Subject: Compact binoculars

From: [email-masked] (Julie K. Stahlhut)
Date: 11 Jun 1996 14:13:35 GMT

I'm considering buying a pair of low-power (maybe about 4x) compact
binoculars, suitable for live-insect observation.  I have a good 
pair of 7x binoculars that are great for birdwatching, but don't
focus closely enough to be useful for insect watching.  Also, 
I have chronic problems with muscle spasms in my shoulders, and
would like something as lightweight as possible if I'm going to
carry it around for hours in the field.  
 
I'm going to be the TA in an insect biology course this summer, and
I've always found binoculars to be useful on field trips in any 
outdoor biology course.  Also, my husband and I like to observe
butterflies and other live insects in the wild, purely for
recreation.
 
Does anyone have any suggestions?  First of all, is such a purchase
worth the time and money?  If so, are there any makes and models that
professional and/or amateur "bugwatchers" have found outstanding?
 
Thanks!
Julie
-- 
Julie K. Stahlhut, Caterpillar Rightsizer        [email-masked]
  "You cannot have unsecured gonads in an area frequented by
     college students."
                                   -- Dave Barry

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From: [email-masked] (Mike Griggs)
Date: Tue, 11 Jun 1996 10:44:48 -0400

I looked into getting "bug binoculars" some years ago.  The crittical
feature is finding a pair that have a focal range in the order of 5-10
feet.  Most tend to allow for a near focal range of 20ish feet which is
not very useful.

I found several independant dealers willing to make modifications ( I do
not remember who or where) but I do remember the exhorbinant cost
($500-$800).

I eventually found some older WWII Navy glasses with the old independant
single eyepiece adjustments. I removed the stop screws from these and
separated the halves to make two monocular viewers that can be focused up
to two feet.  They work well and the cost was minimal.

You may be able to find something better.  Let us know if you do.  Mike

                                                 .-~~~-.              
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            (  (__{(@)}\__}.//_/_____/_____|____\_______________  
             \__/{/(_)\_}  )\\ \\---------------------------------
               (   (__)_)_/  )\ \> Mike Griggs [email-masked]       
                \__/\__/      Entomologist/Support
Scientist                                 
               HTTP://www.ppru.cornell.edu/biocontrol/griggs.html  

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked]

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From: sgold@.adsdesign.analog.com (Steve Goldstein)
Date: 11 Jun 1996 20:26:09 GMT

Just last weekend I saw a really nifty set of Minolta Pocket Compact
binoculars (not 100% sure of the precise name) which were truly tiny.
They were 10x25 and focused to about 6 feet, which is very close for
10x binocs.  The field of view is a little narrow, so you need good
aim, and they're a little dim, being so small, but I'm considering
picking up a pair because they're so small and light.  Around $110
>from  places in NYC, I think.

steve

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From: Patrick Foley <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 12 Jun 1996 16:59:15 -0700

I recently bought Olympus 8x24 binoculars. They are inexpensive, very
light and focus at about 7 ft. I had the same thing in mind as you and
found these the best choice.

patrick foley
[email-masked]

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From: David Powell <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 12 Jun 1996 15:54:03 -0700

Julie,

I do a lot of butterflying, and have found the Minolta Compact
Binoculars to be very good.  I use a pair of 8X20, about $80.  10 X
are also available.  You need to try out whatever they have in the
store to see which ones are the closest focusing, as for butterfly
watching, that is essentially all that counts.  Mine focus to about
6.5 feet.

For butterflying, binoculars like this are absolutely essential,
IMHO. I have Zeiss 10X40 for birding, and while I carry them along
while butterflying, I find them nearly useless for butterflies.

Hope this helps,
Dave

--
David Powell
Half Moon Bay, CA
[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (Whirlabout)
Date: 13 Jun 1996 21:50:53 -0400

Julie,
Last year (I think), a review of  binoculars suitable for observing
insects (particularly leps) was published in 'American Butterflies' - the
NABA journal. I'll sum up what I recall from the article - at some risk of
inaccuracy due to 'partial' memory failure  8^)

The Minolta units were summed up as the best value for the $$ except if
you are an eyeglass wearer (as I am) due to inadequate eye relief. They
are small, light, quite inexpensive and focus closely. 

The Bausch & Lomb 'Custom Compact' (7x26) were rated quite highly but were
more pricey than the Minoltas. They offer excellent optics with good eye
relief and focus at less than 10 ft. I ended up getting a pair of these
binocs and have been extremely satisfied. My pair focuses down to 6 ft.

As others have already said, go someplace where you can try them out. I
purchased mine at a New Jersey Audubon Center and evaluated many units of
several different brands including some models for over $1000. The
variability in the optical quality is actually quite amazing. The feel and
focusing are also significantly different among different models as is the
focusing distance - even among the same model. The NJ Audubon Center had a
distance scale marked on the floor to actually measure focusing distance
and compare.

Good luck w/ your purchase

Ron Lane
[email-masked]

>professional and/or amateur "bugwatchers" have found outstanding?

