Butterfly Binoculars

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Vewing Butterflies through Binoculars
Everyone knows just how beautiful butterflies are, but by just using your eyes, you are mission out on so much detail. So for those of you who have never viewed them through a pait of binoculars, you are in for a real treat!

The traditional way of viewing these and many other beautiful insects would be to capture them, place them on a pin board and use a magnifying glass! Obviously this involves killing the creature, which in my opinion is very far from ideal. Whilst trying to get close enough to them by just using something like a magnifying glass is in most cases impossible and so by far one of the best ways to get a much better view is through a good pair of binoculars

So just what makes a good pair of binoculars for butterflies and what features do we need to look out for?

How to choose Binoculars for Butterflies, other Insects and Flowers
First I think you need to decide if you are just going to be using these binoculars for viewing small objects like butterflies from a near distance, or if you want a more all-round pair that will also work well for birds, other wildlife and many other activities. If this is the case, I would suggest take a look at good general use binoculars, that also have a close minimum focusing distance anything under 6ft (1.8m) is very good and you will be fine. To help you, take a look at the links below:

• Good General Use Binoculars
• Close Focusing Binoculars

>Close Focusing Distance

Without a doubt, the most important feature to look out for in a good pair of binoculars for viewing butterflies through is their close focusing distance. Close focus binoculars are essential as you want to be able to get as near to them as possible (withpout frightening it away). A pair of binoculars that can focus on a image at 6ft (1.8m) or less away will mean that the butterfly will fill your field of vision, bringing you as much detail as possible. A binocular with a further minimum near focusing didtance will force you to back away and make the butterfly appear smaller, defeating the purpose of the binoculars. (importance 10/10)

So what is a good minimum? I would say that anything at or under 6ft (1.8m) is perfectly fine, take a look at all the Close Focusing Binoculars, that I have so far reviewed. All have a close focusing distance of 6ft or under.

Pentax Papilio Binoculars

Interestingly Pentax have produced a series of binoculars that are ideal for viewing things like dragonflies and butterflies. The name "Papilio" actually latin for Butterfly and they have incredibly close minimum focusing distances.

Pentax produces the Papilio in two configurations 6.5x21 and 8.5x21 and both can focus on an object from about 1.6ft (0.5m) away.

The Papilio's have been designed as a special purpose close focus instrument but you can use them for something like birdwatching with an acceptable result, but you will not get the detail and brightness from more specific birding binoculars with larger objective lenses. Yet I feel that the price makes it acceptable to justify buying a pair as a special purpose butterfly binocular, even for those who are only starting to get interested in bugs. I highly recommend a pair to anyone interested in butterflies, dragonflies, or flowers.

Buy & Compare Prices for Pentax Papillio Binoculars

Pentax Papilio on Amazon.com

Pentax Papilio on Amazon.co.uk

>Eye Relief

This is very important if you use glasses. Take a look at Eye Relief in my glossary for a detailed explanation, but basically it is the distance behind the ocular lenses where the image is in focus. If you wear glasses, you can't get your eyes as close to the lenses than people who don't and so you need a longer eye relief that basically projects the image beyond the ocular lens. If you wear glasses, you should be looking for an eye relief of at least 15mm, to see the full image full image projected.

Eye-cups are related to the eye relief as they keep the distance from the oculars to our eyes, but also help keep stray light away from your eyes while using binoculars. Many eye-cups are made from rubber and can roll up or down depending on whether you use lasses or not. The problem with these is that the constant rolling causes the eye-cups to break. Another type are eye-cups that slide rather than roll, but these can be hard to keep in place. The third type are eye-cups that twist up and down and so they can be left at any position from all the way up to all the way down, some even have click stops at regular intervals with the eye relief distance for each stop marked on the cup so you can get the perfect eye relief for your vision. (importance 8/10 if you use glasses)

Below are some binoculars that have a near focus of 6ft or under:

View >> All Close Focus Binoculars for Butterflies

Below are some books on butterfiles specifically for people using binoculars to view them with.

Amazon USA

Amazon UK