdwatchers in terms of numbers of different birds seen. Most of us are lucky to count thirty or forty species if we really work at it, but that does not mean it is time to put away the birding binoculars or stop watching the birds.

As a passionate and ardent bird watcher, I love winter. Even though the numbers and variety are not there, birds are more obvious and easier to spot with the lack of cover, but, especially, birds seem even more spectacular against the, sometimes, drab background of our winter landscape. Birds seem more colorful, somehow. Then, too, winter can hold a surprise or two, since birds sometimes travel a long way in search of food – you never know what bird might find its way into your neighborhood. Indeed, some of the truly rare birds I have seen, such as a Snowy Owl, made a visit during the winter.

Mostly, though, winter is time to feed the birds and just sit and watch them at the bird feeder. Winter is not the only time to feed birds, however, but it is the season for many of us time when we have more time to watch the birds at our feeder. When that weather warms up, we tend to be on the move, more, just like the birds. As always, birding takes many forms.

Oh, though I would add a little color to your winter with my pic of a cardinal at my feeder. He was watching me as I took his pic as much as I was watching him.

Okay, back me against the wall, and ask me to state which binocular was the best binocular I have ever owned. That, of course, will never happen and if I even I made the attempt, it would mean having an argument with myself as to how to define best. In truth, the quest for the best binocular is a myth; there are simply too many ways to define best and there is no such thing as a binocular that is best in every way. You might as well ask me as to how to define the best telescope, the best spotting scope, the best camera or best camera lens. Forget it.

Searching the old memory banks, though, and several excellent binoculars I've owned come to mind. They were not without their flaws, but they were excellent, in their own ways. One of the top candidates for best optics would be my old Nikon 10x42 Premier SE binocular - I can’t honestly say I’ve looked through a better binocular in terms of optics, though I would have to say there were others which belonged right in the same class. The Nikon Superior E proved its worth so often, even when compared side-by-side with other binoculars, that I never once regretted selling a much more expensive binocular to get it. Another favorite of mine, for years, was the Swarovski 8x30 SLC for just being so nice in the hands that I often took it birding in lieu of optically better binoculars, though no Swarovski binocular is ever a slouch in terms of optics. Another binocular that I miss, to this day, was perhaps the one that carried the most memories; a binocular that had been with me in some very difficult times; a binocular that was practically my last material possession when I was down to my last dime. That was my Leica Trinovid 8x20 compact binocular. That’s the one that hurt the most to sell, even if it wasn’t the best.

The list goes, on and on. There has been no best binocular, but there sure have been some great binocular I have owned.

Okay, no more teasing about global warming to explain our somewhat atypical January weather. According to our weather folks, here in the Milwaukee area, our snowfall amounts for the month and the season are down because we are experiencing an El Nino winter and this current weather pattern fits previous El Nino winters we’ve had in the Milwaukee area. Hey, I want to be accurate and scientific, after all.

Of course, the birds in my backyard could care less about the reasons for the weather; they just adapt or perish, as do all creatures and, given the amount of food that disappears from the feeders on a daily basis, I’d say they are adapting quite well. I don’t mind at all; watching birds at the feeder is the best therapy I know for beating the winter blues.

In fact, I was talking to another gal who has been feeding birds for years and she said she read a report that putting up bird feeders and watching birds has become a popular therapy at many assisted living homes, rehab facilities and so on. I find it interesting that so many of us that are having problems or issues, of one sort or another, can so easily relate to birds, even when we are having difficulties of the human kind. I am speaking, now, for myself, because I have spent many an hour at the kitchen table, bird watching, bird feeder style, when I have been down, myself and it does help. I also know several people who have started feeding birds as therapy while recovering from a major health crisis and they swear by it, even though they still don’t know one species from the next.

I strongly urge you to give bird feeding a try if you know of someone in this predicament. Feeding birds is one of the very best ways to bring nature into the life of someone who is homebound, for one reason or another. Feeding birds is a relatively inexpensive hobby and you don’t even need binoculars to watch the action, though watching the birds through a binocular certainly adds to the fun. Then, too, nearly any binocular will work for watching birds at a feeder. You do not need a special birding binocular to follow the action.

Global warming? Okay, that explanation for all quirks in the weather is getting to be a tired joke, I know, but it is a fact that we, here in Milwaukee, have had two rainstorms this winter. This weekend’s rain basically eliminated any of my cross-country skiing for the time being, though I am sure winter will deliver more of that white stuff for my fun. In the meantime, the birding and, especially, the birdwatching at my feeder, is better than ever, though a winter thaw sometimes results in decreased activity. I suspect it is the birds way of saying winter is far from over, yet. Regardless, they are welcome.

Added a new bird to my feeder bird list list with a Brown Creeper. I usually see a few of these birds spiraling up and down tree trunks, each winter, out in the woods, but this is a first for me at my feeder. Welcome to my yard and help yourself, my tree climbing friend! This morning, my little, brown, feathered wonder was helping himself to some suet, much to the chagrin of a nearby and very impatient White-Breasted Nuthatch. From a distance, the Brown Creeper is something of a drab brown bird, but, up close in the spotting scope, the Brown Creeper shows a wealth of fine detail. No, I haven’t been able to get the Brown Creeper to pose for a pic, but I will be watching, spotting scope and digital camera at the ready. In the meantime, check the Cornell All About Birds website for a good pic and a nice description.

Got go fill my feeders. Want to be a good hostess, after all.