Another thing to consider is the experience level of the user. My husband
and I found that the "good" bins of more experienced birders were confusing
to us when we first started birding. Too much information and too little
knowledge to sort it. There's something to be said for starting cheap and
moving up.

We can also add support to the "it's a personal decision" theory. In about
1990 within a year or so we each gave the other small light weight bins. In
another couple of years we switched because we each preferred what we'd
bought for the other to what we'd received.

It's been an interesting thread.

Marti Ligocki
www.impeccableimages.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Hobbs" <birdmarymoor at verizon.net>
To: "Rob Blomquist" <rob.blomquist at gmail.com>; "tweeter"
<Tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Thursday, January 07, 2010 4:39 PM
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] 8x and 10x not a big deal?


> Rob - the thing about choosing binoculars is that it's incredibly
> personal.
> Buying binos is like buying shoes - someone else can't easily pick out a
> pair that will be comfortable for you.
>
> The downsides to 10x include:
> Increased weight
> Increased shakiness of the image
> Smaller field of view
> Dimmer image and/or smaller exit pupil and/or reduced depth of field
>
> For me personally, my hands are very steady, my arms are strong enough,
> and
> my facility with aiming binoculars and finding the bird is great enough
> that
> the first three are not a problem for me. For other people, one or more
> of
> these downsides may make 10x either less desirable or completely
> impossible.
>
> The fourth bullet point above can't be much more specific because, for the
> designers, there are trade-offs involved. They can improve some of these
> items (along with the field of view), but only at the expense of other of
> these items.
>
> Again, for me personally, I find I actually prefer a reduced depth of
> field,
> so I was able to find a pair which is pretty good on the other two. That
> works for me.
>
> With all of the downsides, what's the advantage? Well, IF THEY WORK FOR
> YOU, then 10x do give noticeably more magnification and a greater ability
> to
> resolve details. I CAN see more details on distant birds (or smaller
> details on closer birds). There are birds that I would not be able to
> identify with 8x. Also, in general viewing, the 10x binoculars make all
> the
> birds seem a bit closer, which can increase one's pleasure at viewing.
>
> I therefore recommend that people TRY both the 8x and 10x versions of any
> binoculars they are considering. You may well decide that the pair you
> like
> best is an 8x pair. But you might find a 10x pair that feels as
> comfortable, in which case you should give those serious consideration.
>
> Any hard-and-fast rules of choosing binoculars are probably wrong... "10x
> is best", "8x is best", "Buy the best glass you can afford", "You have to
> spend a lot to get a decent pair", etc. About the only one that I've
> felt
> really holds all the time is that an objective lens smaller than about
> 35mm
> is simply too small, period. And therefore most compact binoculars really
> don't work for birding. (Having said that, someone will probably chime in
> to say how happy they are with some particular pair of compacts...)
>
> == Michael Hobbs
> == Kirkland, WA
> == http://www.marymoor.org/birding.htm
> == http://www.marymoor.org/BirdBlog.htm
> == birdmarymoor at verizon.net
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "Rob Blomquist" <rob.blomquist at gmail.com>
> Sent: Thursday, January 07, 2010 8:51 AM
> To: "tweeter" <Tweeters at u.washington.edu>
> Subject: [Tweeters] 8x and 10x not a big deal?
>
>> Seriously, so many are talking 10x I am amazed, my first pair was 10 and
>> I
>> was quite relieved to have 8x later.
>> --
>> Rob Blomquist
>> Mountlake Terrace, WA
>> _______________________________________________
>> Tweeters mailing list
>> Tweeters at u.washington.edu
>> http://mailman2.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> Tweeters at u.washington.edu
> http://mailman2.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters


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