Nikon Monarch Binoculars - Birding Watching Takes The Right Equipment

Bird watching takes the right equipment to make the difference between a fun, relaxing hobby and an exercise in

frustration. Birding binoculars make all the difference and allow you to not only get out in nature but to

bird watch up close and personal.

The usual choice for most birdwatchers is 7, 8 or 10x magnification in overall use. You don't want to have too much

power because it will give you a smaller field of view, as well as less light entry and poor image quality. The

binoculars will also be heavier and harder to manage and thwarting shaking will be more of a challenge.

Lens coatings let more light through which results in a high quality image with the best coating being a fully

multicoated lens. A water repellent coating will also enhance your birding binoculars, which will help with light

rain and fog conditions.

Birding binoculars is one of the essential pieces of equipment for successful bird watching because they will not

only bring your images to life, but allow you to catch a load of sightings that would otherwise be restricted with

the naked eye.

It can be a good idea to go for the more expensive binoculars, which will give you a higher quality image. You

don't have to go for the most expensive, however, as the best birding binoculars are usually in the mid-price

range.

Basically, binoculars are made from two telescopes connected together. The lens closest to the object is called the

objective lens, and the lens closest to your eye is the eyepiece. The object becomes bigger, but upside down and

backwards. In order to straighten out the object, a prism is needed. A prism is like a mirror but it doesn't have a

reflective back, it is just a piece of glass that acts like a mirror when light hits it at a certain angle.

Porro Prism binoculars were very popular until the 1950-1960's when roof prism binoculars were made available. Roof

prism binoculars automatically shorten the distance between the lenses making roof prism binoculars lighter and

smaller. Roof prism binoculars require precise handling of equipment because they require a more complex light path

to work. The Porro prism binoculars are a lot cheaper and easier to use, but roof prism binoculars are considered

the industry standard.

A wide range of binoculars can be used for nature study and bird watching. However an 8x 21 maybe all right for

watching a blackbird in your garden on a bright, sunny day, but they would not be the best binoculars for birding,

if you were in a shaded woodland area. Here you would need birding binoculars with a bigger objective lens, to

allow in more light, and therefore enhance your view.

Eye cups are an important consideration for the bird watching enthusiast. Often cheaper binoculars have folding

eye cups. These can be difficult to move, leading to the bird flying away, before you get them in place. Look for

birding binoculars with eye cup that twist up, or slide in and out.