Top five alternative uses for binoculars

It is easy to think, especially somewhere like North Norfolk, that birdwatchers are the only people who use binoculars. In fact there are a whole world of applications that optics can be put to, enhancing almost any outdoor pursuit and even some indoor ones. Below are five of the more frequent uses our customers purchase binoculars for aside from birding.

1: Entomology

Many of the most beautiful insects are not easily approached, and so a good close-focusing binocular is very useful to fully appreciate them and aid identification. As a rule a minimum focusing distance under 2m (6'6”) is suitable, but the closer the better. 8x32s tend to be the best for this, and some particularly good examples are listed below.

Vortex Viper HD 8x32 with an outstanding minimum focusing distance of 0.9m (3').

Hawke Naturetrek 8x32

Opticron Discovery 8x32

2: Aircraft spotting

Here power is important, with 10-20x being a good range to consider. A very competent model for this purpose is the Opticron Oregon 15x70. This is no lightweight and needs a steady hand being so powerful, but with practice does the job well. As an alternative that is lighter and smaller is the Hawke Naturetrek 12x50, offering slightly less magnification but with better optical quality.

3: Sporting events

A day at the races or a cricket match can be really enhanced by seeing the action up close. Almost any specification will do for this, but probably the best bet is an eight or ten times magnification with a reasonably wide field of view. For the sake of size and weight, compact binoculars can be a good bet in these circumstances. Most sports take place in reasonably good lighting conditions so the light gathering can be sacrificed for portability.
A good all-rounder for most sport and races is the Swarovski CL 10x25 which is small, light, stylish and has great optics.  A budget alternative is the Hawke Frontier 10x25 which performs exceptionally well for its size and price.

4: Art, architecture and theatre

There are features of historic buildings and paintings in galleries that can only be fully appreciated by getting a bit closer. A small binocular is a very good way of doing this without attracting the attention of security guards or carrying a long ladder around with you. There are many mediaeval churches in Norfolk with intricate carving high in the roofs or at column capitals, the beauty of which can by seen with binoculars. We also occasionally supply surveyors with binoculars and scopes for inspecting hard to reach parts of buildings.

At the theatre a decent compact binocular is a great way to get the most out of a performance even from the cheap seats.  Fancy gold and mother of pearl opera glasses are, in fact, just low magnification compacts, so an 8x20 (e.g. the Leica Trinovid) would do the job very well.

5: Hiking and hill walking

Binoculars can be a real boon when out in the hills, not just for examining a spectacular view in greater detail, but also as an aid to navigation. Being able to positively identify landscape features indistinct to the naked eye can be a real boon to ascertaining your location on a map. In this environment weight is the most important factor, so a compact binocular with a lens diameter less than 30mm is the best bet. Typically compact binoculars are available in 8x and 10x magnification and the usual factors apply, i.e.10x brings objects closer than 8x, but produces a narrower field of view and a less bright image than 8x.
A good recommendation for a good image, low weight and a wide field of view is the Vortex Diamondback 8x28.

Unlimited, Unconditional Lifetime Waranty. Vortex is causing a stir

The world of optics often takes a long time to change, being more a process of evolution rather than
revolution. The same familiar brands account for the bulk of the equipment used by birders in the UK and when a new name comes on the scene it takes good products and a lot of hard graft to be accepted. Hawke, with good products and warranties, have done this over the last few years and now Vortex are truly earning their place in the hall of fame.

Vortex and their UK importer Newpro are doing everything right, they have well made, user friendly
and sensibly priced equipment all with an extraordinary warranty. It is what Vortex call their VIP unconditional warranty and they actually mean it when they say unconditional. To quote their website:

Vortex's VIP Warranty.

 

“Other than purposeful damage or mistreatment, it doesn't matter how it happened, whose fault it was or which Newpro authorised Vortex observation optics dealer you purchased it from in the UK and Ireland”

And it really works, we at Cley Spy have sent back accident damaged Vortex binoculars for customers and free repairs or replacement have followed. On their website they use as an example a binocular that was chewed by a black bear and replaced with a new item.

A range of good quality, thoughtfully designed and well specified products is essential to compete in the optics market, but to back this up with a reliable, and unparalleled after sales service is a recipe for success.

Below is a brief round-up of the best of their range of binoculars.

Vortex Diamondback 8x28, 8x32, 8x42 and 10x42

The step up image quality wise, the Diamondback is a good bet for those with a budget up to £200. Solidly built and ergonomic, it looks the part and does the job well. The 8x28 whilst technically a compact behaves more like a full size binocular but is very neat and pocket-size.

