In Search of A Good Value For Money Binocular

If you ask a birder what stuffs does he bring with him along on a birding trip, two things stand out the most which are either a dslr camera combined with a long telephoto lens and a flash gun, and a pair of binoculars or either one of them. Other stuffs are secondary. A pair of binoculars to scan the forest, open fields, coasts or sky for birds and a good dslr camera to record his sightings. Usually that is the case, however you will find a lot of birders just carry a pair of binoculars as they are just interested in sighting the birds and identifying them. The opposite is also true with some birders who just carry a camera to shoot photos of birds.

Anyway, i am one of those who carry both. A few months ago my son dropped my Tasco 20x50 porro binoculars on a trip because the strap came loose. It was a cheap Tasco binoculars which i bought so many years ago when i was not even interested in birding, it was for a general purpose, so a Tasco 20x50 was sufficient. As a result of the drop the lens became misaligned and i saw double images every time i used them. It did not make any sense to send for repair as the cost would be the same if not more than the original price, so i started searching for a good pair of binoculars which will give me a good value for money. I still have two compact binoculars as back up but the Bushnell 8x21 and Tasco 8x25 are too small to be used for birding.

So i started doing a research on the internet and read a lot of reviews about binoculars as i had absolutely no idea what are the good brands out there and the latest development in the technology involved in making good binoculars or the features that a good pair of binoculars should have. I started reading reviews on the website like 'bestbinocularsreview.com','binoculars.com' and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology on various brands and aspects of binoculars good for birding.

So here what i found out what i should look for before i buy a new pair of binoculars for my birding activity:

1. Power:

The power or magnification of all binoculars is indicated by the first number like 8x42, 10x42 or 20x50 which is what my Tasco binoculars is having. The bigger the number the bigger the image is magnified thus the more detail you will see. The second number indicates the diameter size of the lens directed toward the objects which are called 'objective lens'. The bigger the size the more light is let in thus giving brighter image to our eyes. However, the bigger magnification will present other problems as it will magnify any hand or body shakes while holding the binoculars towards the objects. An 8 times power thus will have less shakes versus a 12 times power or a 20 times power that i have in my Tasco binoculars. Anything above 10 times power will require the use of a tripod which is cumbersome if you like to do birding on foot. For birding purposes, an 8 times magnification is recommended by most websites i visited. It is recommended for a few reasons: firstly for birding at the edge of a forest or along the trail in the forest an 8 time magnification is sufficient as the birds appear quite close, secondly the 8 times power binoculars have a wider field of view foe easy scanning, and thirdly they are also brighter as the exit pupil mostly are wider above 5.00mm if you use an 8x42. The exit pupil is the column of light that comes out to your eyes through the ocular lens, it is calculated by dividing 42 by 8 = 5.25mm. Since our pupil dilates up to 7mm the bigger the exit pupil is better to match our pupils. Anything bigger than 7mm is unnecessary as the extra light will fall outside our pupil therefore cannot be seen.During the day our pupil contract to around 3mm because it is bright. So we may choose a 10x42 if we require more magnification to see more details as the exit pupil is still around 4.2mm. However, we will have to sacrifice the field of view which is smaller than 8x42 binoculars. There are 8.5 x56 binoculars or 10x50 which are good to collect light during dim hours of early morning and late evening however they are heavier to carry.

The power of a binocular is indicated on the central focusing knob

2. Type of Lens and Prisms

There are so many types of lens and prisms used in the binoculars in the market. Some used BAK 7 type prism and some BAK4 prism. BAK4 prism is the better of the two and used in most of very good to high end binoculars as they let in more light which gives brighter image. On top of that there are normal lenses, EF lenses and ED lenses which are found in the top range of binoculars. The ED lenses stands for extra-low dispersion lens which manage to focus all the different wavelengths of colors onto the same spot thus reduce or eliminates color fringing in high contrast image. If you could afford it, you should go for binoculars that come with ED lens for bright,sharp images and vivid colors.

3. Coatings

Coatings are very important as they help reduce the reflection of the light as it hit the surfaces of various lenses and prism in the binocular. Some cheap binoculars only have single coating only on some lenses while the better ones are multicoated on some lenses only. The very good and high end binoculars are fully multicoated for all surfaces of the lenses in contact with air. Nikon added dialectric coating for their high end models like Monarch 5 & 7,while Bushnell added extra Ultra-wide Custom Band anti-reflective and Rainguard coatings on top of fully multicoating on the lens for their Legend Ultra HD binoculars models. These coatings will increase the light transmission that helps make the image very sharp, bright and vivid. The Rainguard help disperse the rain drops as to allow normal viewing even when your binoculars are wet.

