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Re: [OM] Binoculars

Subject: Re: [OM] Binoculars
From: Moose <olymoose@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 09 Nov 2012 03:21:53 -0800
On 11/8/2012 8:56 AM, Jan Steinman wrote:
>> From: Chuck Norcutt <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>
>> ... I often encountered serious
>> birders in the marsh.  They often had Leitz or Swarowski binoculars that
>> shamed my little Nikon 7x35s.  But, just as with the cameras, I could
>> never bring myself to justify something 10 times the price of what I
>> had.  But I'd still like to have a pair.  :-)
> Did they see ten times as many birds? Did the birds they saw look ten times 
> better?

I suppose the first question to be facetious. Generally rather than 
specifically speaking of the old Nikon 7x35s, better 
binocs lead to less eyestrain, headaches, etc. I know my visual system/brain 
just really dislike looking through poor 
optical systems. It's like part of me is trying to look, and another part is 
trying to look away.

Soooo ... IF the good ones allow me to look 10 times longer, I will likely see 
about 10 times as many birds. ;-)

The second question seems to me to be put slightly wrong. "Could they see the 
birds they saw ten times better (or more 
clearly)?" I know of no objective criteria, but would answer a qualified 'yes'.

I was bird watching at a place in So. Arizona special to hummingbird fanciers, 
as the range of a few species sneaks over 
the border there. We saw several of the usual suspects that we had already seen 
in SW Arizona, and had good views of our 
first Violet Crowned.

Up in a tree, silhouetted against a bright overcast, sat a small hummingbird. 
Size and the shape of the beak showed that 
it was not one of the species enjoying the feeders, and we hoped it would come 
down to feed. In the mean time, I 
observed what I could of it. Through my B&L Waterproof elites, I could barely 
make out some detail in the front, against 
the backlight. Through my companion's upper mid range binocs, the side of the 
bird facing us was completely without 
detail. Another birder there let me try another pair; I forget what they were, 
that also failed to reveal detail.

Because I could see the size and shape of the male 'beard', if not the color, 
together with bird size and shape and beak 
shape, I was able to identify a Lucifer Hummingbird.

So yes, better binocs let one see the bird a lot more clearly. 10x? Who knows?

Binocular Vision Moose

-- 
What if the Hokey Pokey *IS* what it's all about?
-- 
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