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Wildlife Bino's on a budget |
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EAGLE
Optics Journeyman Joined: August/08/2011 Status: Offline Points: 346 |
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Posted: February/20/2012 at 18:49 |
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Wife decided that she wants to start watching birds, wildlife in general, and asked for my help since I hunt but to be honest, I need help and I don't want to spend over $ 300.00 at this point since I'm not sure how long she'll stick with it.
Features wanted: 10x42 Low light peformance for early/late mornings, hazy, cloudy, etc Something that's clear and makes colors stand out on the birds, animals, etc over foliage Waterproof for sure I'm sure I left something out but maybe someone can help out. Eagle |
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billyburl2
Optics Master Extraordinaire Joined: January/08/2009 Location: Cottonwood, AZ Status: Offline Points: 4015 |
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If it is tourist season, why can't we shoot them?
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Bird Watcher
Optics Master Joined: August/30/2006 Status: Offline Points: 1523 |
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Generally speaking, most gals will find 10x a little too shaky for hand held binoculars. On top of that, the narrower Field of View of the 10x makes it more difficult to track birds on the move, or in flight, especially in close. Most beginning birders prefer an 8x for its w i d e r FOV and ease of hand holding. Does she wear eyeglasses? Stan
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Bitterroot Bulls
Optics Master Extraordinaire Joined: May/07/2009 Location: Montana Status: Offline Points: 3416 |
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6x is a great starting binocular magnification. These are surprisingly good, a great value, and also fit narrow IPDs very well:
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-Matt
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rustic
Optics Master Joined: September/30/2011 Status: Offline Points: 1461 |
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I agree. I have last years model 8x30s light weight, clear and inexpensive. |
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Bird Watcher
Optics Master Joined: August/30/2006 Status: Offline Points: 1523 |
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Matt, 6x might be ok for backyard birding, but, because most birds are very small to begin with, 8x is better for birding at moderate distances. Stan
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spf2
Optics Apprentice Joined: February/02/2007 Status: Offline Points: 169 |
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SWFA has quite a few good options that fit your criteria. Besides Leupold Yosemite, check out their 8x zen-ray summit too.
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Bitterroot Bulls
Optics Master Extraordinaire Joined: May/07/2009 Location: Montana Status: Offline Points: 3416 |
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I recently took the 6x yosemites to the local refuge for the kids to use. They had a bunch of fun looking at a variety of birds at a variety of distances. The low magnification really helped them find birds in flight. I used them some, too, and found I was amazed how well they worked in that application.
I would choose something different for hawkwatching, and long range IDs, but that isn't really beginning birding.
Just my opinion.
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-Matt
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EAGLE
Optics Journeyman Joined: August/08/2011 Status: Offline Points: 346 |
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Are the Monarch 3 on par with the ones posted thus far ?
Thanks for the responses because they definately help.
Eagle
PS: Stan, She doesn't wear glasses, but I do and my son does so we do need 15mm plus for eye relief (more than one person can use them in our house).
Edited by EAGLE - February/21/2012 at 07:55 |
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Bird Watcher
Optics Master Joined: August/30/2006 Status: Offline Points: 1523 |
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Matt, I purchased a Leupold Katmai 6x32 a few years ago for my wife, she is almost 73 yrs. young now. After using it at home & at some of our local lakes she now prefers using the Minox 10x44 Porro or the Nikon Gold Sentinel 10x50 Porro for IDing birds, from a sitting position. I have used the Leupold 6x32 in our backyard and although it is an excellent binocular, and alot of fun, the magnification is still lacking for appreciation of things like coloration and markings on smaller birds. Eagle, I have no experience with the Nikon Monarch 3 binoculars. You & your wife need to go to a Sporting Goods Store and look through several binoculars before buying one, especially because it will be shared among several people in your family. For you guys with eyeglasses, the Pentax PCF WP II has 'the most' eye relief. Also, the Pentax PCF WP II binos have aspherical eyepiece elements which make them sharp to the edges of the FOV. Stan
Edited by Bird Watcher - February/21/2012 at 11:51 |
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Shelley@SWFA
Optics Apprentice Joined: December/14/2011 Location: Shark Tank Status: Offline Points: 125 |
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we have a Vortex Diamondback on the Sampple List. 10x50
$199.95
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Bird Watcher
Optics Master Joined: August/30/2006 Status: Offline Points: 1523 |
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Shelly, What, pray tell, is the Sampple List? It is related to Snapple? http://www.snapple.com/ Stan
Edited by Bird Watcher - February/21/2012 at 19:48 |
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SVT_Tactical
MODERATOR Chief Sackscratch Joined: December/17/2009 Location: NorthCackalacky Status: Offline Points: 31233 |
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Bird Watcher
Optics Master Joined: August/30/2006 Status: Offline Points: 1523 |
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Even though I know "you're" picking on her "grammar".
Stan
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