What kind of binoculars or field glasses?

16 years ago

I hope you good folks can tell me what I need to know.

Spring has sprung and I need some new binoculars or field glasses.

I have Tasco Binoculars 7x35 CFZ which I've had for several years. Since I had cataract surgery which did not go well, my RX eyeglasses are now left 20/25 right 20/40.

I can't get these binoculars adjusted properly anymore, and besides that they are very heavy.

I'd like to get something suitable just for bird watching, mostly in my own backyard.

I've googled and I get TMI.

I would appreciate any suggestions.

TIA

Sue

Featured Answer

lazypup

16 years ago

last modified: 11 years ago

The binoculars that you currently have are a pair of Tasco 7x35CFZ's. The question then becomes, precisely what does all that mean and how do you apply it to what you want?

The number preceding the X is defining the magnification factor while the number after the X is defining the diameter of the first objective (The main lens on the front of the binoculars).

Binoculars with a magnification factor of 2x to 6x are primarily considered "Opera glasses" which means they are fine for carrying in a pocket or purse and seeing an actor or performer on a stage from up in the balcony and cheap seats but they have very limited use for outdoor activities.

7x is often considered the basic lenses for field use however I find that 7x offers little more than what I can see with the naked eye at the same distance. Personally, i would prefer 10x.

Lenses with a magnification factor greater than 10x tend to be rather heavy and due to their limited field of view they can be very hard to hand hold steady enough to see smaller objects such as birds or small mammals at a distance.

As I stated earlier, the two digit number after the x is the diameter of the main objective (main lens). In general the larger the lens opening the greater the light gathering ability and consequently the brighter the viewed image.

35mm objectives are fine for general purpose viewing in bright daylight or at a sporting event but most birds and wildlife are most active in early morning, late afternoon or in deep woods or underbrush where the lighting is more subdued. Now here is where you must make a trade off. Obviously 50mm binoculars are going to be slightly heavier than 35mm binoculars but most people will find that the brighter image seen with the larger lenses far outweighs the slight increase in physical weight.

Here again, there are some binoculars that have objectives larger than 50mm but they are generally so heavy that they are only effective when used with a tripod, monopod or other means of additional support.

While there are some exceptions, as a rule nearly all binoculars will be of the "Center focus" type, which means they have a thumb wheel or a paddle system on in the center of the frame that will focus both lenses at the same time.

Now look at the eye pieces. On most quality binoculars you will see a range of numbers surrounding the eyepiece where it joins the main body, usually on the right hand eyepiece. That is a focus balance adjustment that will allow you to set the main focus with the center focus wheel, then you can adjust the single eyepiece to compensate for minor changes in your eyes. You only need to make this adjustment one time to balance the binoculars to your eyes, then it will remain constant as you change the center focus to view objects. Based upon the information you presented concerning your eyes this feature will be very important to you.

There are many factors that can effect the overall weight of a pair of binoculars such as what the frame of the binoculars is made from. Some are lightweight plastic, while high end binoculars may have frames of high end plastics like space age polymers, aircraft grade aluminum or magnesium.

The lenses also greatly effect weight. The super high end glasses will generally have true "Optical Quality glass" objectives and they may be made with many internal lenses, while lesser quality binoculars will have less internal objectives and the lenses may be made from optical grade plastics rather than true optical glass.

The expensive high end binoculars such as those made by Nikon, Canon, Pentax or Steiner are often nitrogen filled. The purpose of the nitrogen is to insure that there is no oxygen inside that could lead to corrosion. The downside here is that in order to keep the nitrogen inside they have to make air tight seals which generally adds considerable weight.

