This is my first ever venture into a forum so apologies if I have not followed normal procedure. Both my wife and i have a new found interest in bird and general wild life watching and presently use an old pair of 10 x 42 binoculars.
I will be in the position to spend approx £2,500 - £3,000 in August this year on either binoculars or a scope /tripod etc. I have investigated both Lieca and Swarovski and we both favour Swarovski after hands on testing of both.
I favour going for the 80 HD scope, 25-50 WA eyepiece and a tripod etc, this would probably use up my budget but i believe this set up would last my lifetime, i'm 55 years old.
My wife favours going for the new Swarovski 12 x 50 ED binoculars instead of the scope.
I believe the scope will be more useful for bird watching with the added bonus of digiscoping in the future.
Any advise / comments on the above would be most appreciated.
I think it's very much down to personal choice when choosing binoculars and scopes. People favour different designs and different colour casts to the optics.
Personally I use Swarovski 8.5 x42 EL's and a Swarovski ATS 80HD scope with the 20-60x zoom.
Ideally you need both binoculars and a scope. I think a scope is almost a must for birding in this area, certainly north of the river with so many large pools and so much coastline but I tend to use the binoculars far more than the scope. The binoculars tend to go everywhere with me and use the scope once I spot something of interest.
It's depends on your intended use but it's worth bearing in mind the size and weight of the binoculars you choose. They may feel okay in the shop but can be quite a strain on the arms and neck if you're planning to walk any distance with them and use them for any length of time. Holding them steady for viewing may be an issue as well unless you use some form of support.
Many thanks ian for your advise.
I have decided to go with the Swarovski scope and also get a pair of Opticron bins.
Once I have these we will hopefully be joining the club.
Again many thnks,
Obanboy666.