Tweets,
I have had a pair of Canon 15x40 IS binocs for about 8 months now. They
were inherited from Paul Conklin just before he passed on. He probably used
them for two years and were essential to him as he was developing a hand
tremor.
I find them to be heavy (but that is handled well with an over the
shoulders harness -- or brassiere as some of my friends say), have a narrow
field of view , a narrow depth of focus and cannot focus quite as closely as
I would like. Having said that, I find that I use them in preference to my
Zeizz 10x40 's or my wife's 8x42's Pentax. (I had bought those for my wife
but found that I preferred them to the Zeizz so used them on all occasions
when she did come along on a trip in the preCanon period).
I find that the larger and more stable image is worth the drawbacks
(like having to remember extra batteries). I have had to train myself to try
to prefocus them as much as I can and make a consious effort to locate the
part of the tree the bird is in before trying to get the bird in the binocs.
The view is worth it.
I had a high schooler that I went out with a lot a long time ago who
only used a 15X telescope on a rifle stock. When asked how he managed it, he
said that he didn't see every warbler (this was in New England) but the ones
he saw he really saw. I guess this is the way I feel plus every time I get a
great look at a really good bird, I feel as if Paul is getting a look also.
The binocs have been out in the rain a lot since I got them and they
have been out on pelagic trips off New Brunswick without a rainguard. I
thought they were waterproof until the Tweeters discussion and have been
washing them under running tap water. No problems so far but I will no
longer run tapwater on the eyepieces..
Bob Norton
norton36 at olypen.com
Joyce (near Port Angeles), WA
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bruce Moorhead" <bruceb at olypen.com>
To: "Kathleen Marie Dowd-Gailey" <kdowdgailey at yahoo.com>; "'Tweeters'"
<tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, June 01, 2004 9:13 AM
Subject: Re: Stabilizing Binoc comments


> For whatever it's worth, I birded for 3 weeks in Bhutan several years ago
> with a woman who had a new pair of stabilizing binocs. I remember trying
> them for awhile and getting the sense that they were probably OK, but more
> of a gimmick perhaps than durably practical so far in the needs and
> dependabilities of a day-to-day binoc. If you're birding in the tropics or
> wet parts of this country I'd also be wary about something this
complicated
> being adequately sealed and waterproofed. Other birders with more
experience
> with them may have differing comments on their utility, etc.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Kathleen Marie Dowd-Gailey" <kdowdgailey at yahoo.com>
> To: "'Tweeters'" <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
> Sent: Monday, May 31, 2004 10:27 AM
> Subject: RE: Binocular recommendations
>
>
> > I too have read the binocular suggestions with great interest, as I am
> > hoping to upgrade/replace mine sometime this year.
> > One option I was considering was the Canon with the Image Stabalizing
> > technology, but so far no one has even mentioned Canon or this type.
> > Additionally, I had not really thought about the waterproof factor. Has
> > anyone had experience with these or know about their waterproofability?
> > Thanks!
> >
> > -Kathleen Dowd-Gailey
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>