A New Pair of Binoculars

A couple of weeks ago the San Diego Audubon Society sponsored their annual Birding Festival. It was a 4-day event. I was only able to go for 2 days to attend a couple of classes on digiscoping. The speakers were excellent and I learned a lot. I was disappointed though because I missed all of the birding field trips and keynote speaker, Pete Dunn. That was due to the events filling up fast. Those misses were very unfortunate and I'll be sure to make early reservations for the Birding Festival next year.


On Saturday there were lots of vendors and organizations providing information. With all the binoculars, scopes, etc. on display I discovered and confirmed what my next pair of binoculars will be. Selecting binoculars is a highly individual choice. Where I thought the real high-end equipment like Swarvoski, Zeiss, etc. would be just what I'd probably want, I discovered an Eagle Optics binocular that suited me just fine and is equal in visual quality to the more expensive designs. In fact, I like these binoculars better ... they are really perfect for me. My excitement over the decision to get them is in high-gear. Liking these binocs better than the real expensive ones surprised me because it always seems that to get what I really want means paying a higher price. So while my budget will be hit fairly hard at $879, it seems reasonable as compared to the mid-$1,500-plus range.


I'm still using my first pair of binocs ... Audubons. When I bought them they seemed adequate enough and for some things, they still are. I guess real die-hard birders would consider them priced on the low end of the scale. Like I said they still are ok ... but after looking through my new choice ... Stokes Birding Series DLS 8x42's ... with their much better optical quality I know I need these new ones!