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

Pedaling to work the other morning and just happened to turn onto a side street about the same time as a Sharp-shinned Hawk landed in a tree right above me. Had to stop for a look in the binocular. Wow! Most people would have passed it off as a Mourning Dove or even a Robin, but no way can any hawk get by me without setting off my hawk radar. This Sharpie was a mature bird and a beauty. Times like this when a compact binocular is gold and that's exactly why I always carry a compact binocular like my Nikon Premier LX 10x25. Now that's a premium binocular if there ever was one, but the good news is that you can get some great compact binoculars at a nicer price. One of my favorites under $100 has always been the Nikon 8x25 Travelite. Still too much? Really tough to beat the Bushnell 8x26 H2O for the price. Best of all, any of these cheap compact binoculars are small enough to fit in a purse or book bag.

I sometimes worry that with all my blogging and posting about high end, expensive binoculars, that I am scaring some beginners who are on a budget. A great example is my beloved Nikon 10x70 Astroluxe binocular. Rest assured, that you can do binocular astronomy and do it quite well at one-tenth this price. I know, because I started and learned the basics of binocular astronomy with a cheap binocular and I also test binoculars at all price ranges as part of my job. So you want to do some astronomy and don't have a budget of $1000 or even $500? Try the Nikon Action Extreme 10x50. I promise that it will show you all that can be done with a 10x50 and, yes, you can do a lot of astronomy with a 10x50. Want to try a giant binocular? For only a bit more, you can try the Celestron Skymaster 20x80. Of course, you will also have to invest in a tripod to hold it, but you are still not even close to $500. Get out there and observe.

I remember the first time I looked at a Swarovski EL binocular. It was the late 90s and I was at a local birding festival, working as a tour guide for a nearby sanctuary. As usual, Swarovski had a table and something was drawing quite a crowd. Having just returned from a tour, I had no idea what magic Swarovski was performing. When I reached the table, I saw a binocular with an unusual body design with two tubes joined only at the ends. I gave a questioning look and Clay from Swarovski just smiled and handed me the binocular. I can honestly say that was the first time I fell in love with a binocular before I even raised it to my eyes. The way that Swarovski EL felt and handled just took my breath away. When I finally remembered to take a look, I was really hooked.

Today, of course, that Swarovski EL binocular design is much copied with nearly every brand showing a model with that EL "open bridge" construction. To my mind, though, no one has quite captured that same magic in the hands that you get with a Swarovski EL binocular and ,as a creative person, I also have a deep appreciation for an original. The Swarovski EL will always be a very special binocular.

I've started to compile a list of "overdue" or "not seen in a long time" objects for my astronomy binocular. These are objects that are simply not visible in my astronomy binocular from my badly light polluted suburban Chicago location. It's a statement of sorts on my choice of where I have been living for the past seven or eight years. So, one of my resolutions for the new year (why not start a bit early?) is to find a way to get to a dark sky to see some of my long lost objects for my binocular. The list, unfortunately, is lengthy, but when the time comes, I will probably start with M1, M33, M95, M96, M65, M66, the Helix, NGC7789 and, well, I could go on and on. By the way, you don't need a $1000 astronomy binocular to see these objects. A dark sky is more important. In fact, a Nikon Action Extreme 10x50 or Celestron Outland LX 10x50 would do very nciely. Both are far better than what I used for my first astronomy binocular. Binocular technology has come a long way in forty years.

A customer asked me the other day if image-stabilized binoculars really work. I was happy to answer, "Absolutely". Image stabilized binoculars do a great job of curing the shakes when holding a binocular. In fact, most people are amazed at how well an image-stabilized binocular works the first time they use one. Using image stabilization is fun and easy. Just press a button and say good-bye to the shakes. Best of all, no tripod needed, even at higher magnifications. The secret of image stabilization in a binocular is not a gyroscope, as some believe, but instead a much more sophisticated marriage of electronic and mechanical components. Of course, all this hardware has to go on the binocular, so an IS (image-stabilized) binocular is always bulkier and heavier than the same binocular without image-stabilization. Then, too, the image stabilization makes for a less durable binocular, but that's not an issue for most users. Some of my favorite IS binoculars include the superb optics of the Canon 10x42L Doesn't get better than this one in terms of optics. Another great IS binocular is the always consistent quality Nikon Stabileye 12x32. Bushnell is also very much in the image stabilized binocular game with the Bushnell 10x35 Stableview. This brings image stabilization into the price range of many more users. That's something we all like to see.

Okay, trivia time. What has been the world's best selling $300 binocular for many, many years? Answer, the Nikon Monarch 8x42 binocular. At this price point, the Monarch ATB (all-terrain binocular) has always been the binocular used for comparison by the competition. Why? Quality and performance are amazingly consistent, year after year. I have pulled a Nikon Monarch 8x42 out of stock, at random, every year for the last four years and always get the same great score. Really no way to make a mistake if you are looking for a $300 binocular by choosing the Nikon Monarch.

Looking forward to the Thanksgiving weekend, not only for the traditonal visit with family and friends, but also for some astronomy. The moon will be new on Thanksgiving, so I'm thankful for that and I will be even more thankful if the sky is clear! Not complaining, mind you. This has been a relatively good fall for me and the astronomy binocular with some clear skies for nearly all of the dark phases of the moon. In fact, my last session was the best ever in terms of sky conditions. Hope the streak continues, because I would like to field test some old favorites in the way of affordable astronomy binoculars to see if they still have what it takes to do a good job. Okay, it's really an excuse to play some more, but why not? My list includes the Nikon 10x50 Action Extreme which I rate as a best buy in a handheld astronomy binocular. For a true giant binocular, hard to beat the ever popular Celestron 20x80 Skymaster on a good tripod.

