Bird-watching: how to choose the most appropriate binoculars

Abstract

The election of good binoculars can be a challenge considering the large variety of brands, models, and prices available in the market. The aims of this work are: i) to describe the main features that are necessary to consider while choosing good binoculars, highlighting how such features can affect the image quality, ii) to identify brands and models according to three different price range recommended to be used in ornithology, based on a survey conducted among people with experience in bird observation, iii) to identify which the magnifications (zoom of the binoculars) are mostly mentioned; and if such magnifications are related with the type of environment that survey respondents used their binoculars for. Based on specific literature and as a result of the survey, roof design was widely recommended over porro prism design. 8X42 binoculars were the most recommended and the ones which best adapted to a wide variety of environments. In the price range of U$100-U$150, the most recommended binoculars are Celestron Outland and Celestron Nature. In the price range of U$200-U$350, the most recommended are Nikon Monarch 5 and Vortex Diamondback. Finally, in the last price range of U$500-U$750, the most recommended are Vortex Viper, Nikon Monarch 7, and Zeiss Terra ED. This work shows that even though there are a great variety of binocular features, at the moment of purchasing a pair of binoculars the design, magnification, objective lens diameter, and optical and material quality are the key features to be considered.