If like me, you enjoy taking photos of birds as well as looking at them through your binoculars, then here is your chance to get a little recognition for all your “hard” work, as well as getting the chance win a pair of top of the range Vanguard Binoculars.

The Bird Photo Competition

WeLoveBirds.org is currently running a Bird Photo Contest, giving you the chance to win a fantastic pair of Vanguard birding binoculars.

To participate in the WeLoveBirds.org photo contest, all you have to do is submit ONE bird photo. They will be accepting photos up until April 29 2011.

Winners are picked by votes from the community and will take place from May 3 to May 7. Winners will be announced on May 9. The contest is open to members of WeLoveBirds. If you are not yet a member, they invite you to become one. It’s free and easy.

For more details on the competition and to join: WeLoveBirds.org Spring 2011 Photo Contest

The First Prize

When I reviewed the Vanguard Endeavor 8.5 x 45 binoculars, I was so impressed with them, that they eventually went on to win the Best Binocular Reviews award of the Best Value For Money Binocular for 2010 .

So whilst I think they make incredible value for money, you have a chance to get them for absolutely no money at all as they are the first prize in this competition and they make ideal birding binoculars.

Features Include

• Extra low-dispersion, ED glass
• 100% Waterproof and fogproof
• BaK4 roof prisms
• Fully multi-coated lenses
• Long Eye Relief – 20mm

You can read the full review of these binoculars here: Vanguard Endeavor ED 8.5 x 45 binoculars

… now all I need to do is decide which photo I should enter into the competition…. Wonder if I should use the photo of the Wire-tailed Swallows above, that I took whilst on holiday on Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe a few years ago?

Sure magnification is important, but remember the stronger the zoom, the more chance you will have of image shake, making it difficult to clearly see what ever you are looking at without the use of a rest or tripod.

A stronger zoom also often reduces the field of view (FOV) that you get when you look through the binoculars.

For example the Minox 8x42 BV Binoculars have a FOV of 389ft at 1000 yards, whilst their 10x version, the Minox 10x42 BV Binoculars has a FOV of 342ft at 1000 yards.

What is The Field of View? (FOV)
Put simply, Field of view it is how wide the image is that you can see at a certain distance (usually measured at 1000 yards). For a detailed explanation take a look at Field of View on the glossary page, but this is often reduced the stronger you magnification.

So why is FOV important for Birdwatching?
The wider your field of view, the more you can see at one time when you are looking through your binoculars, with fast moving and small objects (like many birds) this is important as it will help you to quickly locate it before it moves away. This can often mean the difference between being able to identify the bird or not.

It is for this reason and a few others that many professional birdwatchers tend to choose binoculars with a lower magnification and a wider field of view, rather than the other way round. 8x magnification binoculars tend to be the most popular, although if you are often going to be looking at birds at far distances, water birds on a lake for example, you may also think of using 10x magnification, just keep in mind the field of view.

8x Binoculars with a wide field of view:

• Steiner 8×42 Merlin Binoculars: 342ft at 1000 yards
• Leica 8×42 Ultravid HD Binoculars: 389ft at 1000 yards
• Zeiss 8×42 Victory FL Binoculars: 405ft at 1000 yards

10x Binoculars with wide field of views:

• Leica 10×42 Ultravid HD Binoculars: 336ft at 1000 yards
• Zeiss 10×42 Victory FL Binoculars: 330ft at 1000 yards

For all the features that you should look out when choosing birding binoculars, read my article on Birdwatching Binoculars.

Photo: The photo at the start of this post is of an African Fish Eagle that I took whilst on holiday in Zimbabwe.

Long Eye Relief Binoculars

Binoculars eye relief is how far back from the eyepiece your eye can be and still see the whole field of view, wearing glasses means that your eyes will have to be further back and so you need a pair of binoculars with a Long Eye Relief (follow the link for a full overview of why eye relief is so important).

Luckily for those who enjoy birding and have to wear eyeglasses, there are some really fantastic binoculars that are specifically designed for bird watching and that come with really good eye relief.

Bushnell 8×42 NatureView Binoculars
These NatureView binoculars from Bushnell are specifically designed with the birder in mind and for those that have to wear glasses they have an excellent eye relief of 17mm, which should be more than enough for most people. Follow the link to read my full review of them, but the main highlights include excellent quality multi-coated optics, a tough non-slip rubber armor to absorb shock and they are fully waterproof and fog proof. Overall they are excellent value for money birding binoculars.