The photographer in me sometimes carries over to my binocular astronomy. On some nights, I am less concerned with the technical side of binocular performance and a bit more aware of the aesthetic side. When observing the gorgeous Pleiades, for instance, I want a binocular that frames this open cluster just enough to be pleasing to my eye. I prefer 10-12x, though some of my friends prefer 20x in a conventional 20x80, such as the Celestron Skymaster. I want the subject to look just right for my tastes. Once a photographer, always a photographer, I guess. Maybe that's why binocular astronomy so appeals to me. Gives me the option of looking at the big picture, now and then, rather than zooming in on fine detail.

Seems like it has been a long time coming, but we are finally adding Fujinon binoculars to our website. I have long experience with Fujinon astronomy binoculars, since we used a Fujinon 10x70 binocular at a club observatory many years ago. I was impressed, then, and am confident I will be impressed, again, just as soon as I see a Fujinon 16x70 FS-X come through our system. I already own a superb 10x70 in the Nikon Astroluxe, so this one may find a permanent home with me. To be continued …

Despite the fact that there are fewer species to add to a birding list, I really enjoy winter birding. It does have its advantages. For one, birds are definitely easier to spot, both with and without a binocular, when there are no leaves on trees or brush. For another, winter storms often bring surprise visitors. Some of the rarest birds I have recorded were during winter months. For many birders, winter is also prime time for action at the bird feeder. Can't even begin to count the hours I have spent at a kitchen window, coffee cup in one hand and binocular in the other. Bird watching is not always a completely outdoor activity.

My wish last week that the weekend would bring some nastier weather and along with it a little more diversity in waterfowl was only partially granted. The weather was definitely nasty - had to clean the moisture off my binocular more than once. (Yes, even birders need a waterproof binocular at times like this.) Unfortunately, no new duck species to add to my November bird list. I suspect that it's going to take more of a hard freeze up north to bring more ducks to my area ponds and to my binocular. We will be waiting.

With the holiday season approaching, that traditional issue of what to buy as a gift is always a question. One thing I think everyone should own is a binocular and an 8x40 or 8x42 binocular is the do everything size binocular. You can use an 8x42 binocular for sports, general widlife, astronomy, camping and, if it is waterproof, also hunting and boating. In fact, if there is an application that calls for a binocular, an 8x42 waterproof binocular, such as the value priced Bushnell Excursion 8x42 can do it all.

Normally, cold, windy weather with a chance of snow is less than ideal for birding. That's the weather forecast for this weekend in my area and I'm sure most birders will be sitting out at home, warm and snug. Not me. This will be good weather for waterfowl movement and I will bike over to area lakes and ponds, binocular at the ready, despite the forecast for thirty plus mile-an-hour winds. Nothing I would like more than to spot a Canvasback, Long-tailed Duck or other rare duck for my area. Of course, I will have hot coffee with me, too. A binocular is not the only essential for nasty weather birding.

I think I could do astronomy for another forty years and still be amazed at what a difference observing conditions can make from one night to the next. The other night may have been the best ever from my urban location in terms of transparency. For the last four years, seeing the three great open clusters in Auriga with my Nikon Astroluxe 10x70 binocular has always followed a very predictable pattern. M37 has always been easy, with M36 just a shade tougher. M38, though, has always been questinable. On most nights, M38 was simply not there in the astronomy binocular, even a premier astronomy binocular like my Nikon 10x70. On a rare night, I could just glimpse this open cluster with averted vision. The other night, though, M38 was as obvious as the nose on my face, no averted vision required. Guess you never know until you get out and look. Glad I did.

I use a compact binocular on a daily basis for birding and general wildife viewing, but I also find a compact binocular to be very useful for less glamorous applications. Over the weekend, I was pedaling in some unfamiliar parts of the city and put my Nikon Premier LX10x25 to good use. This great compact binocular allowed my to read street signs well down the road, which I found to be very helpful while navigating. Definitely saved me a lot of pedaling. Also proved quite useful for scouting traffic and road conditions, ahead. Then, too, should a hawk appear, I was more than ready.

Water conditions at my little "secret" shore bird spot were ideal this week, though this late in the season I wasn't expecting to see shorebirds. I should know better. Birding is very much about the unexpected. One of the most enjoyable aspects of birding is the element of surprise and surprised is what I was to see three Pectoral Sandpipers huddled together on the mudflats. In my Nikon 10x25 Premier LX binocular, they were nicely seen. Also still a lot of Killdeer working the edges of the pond. Just a matter of time, now, before things freeze up, but, in the meantime, I will keep on eye and my binocular on my little secret spot for more surprises.

It's my nature to always challenge myself in new ways, so for the upcoming year, I will be keeping a local bird list of bird genera, in addition to my usual list of bird species. Why a genera birding list? It will make me more aware of the differences that separate one genera of birds from another and, hopefully, make me a better birder. Okay, so it will also be a fun new way to use my birding binoculars. Sure, some bird families will be easy, but some will be tough. Not sure anyone has done this before, so stay tuned in '09.