Magnification is in no way an indication of how serious or skilled a birder one is. To say that serious birders only use 10x is not true. Who is to say what constitutes a serious birder?
I posses multiple college degrees focusing on bilogy and ecology. I have birded seriously for 10 of my 26 years. With one good trip to go I will pass 600 birds on my life list before the year is done. I work with birds, I pass leisure time with birds, I plan trips around birding. I am sure there are those more "serious" me, but surely I am myself a serious birder and ornithologist.
I also use low power binoculars, as do many of our favorite birding authors and representatives. There are also many serious birders who use high powered binoculars and I will not fool myself into thinking I am doing things the ony way they can be done. Magnification is ony of myriad specifications and personal preferences that make up each person's own idea of their preferred binocular.
There is no hard and fast connection between one's skill, dedication, success, and pleasure and the magnification of their binoculars. To each his own, and leave me to mine if you please.
[QUOTE=Robert Ellis]Magnification is in no way an indication of how serious or skilled a birder one is. To say that serious birders only use 10x is not true. Who is to say what constitutes a serious birder?
[SNIP]
There is no hard and fast connection between one's skill, dedication, success, and pleasure and the magnification of their binoculars. To each his own, and leave me to mine if you please.[/QUOTE]
Robert,
Darn! And I thought my use of 12x binoculars put me up in the stratosphere.
Actually, I agree. This is a hobby - a way we choose to enjoy our free time. I have never understood why so many folks fret about "the right way to do things" or the "perfect and correct choice of equipment." It happens in pretty much any hobby, and I've noticed it a lot in amateur astronomy.
Clear skies, Alan
(They are clear here, and I am in taking a break from some nice views of Mars. A good spotting scope should show a few markings at 60x. Hmmm. Let me see how my little 65mm does.)
Robert,
I'm a little confused. Most of the posts I read here seem to favor the lower end of the magnification scheme. In fact, the only people I know who consistently favor 10X or higher in their binocylars seem to be hunters. Yet, your post seems to be written as a response to some attack which appears to be nonexistent. Can you please clarify?