Best Digital Camera Binoculars

Today’s question comes from someone looking to buy THE BEST Digital Camera Binoculars:

Answer:

Combining a pair of binoculars with a camera sounds ideal and as you say, it would definitely save space having to only carry one piece of equipment with you. The main problem is technically it is very difficult to achieve and at the moment the camera part on these camera binoculars do not use the same lens as that of the binocular and so the zoom does not match that of the binocular.

The quality of the image produced by the camera also does not match that of a stand alone digital camera at the same price, so even though it is a little more cumbersome having two pieces of equipment, you are much better off getting a separate camera with a zoom and a decent pair of binoculars.

What is also telling is that to the best of my knowledge none of the really serious camera manufacturers who also make quality binoculars (I’m thinking of companies like Canon, Nikon and Olympus) produce a combined camera binoculars, which must surely say something?

So in my opinion you are far better off getting you’r boyfriend two gifts instead of one and for your budget of $500, you can get a pretty decent set-up. I would split it by spending around $300 on the camera and $200 on the binoculars:

Which Camera?
I highly recommend the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ45 (FZ40 in the USA) or even their slightly older Lumix DMC-FZ38 (FZ35 in the US) which you should be able to get for around $300. I have personally used this range of Superzoom cameras for many years with excellent results. The come with an excellent 24x Zoom (35mm camera equivalent: 25-600mm) which will not only far outperform any binocular with a digital camera in terms of it’s zoom but it stores the images using a 14.1MP CCD sensor and so will produce far higher quality images. What is more is you can also record Full HD Movies with it and is what I use to produce all my videos on this site.

USA: Panasonic Lumix FZ Cameras for Sale in the USA

UK:: Panasonic Lumix FZ Cameras for Sale in the UK

Which Binoculars?
Because you will be carrying both a camera and your binoculars, as I do, I would recommend getting a compact or mid-sized pair. Or if you do want a full size binocular, you could use a binocular harness to free up your hands. Look out for the Dual Harness which enables you to attach both your camera and binoculars to the harness.

So binoculars for around $200 that you may consider:

• Steiner 10X26 Safari Pro Binoculars – Excellent value for money and very compact
• Steiner Wildlife Pro 8.5x26 Binoculars – Another good quality compact binocular from Steiner that is probably a little better suited to birding than the 10x Safari Pro
• Brunton Eterna 8X25 Binoculars – I haven’t personally reviewed these, but according to the feedback I have had, they are pretty good and under budget too
• Barr & Stroud 10x25 Sahara Binoculars – Not yet available in the US, but for UK readers these are very good compacts considering the amount you pay for them
• Nikon Monarch ATB 10X36 Binoculars

– Currently reduced from $548.75 to $269.00 on Amazon.com these are now seriously good value for money mid-sized binoculars

Vanguard 10X42 Spirit Plus Binoculars – Excellent value for money full size binocular for around $200