Looking through binoculars is an aesthetic experience. In addition to avoiding distortion and choosing the proper magnification, and light gathering abilities, several possible high tech coatings make various lens systems quite different in effect. You really need to try various binoculars and spotting scopes to get a feel for the trade offs. ( The superior light gathering ability of wide field 9x binoculars makes them a great tool for STAR WATCHING, and there is a book specially about that too.)
Whatever glasses you get, don’t drop them or bang them into things. Once the lenses are knocked out of line, the repair may cost more than the glasses did, but MIRAKEL OPTICAL COMPANY will be able to advise you.
Why is it so important to get binoculars for everyone on an outing? Ask Pete Dunne, who wrote BINOCULAR REALITY for the Cornell University LABORATORY OF ONRNITHOLGY publication, Living Bird.
The folks at EAGLE OPTICS will be happy to help you choose binoculars to fit your taste and pocket book at a very good price. The AMERICAN BIRDING ASSOCIATION staff will also prove invaluable. They remind us that the number of birders in this fast-growing avocation can pose problems for the birds.
Binoculars are like shoes: no one pair really does all you would want. Unfortunately binoculars can cost even more than shoes ( ‘though sometimes it is the other way around…). A very serviceable pair of binoculars can be had for about $50. Bushnell’s 8x40 Birders are the choice of University ornithology classes, nature centers all over the world, and many grateful beginning birders.
You will like 8x binoculars for watching warblers in the woods. Should you wish to watch butterflies during the heat of a mid-summer day when the birds are quiet, be sure to check the close focusing ability - some focus to 6 feet, which is very nice - of the binoculars you are considering. If you live in the East’s megalopolis, there is a book on BUTTERFLY WATCHING with binoculars just for you.
As your commitment to birding increases, you might be willing to carry the extra weight of 10x binoculars to see ducks out on the pond. When those ducks are out on the bay, you may long for a spotting scope, with a 20-60x zoom lens. Unfortunately, at the upper end of this magnification range, focus becomes problematic. Should you opt for the even higher power of a telescope, you will find that you are looking through so much shimmering air, that you are not pleased with the image.