Vortex Viper HD 8x32, 8x42 and 10x42

Excellent mid-range birding binoculars. Whilst comfort and ergonomics are really a matter of personal preference, these binoculars are a very refined piece of design that has a the Goldilocks factor of being “just right” for a lot of people. Again the image quality is very good for the price, but one of the stand out features of of the Viper HDs is their close focus distance. At a class-leading 1.5m (5.1ft) for the 42mm versions and a stunning 0.9m (3ft) for the 8x32, this makes them a sound choice for anyone with an interest in butterflies and other insects.

Vortex Razor HD 8x42 and 10x42

Vortex's top of the range. Don't expect these to be on an optical par with £1400 plus optics from Swarovski, Zeiss and Leica, but they are closer than the difference in price would lead you to believe. They are also compact for their specification, elegantly designed, light weight at just under 700g and comfortable.

...And one scope of particular interest:

Vortex Razor HD 11-33x50

This is the only rival to the Nikon ED50 Fieldscope. In terms of image quality it is on a par with the Nikon and is slightly heavier at 708g including the eyepiece (the Nikon is 618g), but it is a little more robustly built. This is an area of the scope market that has been somewhat neglected by the big names, with nothing to really rival the ED50 in terms of size, weight and image quality.

Small but perfectly formed: Compact binoculars to go anywhere.

Always to hand.
Compacts are there when you need them.

Most people will have had those moments when you wish you had binoculars with you but bringing

them was impractical or too much trouble. This is where compact binoculars come into there own. As a rule any binocular with a lens diameter of less than 30mm is classed as a compact, with 20-25mm being the most common sizes. Although by their very nature compacts cannot have the brightness of a larger binocular, they can prove to be one of the most useful instruments to own because they can be taken everywhere.

Typically compacts are available in 8x and 10x magnification and the usual factors apply, i.e.10x brings objects closer but produces a narrower field of view and a less bright image than 8x. It mostly comes down to personal preference, but if you were buying a gift for someone else then 8x is a safer bet that most people can get on with.

Pocket size.
A double hinged
compact folded.

The design of compact binoculars is generally focused on making them a small and light as possible, both in use and when folded away. Many have a double hinge, which allows both barrels to be folded into the bridge turning the binocular into a very small package for transport. This style also can be the best for younger children who can often not get full size binoculars to come close enough together for their eyes.

 

 

 

 

 

Image quality.

The Swarovski CL Pocket.

It is inevitable that in making a binocular as small as possible the image is compromised to a degree.

As a rule compact binoculars are a little less forgiving in terms of getting them into the optimum position for your eyes than full size binoculars, and the field of view is generally narrower. Compacts are no substitute for a 32mm or larger binocular if you are out birdwatching, but they are more than adequate for incidental use when out walking, in town or walking the dog. While the usual rule of the more you spend the better they get applies, the range of prices is smaller than with full size optics, starting at under £20 and stopping just over £500. The best are very good, and some of the latest, for example the Swarovski CL Pocket range, are offering image quality not far off that of their full size counterparts.

The best way to work out what you want and which binoculars suits your eyes is to test them in the kind of environment you are likely to be using them. The opportunity to do this, together with the best on-shelf range in the UK, is what we offer at Cley Spy. With two shops in North Norfolk, both with impressive views of the countryside, you can test everything you want to in a no pressure and relaxed atmosphere with expert advice on hand.

The view from our Glandford shop. The field being prepared for the conservation nectar and winter bird seed crop last Autumn.

Christmas Gifts at Cley Spy

Stuck for a gift idea for someone special or just plain awkward? Cley Spy has more to offer that you might think. With over 180 models of binoculars and over 40 scopes plus second hand equipment to choose from we can accommodate almost any requirements or budget when it comes to optics, but that's not all. We also have tripods, a range of outdoor clothing and hats, bags, bird food and feeders, nest boxes, books, toys and much more.

Here are a few of our most popular gift lines.

The Mule Pack.

Our ever popular tripod carrier, specifically designed to make carrying even the heaviest scope and

tripod easy and comfortable. Built to live up to the expectations of the most demanding birders. It has become a standard piece of equipment for birders, making it easy to take your scope on long walks. Many people have commented on how they have been using their scope a lot more since they got their Mule.

Easy to fit to almost any tripod and available postage free to UK addresses for just £59.

