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

I hate to see high end porro prism binoculars go the way of the dinosaurs, but the sleek and sexy roof prism binocular gets all the attention, these days, at least in the premier binocular category. That's too bad, because great porro prism binoculars like the now disappearing Nikon Premier SE can hold their own, optically, with all the roof prism heavyweights and do it at a fraction of the price. About the only place the premium porro prism binocular holds its own is in astronomy binoculars and military/marine binoculars where performance and durability are more important than handling qualities. Long live the porro prism binocular.

Had a customer with a good point to share on astronomy binoculars and one I've also wondered about, myself. When it comes to the really big giant binoculars in the 25x100 class, the supplied 1/4x20 tripod thread is really much too small to safely support the weight. No doubt this size is supplied to offer more selection in the way of tripods, but the standard photo tripod is really too light, anyway, for this size binocular. Would like to see more in the way of specially built tripods or tripod mounts for 25x100 astronomy binoculars. I have used some custom built tripods for these, but have yet to see anything commercial to match. I know OpticsPlanet would sell a lot of these tripods. We certainly sell a lot of these jumbo binoculars.

Fun weekend with the binocular, birds and wildflowers. Definitely seeing more and more signs of fall - the first Goldenrods are blooming and the apple trees are loaded with fruit. As for birds, not a lot of diversity, but did watch what was either a Willow or an Alder flycatcher by a local pond, though no calls, so couldn't get the identification any closer than that. Either way, nice bird in the Swarovski Pocket 8x20 binocular. Same area was loaded with Goldfinches and the mature males were absolutely brilliant in the binocular. Also spotted two Cooper's Hawks, more eclipse male Mallards than I cared to count, Song Sparrows and huge numbers of Mourning Doves, which will head south as soon as we have our first cold snap.

Might seem a bit early to think about winterizing your binocular, but summer is slipping away, in case you haven't noticed. Winterize a binocular? Well, not in the sense that you winterize a car, but you can take some precautions when using a binocular in the winter to prevent damage. The biggest issue when using binoculars in the winter will be fogging, both externally and internally. The external type of fogging always occurs when the weather conditions are just right, regardless of whether your bino is waterproof and fog proof. You might try carry some of the Nikon Fog Eliminator, though I always carry a lens cloth to wipe condensation off my binoculars. Internal fogging is a different matter. Biggest culprit, here, is drastic changes in temperature and this directly leads to moisture condensing on the binocular. For this, I like to carry a binocular in a waterproof hard case. This allows the binocular to come slowly to ambient temperature and all without the problem of moisture condensing on the binocular. Just put the bino in the case when you are outside in cold temperatures, then bring it in the house, but do not open the case for an hour or so. When you open it, the binocular will be nice and dry. If you can't afford a hard case, a zip lock plastic bag will also work as long as it is tightly sealed.

Now and then, I get a customer who insists it is crazy to spend beyond a certain dollar point on a binocular and, in a sense, there may be some truth to this - if all we are talking about is optical performance. An unwritten law of optics is that beyond a certain price point on a binocular, you pay huge dollars to gain tiny improvements in optics. Won't argue that, but, then, there is more to a binocular and binocular price than just optics. One of the things you cannot test, for instance, is long term durability and reliability. I guarantee that people who use a binocular hard and use it on a daily basis, such as professional guides, understand why a person pays big bucks for a premium binocular. In fact, it has been my experience that a high price tag is often cheaper in the long run if you use a binocular and use it hard. Unfortunately, too many customers have to learn this one the hard way.

In birding and bird watching, timing is everything. Last Saturday, I was out on my apartment patio, waiting for a friend to stop by and, of course, I just happened to have my Swarovski Pocket binocular in hand. After all, that's the whole idea behind owning a compact binocular - you are more likley to have it with you when you need a binocular. Anyway, it was the middle of the afternoon, not when you would expect a lot of bird activity, but still a pleasant, sunny day. Out of the blue, an immature Sharp-shinned hawk or perhaps Cooper's, though size and tail shape leaned toward a Sharpie, landed in a maple, not 10 yards from my lawn chair. We stared at each other for about one minute, then off my visitor shot, low and fast, across the lawn and on through the suburbs. A minute or two, earlier or later, and I would have missed it all. That's birding for you.

I get requests all the time for advice on conventional binoculars, advice on binoculars with cameras (digital binoculars), advice on binoculars with image stabilization (IS binoculars), advice on binoculars with night vision. On rare occasions, though, I get a customer that wants all of these built into one super binocular. I explain that such a product does not exist, simply because there is no room in a binocular for all these mechanisms and, of course, even if there was, the binocular would be too large to hold, not to mention the cost would be prohibitive. I suppose it’s the same mentality at work that wants a cell phone that can also take pictures, find your location in traffic, get you on the internet, watch DVDs, listen to music and so on. Personally, all I want in a cell phone is a phone. All I want in a binocular is a binocular.

