What is the best high powered binoculars to buy?

Libby ASked:

I want to buy a really good high powered binoculars to buy?
I need a lot of help with this, as i know absolutely nothing about
buying binoculars, zoom, brand, the jargon etc. etc. so the more detail
and help the better please. thanks

Reply:

The pair that you want will depend on what you want to use them for. Let me give you a few basics first. The high powered binoculars, the more they are subject to
magnifying the natural shake of your hands as you hold them. For that reason, unless you are going to place them on a tripod, the
maximum magnification that most people are comfortable using hand held
is 10x. And many prefer 8x because the image is more stable yet. I have
both 8x and 10x binoculars. I once tried a pair of 12x and I could not
hold them steady enough. The image jiggled all over the place.
For looking at wild life, especially birds, a wide field of view
is prefered. If the field of view is narrow, it can be difficult to
find what you are looking for through the binoculars. Sometimes totally
impossible. 8x binoculars normally have a wider field of view than 10x. That makes them preferable for bird watching.
The next number normally advertised is the diameter of the objective
lense. The larger this lense, the more light the binoculars are capable
of gathering and the brighter the image that you will see. But the
larger the objective lense, the heavier the binoculars.
So you might see advertised 8x40 binoculars. That means they have 8x
magnification and the objective lense is 40 mm in diameter. That is a
very popular size. But they can be rather heavy, especially if you are
lugging them around all day.
The next thing to consider is the environment in which you plan to use
them. If you plan on taking them to the cloud forests of Costa Rica,
you will want a pair that is waterproof and nitrogen purged to prevent
moisture from condensing on the inside of the binoculars.
The next important thing to consider is how close you will want the
binoculars to focus. If you might wish to use them to look at
butterflies and dragonflies, you will want a pair that fill focus
close, 6 to 10 feet. Not beyond 10 feet.
The final thing to consider is whether you wear eye glasses. If you do
you will require a pair of binoculars that will allow you to use them
while wearing your glasses. This is called eye relief and you will want
19 mm preferably but no less than 17 mm eye relief.
Zoom binoculars are a compromise. The image will not be of as good quality as non-zoom binoculars.
The price range of a pair of binoculars runs for about $39.00 to well
over $1000.00. A good pair will cost in the neighborhood of $200+-.
The two very best binoculars on the market are Nikon Premier LXL 8x42
and the Swarovski 8.5x42. The Swarovski will cost about $1700 and the
Nikon Cheap Alli Online about $1300. You will not find a serious birder that does not
have a pair of Swarovski binoculars.
But I believe they are more of a statement than anything else. They tell others, "Hey, I am serious about this."Both pair are waterproof and nitrogen purged. The Nikons have a field
of view of 367 ft at 1000 yds. an eye relief of 20 mm and close focus
of 9.8 ft. The Swarovskis have a field of view of 390 ft at 1000 yds. an eye relief of 18 mm and close focus of 8 ft.
Both pair have a locking diopter adjustment. What that means is that
your two eyes are not exactly the same, so one of the lenses must have
an adjustment so that the two eyes are in agreement on the focus. If
the adjustment locks, then it will not change when in use. Most
binoculars do not have a locking adjustment and it tends to get out of
adjustment. The Swarovskis weigh 29 oz. The Nikons 28 oz. Both pair are roof prism binoculars.
There are two types of binocular roof prism and porro prism. Roof prism
are a straight through barrel. Porro prism have an offset barrel. The
current rage is roof prism. Porro are less expensive and in the past
have been considered to give a superior image, but technology has
improved greatly recently and that is no longer the case.
A pair of binoculars that is good but not so expensive is Pentax PCF
WPII 8x40 binoculars at about $150. Or Celestron Regal LX 8x42 at about
$400.