Birds In Your Backyard

This is the third, and final part of this short series on buying binoculars for birdwatching.  This part covers the final selection of binoculars.  Part one covered defining our needs and budget.  Part two discussed the research of possible binoculars based on our needs and budget.

Making The Choice

After a bit of research, looking through a few different binoculars, reading reviews, and getting the opinions of others who have used them, we decided to get a pair of Vortex Diamondbacks in the 8×42 size.  A couple of people on Twitter that I follow, specifically @Birdchick and @Kolibrix (who leads birding trips in Peru), said they were impressed with the quality. The specifications, reviews, and price were right where we wanted them to be.  They are waterproof, have plenty of eye relief for those times we wear glasses and seem to be ruggedly built.  They also have a great warranty.  Here they are:

The Vortex Diamondback Binocular

The price was just under $200 which was great as that will allow us to get some other birding “accessories” such as field guides and  some CD’s with bird songs on them.  We ordered the binoculars and they arrived last week. 

Impressions

We had some time to “play with” them over the weekend and so far we are very happy with our choice.  Here is a summary of what we noticed:

• The view is bright and clear. 
• The focusing is accurate although a little slow but the depth of focus is pretty good so that makes up for it a bit. 
• They have a nice, wide field of view which makes finding and following birds a little easier. 
• There seems to be good contrast and the colors come through well, even in flat light.  Compared to our old Bushnell’s these are a great improvement.
• They have  wide range of adjustability.  They fit both my narrow, deep set (Pam calls them beady )eyes as well as Pam’s more “normal” eyes.
• They are easily held by both my fairly large and Pam’s small hands.

Also, they come with a decent neck strap that is actually wide enough to be comfortable.  The case that comes with them is a hard-sided cube that protects the binoculars fairly well but is a little bit of a pain to use.  I think for most of our use the binoculars will stay outside of the case.

Overall we are very happy with the Vortex Diamondbacks so far.  They are an improvement over our existing pair and they are much better built and weatherproofed.  We will keep using the Bushnells outside until we get another pair of new binoculars (hopefully in the next month or so) and then after that they will stay inside as an “emergency” pair.

Summary

In summary, buying a pair of binoculars for birdwatching is a fairly straightforward process.  You just need to take you time and not rush into it.  Here are some suggestions based on what we learned during the process:

1. Decide on your budget (be realistic).
2. Determine the best size and use for the binoculars.
3. Get opinions of other birdwatchers you trust.
4. Research a bit to find a few different options (use the internet).
5. Make the decision based on the best match to your particular needs.
6. Purchase from a trusted source that allows resonable returns for binoculars that don’t meet your needs.
7. Enjoy your new binoculars!

Hopefully you have found this series helpful.  Let us know about your favorite birding binoculars!