The key factor is you get what you pay for.By example, I have a pair of Pentax 10x50cf binoculars that I bought while stationed in Germany in 1968 for the unheard of sum of $129. Since then I have used those at -45degF in the Arctic about 100 miles north of Thule, Greenland to 120 degF in Death Valley. they have been around the world 3 times and used in all 48 continental states in wind, rain, snow, mud and gloom and while they definitely show signs of heavy use, none the less, they still work just as good as the day I bought them. In fact, my 30 year old daughter, who is an environmental science engineer has insisted that I specifically leave them to her in my will. although I think I shall pass them on to her long before that time..LOL

I hope this information will be of some assistance to you.
If i could give you no other advice, I would certainly suggest you go to a store where you can physically try them out before you buy. What feels good to me may be totally wrong for you and this is one product I certainly would not recommend purchasing online sight unseen.

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Comments (13)

sue_va
Original Author
16 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
That is a lot to digest and I certainly will be doing that.

There are no stores in my town where I would find binoculars, but in two weeks I will be visiting in a larger town and hopefully can find something there.

I definitely will need to try them before I buy.

Thank you.

Sue
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Luc, no problem. That is what we post here for, to give our ideas and opinions. It is just my opinion from my experiences. Your point needs to be posted also so that both sides can be read and a decision made from all of the given info. ie. Bird watching, a zoom comes in very handy since it can be very difficult to find a small bird in a large area. Your field of view is greater in low power. Once you spot your target, then you can zoom in for a closer look, but as I said before, if it is in low light, such as early morning or late evening, then on full zoom, the image in the binoculars will be darkened. For binoculars up to 28 power, I have never needed a tripod, although it would help stabilize the image, but it is definitely not necessary. Again, as you know, a zoom with a large objective, will give you the best lighting when used on full zoom, but this adds to the weight of the binoculars, which you said would not be a problem. Personally, I would not buy another pair of binoculars that were not zoom. A fixed lens binocular is good for sporting events, etc, where the point of focus is always at a similar distance, and if you know what that distance will be before you go, then you can bring the correct power binoculars, but if your targets are close one moment and then far the next moment, then a zoom gives you the ability adjust to the changing distance. A 10-22x50 zoom binocular can be used just as a regular fixed lens binocular with a 12x50 lens. Simply set it on 12 power. It will have a 50mm objective just as the regular 12x50 binocular, plus the ability to zoom in for a closer look and better details. I hope this helps explain my point, and yes, it is only my opinion. Good Luck Kt
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lazypup
16 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Check the sporting goods department of your local big box department stores. They usually have a fair selection of binoculars, monoculars, and spotting scopes.

A couple other excellent places to find good quality binoculars is Boating & marine supply stores or Gun shops.
bandjzmom
16 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Wow lazypup, that was some really good binoc info and advice. Thanks for taking the time to share all of that. I think that I shall print it out and save it for the day when I get enough money to buy myself a superb pair! I think that you are right about a person needing to go in person to try them. I suppose you could go to a store with a nice selection of good ones, decide what you want, write down the name, style, and model #'s and then go on-line in search of the best price for what you now know you definitely want. :
donald lucius
16 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
i have had cataract and retinal and laser surgery on my right eye. just fair vision with glasses about 20/30 and 20/40. also a floater that interfers with vision at times.
i use either a pair if binoculars for backyard veiwing or a lightweight spotting scope when walking around or siteseeing. both are inexpensive that i purchased at a local big box store. the binoculars are 8x30 with seperate adjustments on each eye piece and a center zoom and the handheld spotting scope has a pistal grip and is 10x50
they work well for me and i have a shelf near the window that the scopes and camera sit on. i usually do best by laying my glasses down and useing one or the other scopes
jannd
16 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
I've attached a link that might be helpful to you. I tried to read up when I was shopping for new binoculars and found myself on info overload. The information in this link is pretty straightforward. While it's now a few years outdated (as are the prices quoted), the objective information remains the same. Although I couldn't afford to shop in the price range contained here, I did find the info helpful.

I ended up purchasing a pair of Nikon Action 8 x 40 fairly inexpensively at binoculars.com and I'm very happy with them. I found that reading user reviews there and seeing comparisons was quite helpful. I hope this is useful and good luck.

Jann

Here is a link that might be useful: Mid-priced Binocular Review
sue_va
Original Author
16 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
More help, advice and suggestions. Very good!

