Birdwatching is a popular activity around the world. Catching a glimpse of rare and majestic birds is an unforgettable experience however sometimes you need a little helping hand. Birdwatching binoculars are a key piece of equipment that most avid birdwatchers wouldn’t leave the house without. Many birds are elusive and shy and will hide high in tree canopies or across a hazardous wetlands, this is where good binoculars will allow you to admire the beauty of birds without disturbing them. This article will highlight some key features in bird watching binoculars to look out for as well as give our opinion on the best bird watching binoculars money can buy!  

What should you look for in a bird watching binocular?

Magnification and Lens Size 

Often confusing for beginners, these numbers are always present on any type of binoculars. For example a binoculars might state that it is 20×42. The number 20 stands for the magnification (zoom) and the number 42 refers to the lens diameter in mm.

A magnification of about 10 is perfect for bird watching. Stability can become an issue with the higher magnification unless the binoculars are secured using a tripod. With a stability of 10x, this means that a bird that is 100yards away will look like it’s only 10 yards away – perfect! Some of the higher end binoculars will come with two magnifications that can be extremely handy depending on the environment.

The size of the lens dictates how much light is allowed in. This produces a clearer, brighter and better viewing experience. However, with a larger lens you do lose portability. A large lens will increase weight and size of your binoculars considerably which is important when hiking for hours with it swinging around your neck. A rough guide to follow is that you want the lens size of your binoculars to be around 5 times that of the magnification strength – A 7x35mm or 8x40mm are rough estimates of what is sensible. The reason why the multiple 5 is used is because this is found to be the best multiple for the amount of light needed to view magnified images.

Field of View (FoV)

The field of view is a metric that measures how wide the image that your binoculars show. A binocular with high magnification will mean that the field of view is small and visa versa. So, what’s the difference between FoV and magnification? Honestly, very little…FoV is simply the metric that measures how much area is visible through the circular lens of your binoculars. This is strongly corelated to the magnification. The field of view statistic will only vary slightly between models of the same magnification.

Closest focusing distance 

Now this category might be easier to understand! This is the minimum distance required before the binoculars will focus. This might not seem all that important but I will state that if the majority of your bird watching is in dense woodland, where bird viewing distances is largely small, consider a binocular with a very small focusing distance and low magnification.

Eye Relief 

This is the perfect clearance distance between your eyes and the binoculars. Why does this matter? The honest answer is it doesn’t unless you wear glasses.

If you wear glasses while using the binoculars you will be looking to get a binocular with a minimum of 16mm eye relief. This will allow for the extra thickness of the glasses to be accounted for and should not affect the clarity of your image.

Fogging & Waterproofing 

These are two characteristics that are very important for bird watchers. Bird watching hikes can take hours and unfortunately, some end up with getting soaked by a freak rain shower. A rugged, durable and weather proof binoculars is in my opinion key.

A fog proof binocular means that the lens has been sealed by an O-ring. This will not allow moisture or dust to get in and will keep your image clear in bad weather. Some binoculars will state some gases such as Nitrogen and Argon. All this means is that these gases are contained within the lens and will further improve the anti-fog of your lens.

Lens type 

Lenses will be coated with anti-reflective will reduce the amount of glare coming though the binocular. A well-coated lens will turn the glare into light and create a better image. However, do not get mislead by marketing jargon. All binoculars will be coated in one way or another, but to deduce the quality, there are four types of anti-reflective coating.

• Coated: A single layer on at least one lens.
• Fully-Coated: A single layer on all air-to-glass surfaces.
• Multi-Coated: Multiple layers on at least one lens.
• Fully Multi-Coated: Multiple layers on all air-to-glass surfaces. 

From worse to best, these classifications of lens coatings will give you a good idea of how well a binocular will deal with high amount of glare. Fully multi-coated lenses are the best but are likely to only feature on the high-end models.

What are the different types of binoculars?

There are two mechanism that binoculars use to produce their magnified image – Roof Prism and Porro Prism.

The Roof Prism

The Roof Prism is a series of prisms that overlap very closely together and means that the lenses are lined up directly between the eye and the target image. The benefit of these binoculars are that they are slim, compact, easier to hold and generally more durable. They do however usually come at a premium in comparison to Porro Prism binoculars.

The Porro Prism

What is Prism Grade? There are two terms that you might see pop up when reviewing binoculars and these are the BaK-4 and the BK-7 prism grade. The BaK-4 is considered the superior grade and is created from Barium Crown Glass. It offers better light transmission than the BK-7 grade. The BK-7 is created from borosilicate glass and comes with a cheaper price tag.A