The Best Bird Watching Binoculars

When we look at what what makes a binocular best at what it does it helps to first look at the needs of the birding enthusiast.

So what sort of optical demands might that include? Well for a start you need to see details like the patterns in feathers and not just the colors. You need to be able to see birds in dim light such as under a tree canopy or during twilight.

You need good magnification such that you can easily identify birds some distance away but sometimes you'll want to use them at short distances so you'll want them to work for close focus observing too, maybe even down to just 5 meters or so.

You want true colour viewing so you see everything as it really is and not with some tint. You also need a reasonable field of view so you can see birds in flight easily as well being able as pick birds out from their surroundings.

For the physical characteristics you want the binoculars to be light enough to carry and hang on a neckstrap for long periods. They should be light enough to hold up for viewing and easy enough on the eyes to be able to use comfortably.

They should be compact enough to pack in your rucksack. If you observe from a hide you might also want to use your binoculars with a tripod. If your bird watching is in the wilderness you'll want rugged construction and maybe even some waterproofing and fogproofing.

When looking at binocular specifications you'll notice two numbers are always given. The first number tells us by how much the image is magnified, so an 8x binocular magnifies an image by 8 times so an object 80 meters away will appear as if it was 10 meters away. The higher the magnification the greater you will notice the handshake effect and the smaller the field of view. For birding use an 8x binocular is the most commonly used.

The second number given tells us the diameter of the objective (front) lens. This is important for two reasons, firstly the larger the diameter the more light passes through the binocular so the clearer and brighter the image. Secondly, the larger the diameter the larger the field of view. For birding use, the most popular objectives are 40mm or 42mm.

Other important characteristics are the quality of the lenses and prisms and the coatings used on them. These coatings help prevent reflection back off of the binocular so help to promote clarity and colour. Generally speaking look for Fully Multi Coated (FMC) binoculars for bird watching use.

Eye Relief refers to the distance from the eyepiece to your eye at which the image is comfortably viewed. If you wear eyeglasses, you will want a longer eye relief binocular to allow for the extra distance from the eyepiece to your eye caused by the eyeglass lens.

Roof and Porro Prism are the two basic body styles of binoculars. Roof prism types are the more compact. They have the objective lenses more or less in line with the eyepieces, while porro prism types are the traditional style with the lenses stepped out from the line of the eyepieces. Roof prism types are becoming the most popular type for birdwatching.

Understanding these basics will greatly assist you in your choice. If you would like to read a little more and see some specific recommendations please visit Best Birding Binoculars on Squidoo