New Watcher New Binoculars (4 Viewers)

[birdrocks]

Hello, I've recently gotten into the wonderful world of bird watching.

I want to begin small, I purchased a Nikon p7 10x30.
I'm wondering if this is a good choice or if I should return it for the Nikon 8x30. I noticed some slight shakiness when I'm looking through my new 10x30s.

Thank you

 

[Pinewood]

Hello,

Have you tried bracing yourself against a tree or building? Some people can easily handle a 10X; others cannot. The shake only gets worse, if you try looking up, well above horizontal.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood

 

[Mike Crawley]

I volunteer at an RSPB reserve in Cheshire 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
We have a regular visitor who has a visible shake in his hands, not massive but visible.
He has become a recent convert to image stabilised binoculars, due to age and his involuntary hand movements. Only in his late 70s.

If you can’t get used to your current Nikon binoculars, it might be worth trying some with image stabilisation.

Good Luck

 

[binolover]

The shake only gets worse, if you try looking up, well above horizontal.

What do you mean? For watching birds flying over my head with non-stabilized binoculars is better to use lower magnification binoculars like 7x or 8x?

 

[james holdsworth]

Just starting out, I’d definitely opt for lower power, 7 or 8 max.

 

[mwhogue]

Just starting out, I’d definitely opt for lower power, 7 or 8 max.

+1

Mike

 

[Canip]

+1

Mike

+2

 

[binolover]

The shake only gets worse, if you try looking up, well above horizontal.

The question was not about starting up. Was about watching planes or birds well above horizontal. I find it hard even with 8x magnifications when the binoculars weight almost 500-600 grams which is the usual weight for a 8x32 with good glass as ED glass is heavier usually.
I wanted to know if other people experienced the same, that is hard to watch well above the horizontal (like over one’s head) with 10x25 because of shake but also with 8x32 because of weight.

 

[tenex]

Hello, I've recently gotten into the wonderful world of bird watching.

I want to begin small, I purchased a Nikon p7 10x30.
I'm wondering if this is a good choice or if I should return it for the Nikon 8x30. I noticed some slight shakiness when I'm looking through my new 10x30s.

Welcome to Birdforum! Everything in optics is some sort of trade-off. Presumably you had a reason for choosing 10x over 8 in the first place; what was it? It will do better at longer distances, for flying raptors etc, and not as well at following nearby birds through bushes, both because of the smaller field of view and also something you may not have noticed yet, less depth of field -- less is in focus at once.

As to shaking, all handheld bins will show it; it's only a modest difference between 10x and 8. Support with the palm/heel of the hand not just fingers, and hold the elbows in more below. (This will especially help when looking upward.) I think even the brain itself gets better at dealing with a shaking image, with practice. But image-stabilized bins also exist, and a few here prefer them.