Looking for binoculars to people and bird watch

[BinocularsAnon]

Hi all!

What kind of binoculars help to show crisp images from a distance? My office is on the 30th floor and I would like to sightsee creatures and humans from afar with relatively detailed figures. Budget is around 100 USD or below. 

TIA

[DaveL59]

I'd first ask how far away are you thinking?

Handheld binos will only do so much and once you get to >10x you really need something mounted on a tripod for stability unless you spend lots on stabilised ones.

Bear in mind too that x10 doesn't necessarily mean an image 10x bigger than you see by eye, it means you get to see as if you were 10x closer to the subject. So you'd see as if 10 yards away if 100 yards distant, for example.

Edited November 21, 2023 by DaveL59

[Mandy D]

4 minutes ago, DaveL59 said:

I'd first ask how far away are you thinking?

Handheld binos will only do so much and once you get to >10x you really need something mounted on a tripod for stability unless you spend lots on stabilised ones.

Assuming 10 feet per floor, that is 300 ft vertically downwards and 300√2 = 425 ft at 45° would not be an unreasonable starting point. I think a bit more than 10x might just be required. A 300 mm lens on an APS-C sensor is not going to give much of an image size.

[DaveL59]

Agreed Mandy and then we're going to talking aperture moving above x10 to get a worthwhile view. Perhaps a telescope with erecting prism might be a better choice than bino's.

[michael8554]

A Spotting Scope for Bird Watching.

On a tripod.

Gives an erect image.

Can you open the window on the 30th floor, as glass will blur the view ?

Michael

[ollypenrice]

3 hours ago, michael8554 said:

A Spotting Scope for Bird Watching.

On a tripod.

Gives an erect image.

Can you open the window on the 30th floor, as glass will blur the view ?

Michael

This could be a small desk-top tripod if there's a suitably placed desk. I don't suppose windows on 30th floors open up all that widely? 👹

Olly

[The60mmKid]

Make sure you get binoculars with ED glass. Otherwise people with pale skin will appear purple on sunny days.

[Ricochet]

2 hours ago, The60mmKid said:

Make sure you get binoculars with ED glass. Otherwise people with pale skin will appear purple on sunny days.

I agree. Decent glass is the difference between trying to identify a bird based on shape or feather patterns. I've no idea about purple people though. Sadly, this is way out of the stated budget, especially if we start looking at spotting scopes.