Teach me about Binoculars

[TsPoet]

Most/all birders I know have 7.5 or 8x. 10x is usually recommended against, AZfiddle is now officially the only birder I've ever seen recommend them. The ~8x have a bigger field of view and better light gathering.
A really great med-range brand is Swift.
If you've won the lottery, get some Ziess.
While I agree that you have to think hard about compacts, I really like them, because the best pair of binoculars are the ones you have on you!
Generally, think about the exit pupil size - this lets you know how much light and color you'll be able to see. Simplistically, you can calculate the "exit pupil" by dividing the lens diameter by the magnification, so in the examples given
8x25 = 3.13 (a little low)
10x42 = 4.2 (OK, but big and heavy)
8x35= 4.4 (Good and will be more compact) - so the last example will give you the best light gathering/truth in color... and, I think, a moderate size.
I just looked at the Cornel link (funny, I use that site all the time to aid in bird ID, didn't think of looking for bino recommendations)
This sums up what I was saying, but probably better
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAbou.../document_view

[PamNY]

While I agree that you have to think hard about compacts, I really like them, because the best pair of binoculars are the ones you have on you!

I agree with TsPoet. I have compacts because I'm always either walking, or on a cycle or Xootr. Compacts do have limitations, of course -- you'll need to think about how you will use the binoculars when making a choice.

[pinsonp2]

If you have a Cabellas or Bass Pro near by, you could try out several brands, styles and sizes since they have fairly well stocked optics departments. I also think the Nikon Monarchs are a decent bino. They have the great Nikon warranty, light weight, readily available, moderately priced, and good optics (not great optics, but you would have to give up your first born for those).

Happy birding and biking,
P2

[goldfinch]

I think that the Nikon Monarch 8 x 42 is an excellent mid price binocular.

[azfiddle]

My reason for recommending 10X: I personally prefer the amount of detail I can see with 10 power binoculars, especially for difficult identification situations (i.e. sparrows, fall warblers, shore birds etc). If the interest in birding is more casual then the greater amount of light and bigger field of view with a lower power would have a benefit.

Although I have not been an active birder for quite a while, my experience includes 10 years working as a field biologist, avid recreational birder and graduate student in ecology/ornithology.

I think your level of interest (obsession) would affect the choice as well.

Good advice to try several pairs of the same model if possible. I noted that Tucson Audubon Society carries the following brands (will accept phone orders, but does not sell them online). Also, they keep prices competitive but profits are used for conservation of bird habitat in the southwest.

Nikon
Bushnell
Vortex
Kowa
Zeiss
Swarovski
Leica

[goldfinch]

My reason for recommending 10X: I personally prefer the amount of detail I can see with 10 power binoculars, especially for difficult identification situations (i.e. sparrows, fall warblers, shore birds etc). If the interest in birding is more casual then the greater amount of light and bigger field of view with a lower power would have a benefit.

Although I have not been an active birder for quite a while, my experience includes 10 years working as a field biologist, avid recreational birder and graduate student in ecology/ornithology.

I think your level of interest (obsession) would affect the choice as well.

I agree. I have two sets of Nikons, an 8 and a 10 power as well as a scope. Kind of on the high level of obsession, but not quite there because I'm not into photography much and so I don't have any high level lenses.

[PamNY]

It's amazing how easily birds/optics can become an obsession.

Another thought about binoculars, though it probably isn't relevant outside of an urban setting: how much are you going to loan them out?

In the city, I love showing people birds they didn't know were there (especially children). So I stick to mid-priced binoculars.