Intermediate Birders Bargain

For the past twenty years or so I have been an avid birdwatcher. Travelling around the US, Canada, Scotland, England and Ireland. The one thing I always bring along is my binoculars. At present, I have the early version of Nikon's Egret. They have served me well over the past five years.

If you are looking for a beginning or intermediate pair of binoculars you can feel confident to purchase Nikon's Egret. They are fairly light-weight, offer good brightness and do not exhaust the eye as you learn to focus on items. One should always work up to higher powers. Beginning with 10 x 50's could cause eye stress and fatigue, even headaches, dizziness and nausea.

As a "birder" it is crucial to be able to identify colors (of bills, feet, eye patches) in order to make a definite sighting that can be added to your life list. The Nikon Egret's have always given me a clear and bright enough sight of any bird I have been trying to identify. My colors have been clearer than my sister's higher powered Canon binoculars.

Price should not be the "decision maker" in the purchase of your binoculars. They are not an inexpensive item to purchase. The most important thing to consider is how they feel to your eyes. If you feel queasy while trying them out in the store try a lesser power until you are comfortable. It may take two or three different pairs over the course of a decade to get up to the highest power you need for your particular hobby. If you are using them while traversing open, and sometimes rough terrain, you do not want to risk dizziness or nausea.

The Egret were my second pair of binoculars and I am now researching the third and hopefully final pair I will need in this lifetime. I will let you know what I decide on once the decision has been made.

If you are a birder you may want to check out Birdwatcher's Digest and find some of their issues that have targeted binoculars. They have been very helpful to me in my decision making process. Whatever reason you are thinking of purchasing your binocs for, there is probably a magazine that focuses on that hobby and the accoutrement necessary for the sport.