Minox 8×42 BV Binoculars
With 18mm of eye relief, these value for money birding binoculars from Minox are ideal for those eyeglass wearers (and those who don’t) who are looking for the highest quality, but at a more affordable price in their bird watching binoculars. Like the Bushnell’s above, they are fully fog proof and water proof and come with a tough exterior that not only protects them but provides a comfortable non slip grip. Where they also really excel is in their field of view, with an impressive 389 ft wide at 1000 yards, compared 330 of the Bushnell above and 342 of the Steiner’s below.

Steiner 8×42 Merlin Binoculars
With 19mm of eye relief, these Steiner Merlin binoculars have the longest eye relief of the three birding binoculars featured here. What is more, they have soft, angled eye cups that keep distracting light out of your eyes on bright, sunny days that can fold back should you wish to reduce the length of the eye relief. One thing to point out is that unlike the other two which are fully waterproof, these are only water resistant, but this should be fine so long as you look after them when it begins to rain.

Further Reading:

• Long Eye Relief Binoculars
• Bushnell 8×42 NatureView Binoculars
• Minox 8×42 BV Binoculars
• Steiner 8×42 Merlin Binoculars

The have a slightly smaller ocular lens diameter (32mm) when compared to the Steiner 8×42 Merlin Binoculars that I fully reviewed earlier. Which mean that they will let in slightly less light but they still have an excellent exit pupil factor of 4 (you can work this out by dividing the ocular lens diameter by the power of the binocular, so with these Merlin binoculars divide 32 by 8 giving you 4. See my Binocular Glossary for more on the exit pupil) The advantage of a smaller ocular lens when compared to the 8×42 Merlin’s is that they are lighter and smaller, ideally suited for longer walks or hikes as well as being easier to pack away in a bag. It also means that these Steiner 8×32 Merlin binoculars are slightly cheaper than the 8×42′s, which is always welcomed.

Another feature to all Merlin binoculars, including this set is the unique earth tone dark brown colour that they are coloured in, it may seem trivial but according to Steiner this colour was specially developed to be the colour least noticeable by birds and many other species of wildlife. Important for not scaring away that rare sighting of a Dusky-Capped Flycatcher with a sudden flash of binoculars.

The Steiner optics are made with usual precise German engineering with only the best optical glass. They are coated with Steiner’s own natural colour transmission multi-coating which is said to yields extraordinary clarity resolution and colour fidelity as well as boost light transmission a lot more than similar binoculars in the same price bracket.

Another important feature for wildlife and especially birdwatching binoculars which these Steiner Merlin 8×32 binoculars have is the ability to focus on the object fast. Steiner’s “Fast-Focus” system allows you to go from close focus to infinity with only two full turns of the focus wheel.

The Steiner 8×32 Merlin Binocular are also water resistant and are guaranteed not to fog up or leak and come with Steiner’s great 10-year guarantee.

US Shoppers
Steiner 8×32 Merlin Binoculars on Amazon.com

UK Shoppers
Please note that in the UK, Merlin binoculars are branded Steiner Skyhawk binoculars:
Steiner 8×32 Merlin Binoculars on Amazon.co.uk

The range of Steiner Merlin binoculars were designed with help from experts from the American Birding Association as well as Steiner Optics’ championship birding team and include important bird watching features like a lightweight body, an excellent 342 feet at 1,000 yards field of view important for not loosing fast moving birds. A large 42mm objective lens giving you an very good exit pupil rating of 5.3 (meaning that they will let in loads of light even in poorly lighted areas like woods and forests.) They are waterproof and have a rugged tough body that is both comfortable and long lasting and come in a brown colour that has been specially designed to be the least noticeable to birds, so as not to frighten skittish species away with a sudden flash of colour.

So for these and many other features that you come to expect from quality Steiner optics, I believe that the 8×42 Merlin Binoculars from Steiner make excellent bird watching binoculars as well as fantastic binoculars for Safaris.

Check out my full review of the Steiner 8×42 Merlin Binoculars including where to buy and price comparison details for these excellent mid priced binoculars from Steiner.