4. The Body

As we take our binoculars along with us in a birding trip, it will be exposed to some abuse from the environment i.e rain, dirt, heat and occasional knocks and drops as we walk through the forest, or climb the mountains. So we want the binoculars to have a tough body that can withstand the abuse and yet is not very heavy to carry all day long. The types of material used as chassis range from fiberglass for cheap binoculars, polycarbonate, aluminum for mid-range up to magnesium for high end binoculars. Some binoculars have hybrid chassis of fiberglass plus polycarbonate like the Nikons, or magnesium and fiberglass like the Bushnell Ultra Legend HD. Magnesium is the best as it is very tough but very light in weight. Most of the binoculars nowadays are protected with a layer of rubber armor to protect the main chassis against scratches and knocks. It is also good for grip and reduce the knocking sound of the body against hard objects which can be detected by birds.

5. Field of View (FOV)

The field of view refers to how much you end up seeing through the binoculars at a certain distance and usually is rated in degrees or ft/1000yards or m/1000m. Now, for my birding purposes i would be more concerned at how much i can see at up to one or two hundred meters the most as the forest is very thick. Most of the trees in a tropical forest grow up to maximum 30-50meters. I would not worry at the field of view at 1000yards or 1000m unless i am looking down a huge open field or looking over the horizon along the coast or scanning for an eagle high up the sky. However the wider the angle (above 7degrees) the more you can see at 1000yard/1000m against binoculars that have smaller FOV, and also respectively at 30-50m. The more magnification that you have the less FOV you get, meaning a 10x binocular usually have a 5-6 degree FOV while an 8x binocular usually have 6-8degree FOV. A big FOV is very useful to quickly scan a wooded area for birds as you get to see more through the lens. There are some birds which are very active and move around so fast it is almost impossible to follow with a binocular if the FOV is very narrow.

6. Close Focus

Now, most of the times the reason we buy a pair of binoculars is to make far objects seem nearer from a distance. Why should we worry about the close focus distance you might ask as we can see them with our own naked eyes? Well, there are times when the birds or butterflies do the unexpected thing by coming close to us and we would like to zoom up and see details of them. A lot of the birding i did on the Fraser's Hill occurred within less than 4 meters as the birds came to the edge of the roadsides looking for insects or nectar in the flowers. For tiny birds like the Sunbirds having a pair of binoculars than can focus as close as 2.0meters/6 feet to see details of their feathers is quite awesome. The minimum distance of focus vary from 4.5ft in some brands, up to 6.5ft in some others, up to 8ft, 12ft and even 20ft plus in some models. It seems that the higher the magnification the higher the minimum focus distance. A minimum focus around 6ft is considered very good for birding and butterfly observation.

7. Eye Relief

The eye relief refers to the distance of the ocular lens to your retina when viewing through the binoculars. If the distance is too close you will see shadows or dark spots. If they are too far you will get a tunnel vision. Since the users of binoculars consist of spectacled and non-spectacled, the binoculars needed to be designed with the eye relief that can be adjusted to accommodate both types. For the spectacled users they need to look for binoculars that have more than 15mm eye relief which is more common in 8x binoculars than the 10x binoculars. Some models come up with long eye relief up to 19mm or 21mm. The eye relief can be adjusted by adjusting the rubber eye cups either by pushing or twisting them up to the required distance. The twisting type is better as they remain in place firmly even when accidently pushed.

adjustable eye cup of Nikon Monarch 5

8. Diopter 

Now everyone of us has a set of eyes with different power for the left and right eyes. Most of us have right-eye dominant, meaning the right eye is dominantly used to determine distance and depth therefore  will have more power even when we are not using glasses. So, in order to solve this problem most binoculars come with a diopter which is a ring around one of the ocular lenses usually the right one which can be adjusted to increase(+) or decrease(-) the power so the right eye is focused. Usually this is done by turning the ring to the left or right after focusing for the left eye is done first. The diopter adjustment will make sure we will have a perfectly focused combined image from the objective lenses. Some binoculars come with diopters that can be locked with marked settings to ensure it is not accidently changed or so that you can easily adjust it back to your setting after somebody else borrowed your binoculars. It is a good feature to look for when you decide to buy a pair of binoculars.
 