====================================================
            It is never too late to be what you might have been.
                             -  George Eliot
Ron
[email-masked]
Central New Jersey, USA
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From: [email-masked] (Earle M. Kapchuk)
Date: Sat, 15 Jun 1996 18:40:56 LOCAL

In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (Julie K. Stahlhut) writes:
>P

>carry it around for hours in the field.  

There are many fine compacts avaiable that focus under 10 feet but being small 
many have rather a dim view.  The Minolta roof-prisms are often used but their 
optical quality leaves a lot to be desired.  Stick with porros as none of the 
roof-prisms -except for some rather expensive ones- have phase corrected 
prisms and thus the view is rather soft.  I wish you had mentioned a price 
range and if you use glasses- it can make a big difference.  If you don't mind 
a little extra weight one of the best is the Doctor 8 X 30 Deltrintems.  These 
have a much larger aperture and thus brightness and resolution are better then 
the compacts.  They focus to just under 8 feet, weigh 17 oz. and can be had 
for US $150-200 range.
Earle Kapchuk

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From: [email-masked] (Julie K. Stahlhut)
Date: 16 Jun 1996 02:45:35 GMT

Thanks for everyone who has posted suggestions!  I'm going to check out
some of the models mentioned in this thread.  If it helps, I do wear
glasses, but not very strong ones (I'm slightly nearsighted and am
more comfortable with my glasses on, but am legal to drive without them.
I can use binocs without glasses as long as there's an independent focus
for one eye, preferably the left, since I'm profoundly left-eyed and 
also have slightly better vision on that side.  But my current binocs
have that feature only on the right, so I generally just use them with
my glasses on.)
-- 
Julie K. Stahlhut, Caterpillar Rightsizer        [email-masked]
  "You cannot have unsecured gonads in an area frequented by
     college students."
                                   -- Dave Barry

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From: [email-masked] (Lee/Nik Sandlin)
Date: 16 Jun 1996 23:08:21 GMT

I was just getting my bifocals and told the the optometrist I "couldn't 
see bugs real well any more"  and he recommended an optical visor. 
Hands-free, 5-10x he said. Anyone have any experience? TIA, nik sandlin.

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From: [email-masked] (David Mc Lanahan)
Date: 17 Jun 1996 19:00:54 GMT

The cheap answer to this is a simple positive "spectacle lens" from a local 
optometrist (or Edmund Scientific in NJ).  The power (in diopters) is the 
reciprocal of the focal length (i.e., viewing distance) in meters. Thus +1
diopter will view at one meter, +0.5 at 2 meters, +5 diopters at 20 cm, etc., 
with the binoculars set to infinity.  You *don't* want any astigmatic 
correction!  (You can only use one side as a monocular; binocs are "colli-
mated" (aligned) to infinity, and 3-8 feet is *not* infinity viewed from 
objective lenses 4-5-inches apart!)

Hand-hold or tape the raw lens in place for a trial then, if you like it,
have the optometrist "edge" it round to fit.  Try "filter adapter rings" from 
a local camera store.  (The adapter ring slips off for distant use of the
binocs and also to make it easier to drop and lose the lens!)

I haven't priced this lately, but if your optometrist is in a good mood, you
will get out for a LOT less than the $-hundreds mentioned earlier. Good luck. 
Let me know how you make out  - david - 

>> binoculars, suitable for live-insect observation.  <snip>
>>  
>> Does anyone have any suggestions? 
>> Thanks!
>> Julie
>> -- 

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (Mike Griggs) says:
>
>I looked into getting "bug binoculars" some years ago.  The critical
>feet.     <snip>

> Mike Griggs [email-masked]       
> Entomologist/Support Scientist

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From: Anne Kilmer <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 17 Jun 1996 16:43:52 -0400

> Hands-free, 5-10x he said. Anyone have any experience? TIA, nik sandlin.

Yup. I've got one, use it mainly for crafts (I do dollhouses), but have
worn it in the field. Great for counting those tiny eggs at NABA count
time. Mine's an Optivisor, made by Donegan Optical Co. USA (that's all
it says on it; the box has wandered off. Rock collectors use them.
        Has an adjustable headband, comfy, you can flip up the lens;
flip it down when there's something teeny you wish to peruse.
Works fine with bifocals.
Would work well if you were charging around in a nursery trying to spot
scale and aphids before the plants started whining.
Has spent much time kicking around among piles of books under the bed
etc. and the lenses are unscratched despite multiple cleanings.
        If you were wearing these, galloping across the field waving a
butterfly net, you would look much, much weirder than you do now.
Especially if the side bolts were loose so that the lens part kept
flipping down in front of your eyes, causing a trifocal effect to take
place. Much stumbling.
Depth of field is important. Some of them focus at a comfortable
distance from the fanged bug you wish to study; others demand that you
have your tasty little nose right upon it. As with binoculars, test
drive several before you make your choice. We're talking 18 inches here
... or 8. Not for gazing high into the trees. These sub for hand-lens,
not binoculars.
        But you are gazing comfortably, with both eyes, and have a fine
view of your critter. And can follow him comfortably as he gallops off.
Local butterfliers fell in love with mine, and found similar ones in
Miami for $16 or so.
Anne Kilmer
1424 Lake Bass Dr.
Lake Worth FL 33461
USA