Hi All,
I am looking to buy my first set of real bins. We have been surviving with a pair of cheap bins from jessops but as we are getting more interested in this great hobby the time seems right to be investing in new equipment. I will probably buy from warehouse express and seem to be drawn to the nikon 12x50 Action for £89 and Sporter 10x36 DCF for £115. A couple of the Opticron models are of interest too. Imagic 10x42 for £119 and Opticron Countryman MC 10x42 for £69. I am sure that all the above models will be a huge step forward for us but will await your advice before deciding. I like the idea of 10x or 12x for that little bit of extra reach. The size and weight are not important for me but the smaller and lighter bins would benefit my wife. Waterproofing and durability are not that important as we treat our toys with due respect and tend to use birdwatching as a great excuse to get out in the fresh air. Can't see us venturing out in too much weather if you know what I mean.
[QUOTE=wookie7062]Hi All,
I am looking to buy my first set of real bins. We have been surviving with a pair of cheap bins from jessops but as we are getting more interested in this great hobby the time seems right to be investing in new equipment. I will probably buy from warehouse express and seem to be drawn to the nikon 12x50 Action for £89 and Sporter 10x36 DCF for £115. A couple of the Opticron models are of interest too. Imagic 10x42 for £119 and Opticron Countryman MC 10x42 for £69. I am sure that all the above models will be a huge step forward for us but will await your advice before deciding. I like the idea of 10x or 12x for that little bit of extra reach. The size and weight are not important for me but the smaller and lighter bins would benefit my wife. Waterproofing and durability are not that important as we treat our toys with due respect and tend to use birdwatching as a great excuse to get out in the fresh air. Can't see us venturing out in too much weather if you know what I mean.[/QUOTE]
Personally I would find 12x too hard to hold steady, and the narrow depth of field would give me eye strain.
10x will give more detail if you have steady hands, but you lose a lot of field of view, and depth of field. As a result it will be harder to find birds, and your eyes will tire more rapidly.
For many years I used a Nikon Egret 8x42 that I bought used from Jessops. Dreadnought build quality, bright and contrasty image, wide FOV, but lots of distortion away from the field centre.
That said, many people on this forum use 10x binoculars!
My main pair for a year was a 12x25. I had no problem holding them, but once I advanced to a 10x36 pair, I realized how much extra work I had done to locate the bird. The added angle you get with x36 certainly gave me a much bigger area to cover at once glance.
If you wear glasses, also the higher the power, 10x, 12x, the more eye correction you need to make for varying distance.
My 10x is MY happy compromise.