Swarovski's CL Pocket. Small, light and perfect.

Compact binoculars.

Whilst binoculars are a very personal choice, a small pocket size compact is always a welcome addition to any birders kit, and indeed very useful for anyone who enjoys the countryside, architecture or the theatre. We have an extensive range of compacts from under £20 to over £500.

 

Here are a few of the most popular models that give excellent optical performance for their price and are very user friendly.

SwarovskiCL Pocket 8x25 and 10x25

OpticronDBA 8x21 and 10x25

OpticronTaiga 8x25 and 10x25

HawkePremier 8x25 and 10x25

Smart phone digiscoping adapters.

Watch the birdie!
The Viking Smartphone Adapter.

This method of bird photography has really taken off in the last two years, being by far the easiest way to attach a camera to a scope or binoculars. The adapters are light weight, have little bulk and make use of the ever improving camera technology in mobile phones. These are a great way to take good quality photos and video of what you see through your scope quickly and easily without carrying any heavy equipment or cumbersome adapters.

TheViking Smartphone Adapter is an adjustable adapter that can hold almost any phone securely on the scope eyepiece. It can be supplied with rings to fit a variety of scope eyepieces, see our website for details.

 

Perfectly formed. The Kowa iphone adapter.

TheKowa iphone adapter is purpose built to attach the Apple iphone 5 and 5S to Swarovski ATS/STS zoom eyepieces and to Kowa's own TSN 880 and 770 series scopes. Being designed just for this one model of phone and these two scopes it is an excellent piece of functional and economic engineering that hardly adds to the bulk of the phone.

The Kata Digital Rucksack.
Separated space for cameras and kit.

Camera bags.

We have a selection Kata and Lowepro bags for camera kit and dual-purpose bags that are like conventional rucksacks, but with padded camera/optics compartments. The Lowepro Scope porter is a bag designed with the birdwatcher in mind, featuring a central padded compartment for transporting a scope.

 

Healthy Back Bags.

These bags are designed to be comfortable and ergonomic, and to put as little strain on you back, shoulders and neck as possible. They have proved to be a great hit with our customers over many years and have become one of those products that spread by word of mouth. They have become the handbag of choice for all our female staff!

Cley Spy GiftVouchers.

Optical equipment can be a tricky thing to buy for someone else, with comfort, size, weight and individual eyesight being important factors in finding the perfect piece of equipment. Gift vouchers are a good way to give someone a contribution to purchase their own choice of optics. Vouchers can be purchased in the denominations listed on our website or you can call us to get a voucher of any value. Gift vouchers can be used to purchase any of our stock, not just optics.

What else?

In addition to all of the above we also have a range of bird food, feeders, Tilley hats, books and toys that are only available in store. Come and visit us at Glandford where you can take a brake from the city centre hustle and bustle to enjoy Cley Spy, the Birdscapes art gallery, The Art Café and the Bayfield Wildlife Walk.

Making water flow uphill

Just three months after being dug the pond was already looking
good. The water from the roof enters the pond under the pantile
in the centre of the far bank.

When we moved into our new shop at the top of the farmyard at Glandford we also took over the

managing of the half-acre field at the back. This became our wild flower meadow and viewing area for customers to test binoculars and scopes in a real world situation looking at some real birds and wildlife. One essential part of any wildlife garden is a pond, but being half way up a slope on sandy heathland soil that drains as freely as a colander made this a tricky thing to achieve. Obviously a pond liner was going to be essential and we also wanted to make use of the rainwater caught by the roof of the shop. In spite of the pond being up hill from the shop, with a bit of lateral thinking the solution was arrived at. The downpipe from the shops gutters went underground to a soak away some ten metres out into the field. It was a relatively simple task to find the end of the pipe and extend it to the location of the pond. Careful shaping of the pond edge has

How it works. Rain water from the shop roof fills the pond.

allowed the pipe to fill the pond and then to overflow back into the soak away. Even though the pond is higher than the the soak away and shop ground level there is a great enough head of water in the downpipe to push it up the slope and into the pond. Thanks to the size of the roof area, for every 1cm of rain 600 litres of water flow into the pond. This helps keep the water fresh and has kept the level up even in the driest spells over the last two years.






Even the smallest pond can be a haven for wildlife like this
Broad-bodied Chaser dragonfly (Libellula depressa)

In this short time we have had a good variety of aquatic life, including pond skaters, water boatmen, diving beetles, frogs, newts and toads and six species of dragonflies and damselflies. More vegetation is becoming established in and around the pond and it is a great place for the birds to come and drink and bathe.