Did about twenty miles of Forest Preserve dirt trails over the weekend on the mountain bike and loved it. Lots of birds and too many deer to count. Best bird seen, beauty-wise was a magnificent Scarlet Tanager. Even in the dark and gloomy forest with my little Swarovski compact binocular, the bird's color took my breath away. Who syas a compact binocular cannot be used for birding? Always a treat to see a Scarlet and have to say the species compares very nicely with the Western Tanagers I used to see in the panhandle of Nebraska. Now all I have to do is head south with my binocular and get a Summer Tanager.

XD, ED, HD and all those other abbreviations for special optical glass seem to be proliferating in the binocular world. Using these special glass options is nothing new for spotting scopes or telescopes, but it is a relatively recent development in the world of binoculars. Does adding special glass to a binocular objective really make a difference? In my opinion, not as much difference as it does in higher magnification instruments, like spotting scopes and telescopes, but the difference is still there, even at the low magnifications of a binocular, though it may take a discriminating and experienced eye to see it. Still, in a highly competitive market like binoculars, you gotta keep up with the other guys products.

Surprised and delighted to spot a Tennessee Warbler on Monday night. Stopped the bike at one of my favorite birding spots along the bike trail and after twnty minutes of scanning with my Swarovski Pocket 8x20, I spotted the Tennessee. Got a good look through the binocular as the bird bounced around in the tree canopy above me. In our area, this species is a common migrant, not a resident, but it is known for its early migration, so I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised to see it. Just wasn't in an autumn state of mind until this warbler reminded me that the seasons will soon be changing. Beats a calendar, any day.

People are motivated to use binoculars for astronomy for various reasons. Some astronomers I know use astronomy binoculars simply because they do not have a telescope. They might be saving for a telescope or perhaps don't care to deal with one. Many astronomers I know use an astronomy binocular as a backup to a telescope. Hey, some things look better in a binocular. Then there are astronomers who use a binocular for astronomy simply because they love it. That's me. A binocular was my "first" telescope and binocular astronomy is near and dear to my heart to this day, over forty years, later. I might be able to live without a telescope, but never an astronomy binocular

Been a good dark of the moon (time of the month with no moon in the sky) with the astronomy binocular. Even got a glimpse of some southern constellation objects through all the light pollution and summer haze. Had a couple nights of excellent sky transparency and was able to add M22 to my urban globular cluster list, though neighboring M4 was just too darn dim to see. Where I have lived in the past, I used to use M4 as an indicator of observing conditions. Since moving to Chicago, I have never seen it, even with my excellent Nikon Astroluxe 10x70. Guess that says it all about astronomy in the big city, up here in the north.

What is smaller than a comact binocular? In general, a compact binocular is typically defined as a binocular with a 20-25mm objective (second binocular number). Are there even smaller binoculars than compacts? Yes, there are even smaller binoculars. I call them "purse" binoculars, but I think the term "mini" binocular would be more gender correct. Good example is the Nikon 5x15 Titanium. It makes your average 10x25 compact binocular look huge by comparison.

Sometimes hard to fine tune the diopter adjustment on a binocular by day for lack of an object with enough fine detail. Sure, a traffic sign or similar object can get you in the ball park, but I've found that the most precise way to set the diopter adjustment on a binocular is to use a point source of light and nothing beats a star when it comes to a point source. Just take your binocular out at night under the stars and focus until that star is as close to a perfect pinpoint of light as possible. When both eyepieces show a perfect point of light, you're done. Not going to get the diopter set any closer than that.

When people think of birding or bird watching, they naturally think of forest, prairies and marshes or, perhaps, a feeder in the backyard. They don't think in terms of birds in congested urban areas. This is a mistake, especially if you live deep in the big city. There are spots in urban areas that sometimes attract an amazing variety of birds. Water, any kind of water, be it river, lake pond, yes, even sewage pond, will attract birds and every big city is located near water. Cemeteries are also another "island" natural areas and have long been a popular habitat for both songbirds and birders in the know. Last, but not least, are landfills. Okay, not exactly pristine or appealing atmosphere, but landfills attract a diverse assortment of gulls and other scavengers. Hey, you go where the birds are, not where you want them to be. A binocular works the same in the city as it does in the country!

Sometimes things get a little unreal when doing urban astronomy. The juxtaposition between observing the natural world in the form of the night sky above from the deck of a crowded, noisy and light polluted urban world below is sometimes a bit unsettling. The other night I encountered one of my most extreme examples of this. I was observing to the south and trying to frame my favorite summer open cluster, M7, in my astronomy binocular. Unfortunately, this far north, M7 does not get too high in the sky, so my window of opportunity is rather narrow. I finally captured M7 in my Nikon 10x70, but the southern most tip of this glorious open star cluster was hidden by the roof of a neighboring apartment building. Wouldn't have been too bad if it had only been the roof. Unfortunately, I also picked up some guy in a white t-shirt, holding a beer, staring out his apartment window at the same time. So one of Nature's grandest spectacles and one of humanity's less than spectacular images, all in the same binocular field of view. Not exactly magazine cover stuff.