9.Accessories  

The accessories that come with the binoculars like a shoulder harness to take the weight off your neck when birding all day long, a well padded strap and a good quality case are considered a bonus. Not all brands give you the shouldered harness or good quality case, even the well known brands. Carson and Bushnell give shoulder harness for some of their models, Carson even gives a case than can strap around your binoculars fulltime while using it. Hawke gives a very good leather case which is quite elegant. Lens guards are very important to protect your lenses against scratches and dust, some brands give flimsy lens guard which can come loose quite easily.

Bushnell Legend Ultra HD comes with a harness, a solid case and a padded strap

The Nikon Monarch 5 set did not come with a harness, the case is softer

 
10. Price 

When it comes to pricing each one of us has a different red line depending on our budget. There is a saying that you get what you paid for, and in this case you should buy the best pair of binoculars that you can afford at the time. I put a limit of not more than RM1200(USD360) as a budget for my new binoculars which i think can get me a quite decent pair of binoculars for my birding. Bear in mind they are not my main gear for birding, they are just for scanning and spotting birds after which i use my dslr camera and telephoto lens to shoot photo of the birds. I would rather save my money and invest in better telephoto lens like the Canon 500mm f4 or 600mm f4 which cost equivalent to a small car! Some reviews on the net said that some mid-range priced binoculars produce bright and sharp image equivalent if not better than the highly priced ones. So it is just a matter of looking and comparing several models so you just get the best bang for your buck.

My search and comparison of several models available here in Malaysia resulted in the following table, where i put all the features of the binoculars important to me as the criteria for comparison. The yellow shaded boxes mean a plus, white boxes mean normal while the red ones are not so good. I put the price indication in either USD or RM or both, some obtained from online shops overseas, some from a local online store like Shashinki.com and some from camera shops in a local shopping centers. The green shade shows the winner which has all the features that i want in a binocular.

As you can see i have included seven of the top mid-range models from reputable brands which fall within my budget of not more than RM1200/USD360. Some of them like the Bushnell Legend Ultra HD , Pentax DCF ED, Hawke Sapphire ED and Nikon Monarch 5 come with ED glasses which will give very sharp image. Nikon Monarch 5 and Hawke Sapphire ED come with dialectric coating, fully multicoated and anti-scratch coating while the Bushnell Legend Ultra HD come with Ultra Wide Band anti-reflection, fully multicoated and Rainguard coating. They have magnesium chassis which is strong, durable and light just like the Pentax and Hawke. However, the Pentax and Hawke prices are way above my budget therefore are eliminated from the final selection. All in all after careful consideration i decided on the 8x42 Bushnell Legend Ultra HD eventhough initially i wanted a 10x42 for more power, but common sense prevailed as an 8x42 is enough for my use. The only sad thing is that the 8x42 does not come in Realtree camouflage like the 10x42 so i have to settle for a black finish.The Bushnell Legend Ultra HD binoculars has been awarded the Best Binoculars for 2013 by the Binoculars.com and is highly rated, so for the price i am paying and the various reviews i read i cannot go wrong.

What make me decided to choose the Bushnell Legend Ultra HD 8x42 (highlighted in green) is that it has all the right features i was looking for i.e ED glass, BAK4 prism, fully multicoated, Ultra Wide Band anti-reflection, Rainguard coating, magnesium chassis and light at just 635gram in weight, a very wide FOV at 420ft/1000yards or 8.0degree, a bright exit pupil of 5.3, good eye relief of 17.0mm since i wear glasses, a short minimum focus of 6.5ft for the birds that come close to me, rubber armor and only costs RM1028 from Shashinki.com.which is well within my budget. I must thank Shashinki.com for bringing a lot of binocular models to Malaysia as a lot of online store in the UK or US refuse to ship their binoculars to Malaysia i do not know why. There are even fewer shops in Kuala Lumpur that offer many branded binoculars and when they do the number and models are limited.

The high end Swarovski binocular which is out of my league at USD2579(RM8510)!

I will receive my new 8x42 Bushnell Legend Ultra HD binocular from Shashinki.com within two weeks if everything goes well and post my experience using it in my next post. I just cannot wait to take it with me in my next birding trip. I hope this post can give you some guideline on what to look for the next time you are in the market for a new pair of good binoculars, till then happy birding.


Note: All photos are from Binoculars.com website.