We have a WalMart here but I didn't think they would have anything worthwhile, but I will check it out.

I'll be making notes to take with me when I go shopping.

Thanks to all of you.

Sue
lazypup
16 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Do not be too quick to dismiss WalMart. Out of curiosity I just went to their website and input the word "Binoculars" in their search bar and boy was I surprised at what I found.

I knew going in that Walmart has a very good sporting goods selection and serious hunters are very discriminating about their field optics, but I was not prepared for what I found.

I had expected to find moderately priced mid range binoculars from companies such as Tasco or Focal, although in retrospect I think "Focal" is a proprietary trade name associated with K-mart.

What I was not expecting to find was binoculars from top world class optical manufactures like Nikon, Canon, Pentax and Olympus, who are primarily known as professional photographic optics manufactures and Bushnell, Leopold, and Steiner who manufacture world class telescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes and rifle & pistol sighting scopes.

While I found prices ranging from $27 to over $1200 In my opinion there are a number of items listed in the $50 to $100 range that would well meet the needs of an avid birdwatcher for years to come.

In my previous post I discussed the general construction of binoculars but there are a couple more features that I failed to mention.

ZOOM - You will see some binoculars that are listed as zoom lenses by example, they may say something like 6-10x.

I am sure that zoom lenses are desirable to some people, but in my experience you would probably always use them at the maximum magnification anyway so the zoom feature is moot. In addition, in order to achieve the zoom function they often have to add additional optical elements, which adds weight and reduces the light gathering ability resulting in a slightly darker image.

COATED OPTICS-Generally coated lenses are only found on higher class optics but they offer many advantages. In its simplest form they apply a coating that reduces UV (Ultraviolet light). A UV coating does not generally effect the image quality but by reducing the amount of UV light that passes through the lens it will greatly reduce eye fatigue. They also apply coatings to reduce internal light flare, chromatic aberrations and aspherical aberrations. These coatings help maintain edge sharpness and color sharpness in the image and in my opinion they should be considered a very desirable feature.
donald lucius
16 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
i agree with lazypup except the question of zoom features.
because i have had surgerys and injurys and cataracts and retina detachment and lazer surgery and my old age the zoom feature is important to me. as a young man i hunted with open sight rifles or pistols and was an accomplished
hunter. After a major injury to my right eye i started using a 4xscope for hunting and then to a 6x power scope and after other injusrys and surgerys a 6to 9 power zoom the same with binoculars my first pair is over55 years old and still serviceable and is 7x35 without zoom and i don't focus well enough with them anymore except for cerain ranges, the current pair has a zoom feature and even in backyard birding the closest feeder is about 6 fot from the window and the furtherest 50 foot away and the zoom really helps me with focus. the hand held spotting scope has a pistol grip and i can use it with my good eye and is especially good looking across a field or up a hill side or just sitting in a park going from tree to tree.
sue_va
Original Author
16 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
I may have lucked out.

I was at my grandaughter's for dinner yesterday. Her husband is an amateur (but very good) photographer and he just happened to have these binoculars that were given to him. He gave them to me. I may never use the camera, though.

Here is a short video about them.

I'll see if they will be okay for my needs.

Sue

Here is a link that might be useful: Sharper Image
mc_hudd
16 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
I have a pair of Nikon Trailblazers... I love them. I only recently started watching birds, but I think these are great for it. I got them at my Walmart. They are 10x25; 6.5(deg. symbol ??) WF; & Waterproof. I believe I gave about $70 for them, but they are well worth it!

Hope this helps!

~Shannon
organic_bassetlvr
16 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Pawnshops are good places to check for binoculars. I dropped mine on a vacation to Myrtle Beach once & before I unpacked I found a replacement pair for about $40.00 in a pawnshop. They had several to chose from as well. Course that was in the 80's so $40.00 pair would be considerably more now.
Susan
sue_va
Original Author
16 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Sorry if you can't see the video.

Try the link.

Sue

Here is a link that might be useful: Binocs

What kind of binoculars or field glasses?

lazypup

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