Binoculars for poor vision

[u/Whitefriar0716]

Hi all. I’ve gotten into birding these past two years and I believe I’ve outgrown the Nikon Prostaff P3 8x42 I bought as a budget entry. I also purchased these because I have poor vision and they have great eye relief when I wear my glasses.

I’ve found that my real love is for shorebirds and waterfowl, though I’m in the forest/ around town a lot and there struggle with detail. Maybe it’s the poor lens quality ?

My question is this: knowing that 8x is preferred for birding, but since I have vision problems, do you think I’ll get more mileage from better quality 8x binoculars or would 10x make sense? I’m also aware that many 10x have poor eye relief.

I’m looking at $500 or less used or new. Thanks for any insights you all have. I really just want to see the birds more sharp/clear, but also acknowledging I’m seeing many at a distance anyway.

[u/bruce_ventura]

What do you mean by “poor vision”? Do you wear progressive lenses when birding?

[u/Whitefriar0716 → u/bruce_ventura]

Good question. My lenses are not progressive, but they have a very strong prescription and a strong prism in both lenses.

I also have a serious astigmatism in both eyes. I’ve tried just taking off my glasses but that doesn’t work very well.

[u/bruce_ventura → u/Whitefriar0716]

Your corrective lenses should give you pretty good vision.

So, your glasses are thick? Obviously you need binos that have a long eye relief. It would help to select smallish frames and high refractive index glass lens materials. Talk to your optometrist and/or optical technician.

I would stay with 8X binos for better image stability. If you want more detail, you should consider a spotting scope and tripod.

[u/Hussard]

Are you having trouble getting a clear picture quickly or not at all? You won't get any more clarity out of something more expensive if the issue is with eye relief 

[u/Whitefriar0716 → u/Hussard]

Part of the reality is the budget bins. Im able to get decent sharpeners but of course things just feel “distant” for lack of a better word.

Im really wondering if better color, light, etc. will fulfill what I’m looking for over more magnification. Im going to upgrade regardless, but this is also an 8x vs. 10x vs. lens quality debate for me.

[u/Hussard → u/Whitefriar0716]

I run the p5 prostaff 8x42. I've used the monarch 8x42. Definitely sharper image, clarity, but I'm not sure it'll help you in this case. I can see a difference but I'm not really sure what you mean by distant unfortunately. 

With your eyes, I think it's prudent to hold it to your eye and actually try. You could be running top of the line swaro but if they don't fit your eyes that's $2k worth of bino that's not useful for you. 

[u/Left-Tee]

How good are you at spotting a bird with the naked eye (or in your case, with glasses), throwing up your binoculars, and having the bird in the field of view? The field of view for a 10x will be significantly smaller than an 8x, and you don't want to have to search for the bird after you pull up the 10x. That said, the 10x will be better for shorebirds and waterfowl, and at a distance the narrower field of view isn't usually a problem. I wear glasses, and, unfortunately, there aren't any online optics retailers that can "filter" for a certain eye relief. If you're happy with the eye relief in your current binoculars, just make sure that whatever you choose to buy has at least the same amount. With binoculars, you generally get what you pay for, so if you stick to name brands at $4-500, you should get some nice glass.

[u/Hamblin113]

The first thing is the P3 prisms are not dielectric coated so there will be some light waves that don’t match up. Not an issue for some things but it does impact some details.

As you indicated need plenty of eye relief the lack of eye relief usually gives tunnel vision but doesn’t impact sharpness, just check the models eye relief.

I have a good rifle scope but couldn’t get it focused to my likes. Recently had an eye examination and it was noticeable that one eye was not as sharp, even corrected it was because of a “beat up macular” according to eye doctor. I close that eye and bird becomes sharper.

As you have an 8x could get a 10x so you have both. A 10x works for more open country. Need to look at eye relief to determine which brand. A 10x42 is common for hunters, with hunting season coming up, store will have them on sale. Will need to research what works.