The right tool for the job. Part 4: Dawn, dusk and December

Dusk hunter. Barn owls are just one of the many treats that are seen in the twilight.

The last of 7x42s. Leica Ultravid HD.

The twilight hours at dawn and dusk can be some of the most productive for nature watching. Wildlife of crepuscular habit may only be seen now, whilst at dusk nocturnal animals become active and the creatures of the daylight seek shelter and safety for the night ahead. In the depths of winter in Britain half light can persist nearly all day in overcast weather. These times present challenges to the observer and brightness of image becomes the most important factor in choosing optics for this situation. As ever, the competent all-rounder the 8x42 will not disgrace itself, but other specifications can offer a little more. If size and weight are no object then an 8x56 or a 7x50 will deliver the largest exit pupil, and therefore brightest image, that the human eye can accommodate. These are often not a practical option due to their bulk and so a good alternative is a 7x42. This specification is becoming increasingly hard to come by, Leica now being the only top draw brand producing a 7x42 in their flagship line-up.

If you require a bit more magnification then there is no getting around the fact that they need to be bigger. To achieve nearly the same level of brightness as an 8x42 with a 10x binocular you need a 50mm lens.

The same principles apply with telescopes, with generally the bigger the objective lens, the brighter the image. One partial exception to this rule is with the new Swarovski ATX range, in the case of which the 85mm version can achieve a brighter image at minimum magnification than the 95mm can. This is because the 85mm zoom range starts at 25x, where as the 95mm starts at 30x. Obviously the 95mm will then be the brighter of the two above this magnification, but the 85mm has the greatest potential brightness.

Swarovski ATX 65,85 and 95mm objective modules

In theory, on most scopes a fixed magnification eyepiece can deliver not only a wider field of view than a zoom at any given magnification, but also a marginally brighter image. This is because, as a rule, fixed wide angle eyepieces have fewer lenses in them and so fewer glass surfaces at which light can be lost. The best combination for a bright image is a large objective lens and lower magnification, say 20x-30x and, as ever, good quality glass.

Exit pupil and brightness explained.

The brightness of a binocular or telescope can be calculated by dividing the objective lens diameter by the magnification (e.g. 42mm/8 = 5.25mm or 50/10 = 5mm). The figure obtained is known as the exit pupil which is the diameter of the disk of light projected by the optics. The larger this is, the more your pupil can dilate in low light.

The right tool for the job. Part 3: Coasts and estuaries.

Large flocks of waders on mudflats are an impressive spectacle
but are often at long range.

Viewing birds or ships out to sea or across mudflats and wide river mouths requires good magnification and a reasonably bright image. In general the high magnifications offered by spotting scopes are more useful for seeing detail at long range, but binoculars are still very useful for scanning across large areas and being easily portable.

Whilst high magnification is useful at longer range the usual problems of holding powerful binoculars steady and the restricted field of view come into play. The highest practical magnification for most people is 12x. A good specification to look for in this power is a 12x50, the 50mm lenses letting lots of light which is essential for use in lower light. A more general purpose model would be a 10x42, being lighter in weight and having a wider field of view.



The Hawke Naturtrek 12x50

If you are able to do most of your viewing seated or from somewhere you can rest your elbows then a higher magnification can be used (e.g. 15x56 or 20x60 etc.) but these will be relatively heavy and bulky.  Tripod mounts are available for most types of binocular that can make these higher magnifications more practical.

Some models to consider are: The Hawke Naturetrek 10x50 or 12x50, or at the top of the range, the Swarovski EL 10x50 or 12x50.

Scopes take over where binoculars leave off, zoom eyepieces typically starting at 15x or 20x and giving up to 50x-70x depending on manufacturer. The highest practical magnification is 60x-70x, and depending on the conditions, even this can be too much. If there is a heat haze, fog or heavy rain it doesn’t matter how good the quality of the optics is, the weather you are looking through will be the limiting factor. However, in clear, still conditions a top quality scope can be a real treat at high power, even in low light.  The best results can be obtained from scopes with larger objective lenses (77-95mm).

There are many larger scopes available both new and second hand right across the price range that can zoom up to 60x or more, from the Acuter 20-60x80 at under £200 to the Swarovski ATX 95 at £3000.

As good as it gets.
The Swarovski ATX 95mm has an impressively wide field across the zoom range of 30-70x