Posted on 11/10/2014 4:30:24 PM PST by Chickensoup
I know next to nothing about optics. I want to look at the birds more closely at the feeders at home. I will be looking through double paned windows. The feeders are four to ten feet away. Then there are the birds in the trees that are up to 25 feet away.
Any recommendations for binoculars? I wear glasses and am nearsighted.
I would appreciate any input. I think they are going to be my Christmas present to myself. That or a receiver for my old stereo that I am trying to resurrect. But that will be another thread!
Thank you all!
soup
You can not get an excellent binocular for $200 but you can get a useable one for around $100. If you are willing to stretch that to $250 there is an incredible buy at CDNN.
They have the Leupold Northfork 8.5X42 for $250. That is the best price I have ever seen for one and they are good enough that they can compete with the very best. Not quite equal to them but still an exceptional binocular for the price.
As for a camera, get a name brand. A point and shoot will do but make sure it has viewfinder and not just the lcd display on the back. As with power on binoculars don’t get carried away with the number of pixels.
Correction. that Northfork binocular is 8.5X45 not 42.
You might do better with a telescope mounted on a tripod.
I will look for it. Perhaps since I am working the entire Christmas holiday and weekend, I will stretch a bit and get something a bit better, Thank you. I will start shopping now.
I even had to binocular microscopes and macro scopes when homeschooling the kids Cannot do anything one-eyed.
Barska offers great value spotting scopes with above average optics, Amazon has a nice one for $69.
Thank you I will look.
There is one more I might mention simply for it’s pure optical sharpness. The Russian military 7X30 can be had for $200 if you really look around.
It is not ideal for your purpose because it has a slight yellowish tint and includes filters for an even yellower tint if you want. You might not even notice that tint but knowledgeable birders would not want it. They also have individually adjustable eyepieces which are not as convenient but are just about standard on any military binocular.
The good thing is that they are as sharp optically as typical $2000 binoculars. Cheap binoculars typically have a two element eyepiece. The better ones have 3 elements and the really high end have 5. Believe it or not those Russian ones have seven optical elements in just the eyepieces.
I can probably only afford $400 or less for a camera. I may have to save up to buy something higher priced. I currently have a Panasonic ZS7 with 12x zoom, but it is nowhere near powerful enough. My binoculars are probably very inexpensive, a pair of little Bushnells, 8 x 21.
The high end Vivitar “Series 1” binoculars are VERY good and a small fraction of what you’d pay for Nikon or Olympus.
Bushnell is a good company but those 8X21s are absolutely awful. Even a $60 Nikon Action 7X35 would be light years better.
For $400 you can get a low end DSLR with a kit lens if you look and wait long enough. I found and bought a Sony Alpha 230 with the 18-55 kit lens for only $230. It was an unusual buy and was on clearance but if you look long enough you will find something similar.
The good thing about the Sony DSLR is I can use my old Minolta Maxxum AF lenses on it. Those Minolta lenses are of excellent quality and you can find them cheap.
10 beds? That’s sounds crazy to me!
Last year we moved into our current home, and were pleasantly surprised to see a small variety of wildlife over the winter. The most deer we saw tramping through our backyard at one time was 16, but mostly we would see 3 or 4 at a time, at all times of day. Then we had heron, red foxes, turkeys, raccoons, owls, and pileated woodpeckers. These were the most exotic animals. There are also coyotes, but it haven’t seen them, only heard them. Still, it was fascinating to look out the big window, when this is not what we’ve been accustomed to.
Every day, the view out the window changes. It’s wonderful!
There is absolutely nothing in Cabelas that I would buy for myself, other than fudge, but I LOVE that store. I go there often with husband and son. I can do my Christmas shopping for them there, too.
Wow, sounds like good equipment at a good price, I will look!
I have bought nice purses, great goat skin clogs, great kitchen ware and bullets for the son.
Yes, those Bushnells were a gift from a friend, and in the move, they made the cut into a box that was opened soon. Better than nothing, and I have no idea what happened to our good old ones from years ago. These are the little guys that we take to sports events in a backpack or purse, which seem adequate enough for reading numbers on jerseys that are far away.
I will keep my eye for a decent low end DSLR. I miss my old Pentax SLR before things went digital. It was so reliable and easy, but that was eons ago.
Do you recommend any particular websites to watch for deals, or should I look around locally?
P.S. Thanks for your help!
If you just want to buy a camera or binocular without to much trouble, Adorama, B&H and Beach Camera are all good with good prices.
They do sometimes have specials if you want to keep looking.
Nikon Monarchs.
We got them for biology work at the office.
You can also call Eagle Optics, tell them what you want, tell them what your budget is, and hear whatall they have to say. They’re not going to sell you anything you can’t afford.
Thank you, I will try. I have all of thanksgiving week off to look.
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