Teach me about Binoculars

[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.