Find Your Birding Bliss - Simple Tips for Choosing Binoculars

When it comes to birding, the binoculars you are using will make all the difference to your experience. Using old or not appropriate binoculars can easily make you leave in frustration just because you couldn't keep your binocular field, couldn't distinguish subtle colours or see field marks. No matter you are an experienced birder or even a beginner, you need more from your binocular than any other user. Your binocular needs to be bright and sharp enough. It must focus very fast, must provide accurate colour rendition, and they must work with or without eyeglasses.



In your journey toward finding the right binocular, you will come across many binoculars Australia stores and even more binocular options. There are great choices in every price range but also they are a lot of junk on the market so you need to be careful with your selection.

The importance of numbers



The first thing you will note when you start looking for a binocular is that every model is described by two numbers, for example, 8x42. The first number refers to the magnification of the binocular or how many times the object is being enlarged. The second number is the diameter of the lens. With other words, 8x42 binoculars magnify the object eight times and have a lens with 42 millimetres in diameter. What you need to remember here is the bigger the difference between these two numbers, the brighter and sharper the image. Binoculars with 30 millimetres of diameter are lightweight what makes them easy to carry but they are not bright enough to show you all the details. On the other hand, full-sized options will provide you with all the details your eye is capable to see.

How much magnification



Many people make a mistake thinking that the most powerful binocular the better. You maybe are asking why this would be a mistake. Simply because brightness and field of view are much more important than magnification. In fact, too much magnification can instantly convert binocular from the most useful tool to a useless one. Higher magnification also increases the discolouration from rising hot air and this can make it impossible to get a sharp image. Instead of spending money on the most powerful binocular, choosing one that magnifies the image size, seven or eight times is just enough.

Handle with care



When using the binocular, never touch the lenses with your fingers and never clean them with toilet paper, tissue, towel, newspaper or paper napkins. All of these products contain wood fibres that can scratch the lens coatings. Avoid commercial glass cleaners as most of them contain ammonia and other chemicals. Instead, use a good quality lens tissue or microfibre cloth from a camera or optic store. Also, you can buy a can of compressed air and lens cleaning fluid for more successful cleaning. First, blow the dust, then spray the lens cleaner and gently clean the lenses with the cloth.

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