Long Eye Relief Binoculars for Bird Watching

Bird Watchers who have to wear eyeglasses, will know what a pain it can be to use binoculars, having to remove them every time you bring the binoculars up to your eyes is not only annoying, but can cost you those vital moments which make the difference between identifying the bird or not. This does not however have to be the case:

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 8x42 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 8x42 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 8x42 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 8x42 NatureView Binoculars
• Minox 8x42 BV Binoculars
• Steiner 8x42 Merlin Binoculars

Win Steiner 7x50 Marine Binoculars

Sailing World are giving you the chance to win a fantastic pair of Steiner Binoculars, the Steiner 7x30 Navigator Pro C Marine Binoculars. All you have to do is register on their website and submit your best sailing photos onto their photo gallery, the competition is open until September 21, 2009. To Enter, follow this link to the competition.

If you Cannot wait until September:
These are a very popular set of marine binoculars, used for sailing as well as motorised boating. As such they deliver everything you would expect from a binocular that is surrounded by water:

• Waterproof
• Integrated range finder
• Built in Stabilized Compass
• Focus free binoculars (Self Focusing Binoculars)
• Anti glare and haze optics

I have written about these Steiner's before:

For full Binocular review as well as price comparison, see my article on the Steiner 7x30 Navigator Pro C Marine Binoculars as well as another article on this blog: Steiner 7x50 marine binoculars

Or take a look at my guide to the Marine Binocular.

Steiner Predator Binoculars

Designed for the hunter and wildlife enthusiasts to help you to spot animals more easily in a woodland setting. The Predator series of binoculars from Steiner have a unique lens coating that set them apart from any other pair of binoculars for hunting and nature viewing. The Steiner Predator lens coating actually increases the contrast in wooded and camouflaged backgrounds and so makes animals much easier to spot. Basically the green coating on the Steiner Predator optics block out green and blue colors which are basically the colors of foliage and haze and then boost the colors of browns and reds, the colors of most wildlife, thus making them seem to jump out of their surroundings.

Other than hunting, another use for the Steiner Predator binoculars would be for the safari guide or for anyone looking to spot wildlife in the surroundings. I used to work as a safari guide (field guide) in South Africa and much of my job would involve searching for wildlife in the bush to show to my guests. Predator binoculars would have helped in this situation for sure, See my guide to Binoculars for Safari.

There are seven different models within the Steiner Predator series:

• 10x42 Predator C5
• 12x42 Predator C5
• 8x22 Predator Pro
• 10x26 Predator Pro
• 8x30 Predator Pro
• 12x40 Predator Pro
• 10x50 Predator

Self Focusing Binoculars - The Steiner 8x30 and 12x40 Predator Pro Binoculars
The Steiner 8x30 Predator Pro and Steiner 12x40 Predator Pro Binoculars in this range also have Steiner's own form of auto focus binoculars called Sports Auto-Focus and basically once you have set the optics for your eyes, you do not have to focus them again, for anything from 20 yards to infinity. Rather than calling this type of binocualrs Auto Focus, I think always in focus would probably be a more accurate term, but that is marketing for you! See my guide to auto focus binoculars.

Compact Binoculars - Steiner 8x22 and 10x26 Predator Pro Compact
The 10x26 Predator Pro and 8x22 Predator Pro Binoculars are designed to be taken anywhere, compact, light and tough. They still include the ultra high quality Steiner optics with the green-tinted Predator lenses. Read my full review of the Steiner 10x26 Predator Pro Compact Binoculars


Ultra Tough - The Steiner 10x42 and 12x42 Predator C5 Binoculars
The 10x42 and 12x42 Predator C5 binoculars have a very high degree of light transmission, image resolution and color contrast as well as use an all-new rigid polycarbonate body that is not only very tough and long lasting but is also mil-spec waterproof and dry-nitrogen pressurized. The "aggressive styling" of the focus wheel make the C5 easy to use and focus even with gloves on in any weather conditions. Each binocular also comes with a tripod mount and a tripod adapter is also available.

Steiner 10x50 Predator Binoculars
The 10x50 Predators were designed by experienced hunters and are said to give the ultimate in optical performance in all weather and lighting conditions, they Includes a rainguard, deluxe carry case and wide neoprene carry strap. Mil spec waterproof to 15 feet, shockproof and vibration tested to 20 g's and are backed by an impressive 30 year warranty!

Where to Buy The Predators

US Shoppers
Steiner Predator Binoculars on Amazon.com
Amazon have the full range of Predator Binoculars and from my research are most often at the cheapest prices.

Steiner Predators on Binoculars.com
Binoculars.com are a specialist binoculars retailer in the US and offer a huge selection of Binoculars including the whole Predator range from Steiner.

ads from Shopzilla

UK Shoppers
Steiner Binoculars on Amazon.co.uk
As The Predator series is primarily aimed at hunters unfortunately they are quite hard to find in the UK. Amazon.co.uk do sometimes stock them and it is worth checking or get the Steiner Wildlife or Safari Binoculars as an alternative.

Alternatives to the Steiner Predator Binoculars
If you cannot find the Predator Series of binoculars, Steiner Wildlife Binoculars or the Steiner Safari Binoculars make excellent wildlife viewing binoculars and are great binoculars for Safari's

Steiner 8×32 Merlin Binoculars - Skyhawk Binoculars

The whole series of Merlin Binoculars from Steiner have been designed with Birdwatchers in mind and these Steiner 8x32 Merlin binoculars will not disappoint as a great pair of bird watching binoculars.

The have a slightly smaller ocular lens diameter (32mm) when compared to the Steiner 8x42 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 8x42 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 8x32 Merlin binoculars are slightly cheaper than the 8x42'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 8x32 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 8x32 Merlin Binoculars on Amazon.com


UK Shoppers
Please note that in the UK, Merlin binoculars are branded Steiner Skyhawk binoculars:
Steiner 8x32 Merlin Binoculars on Amazon.co.uk

Birdwatching Binoculars: Steiner 8x42 Merlin Binoculars

If you are looking for an excellent pair of birding binoculars as well as a good nature and wildlife viewing binocular, you will not go far wrong with a set of Steiner 8x42 Merlin Binoculars.

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 8x42 Merlin Binoculars from Steiner make excellent bird watching binoculars as well as fantastic binoculars for Safaris.

Check out my full review of the Steiner 8x42 Merlin Binoculars including where to buy and price comparison details for these excellent mid priced binoculars from Steiner.

Steiner 7x30 Navigator Pro C Marine Binoculars

The Steiner 7x30 Navigator Pro C Marine Binoculars are waterproof, have anti glare and haze optics, come with an integrated range finder and stabilized compass, are lightweight and compact, making them ideal for any small marine vessel.


The Navigator Pros have Steiner's Sports Auto Focus system which are basically focus free binoculars or self focusing binoculars that keep all objects in focus from about 20 yards to infinity this allows you to locate navigational marks that much quicker.

So to summarise, The Steiner 7x30 Navigator Pro are a great pair of binoculars for most marine vessels including sport fishing boats, smaller fresh water boats, coastal yachts and powerboats that have need for a navigational compass and range finder for locating fishing hotspots, racing or general marine navigation.

For full Binocular review as well as price comparison, see my article on the Steiner 7x30 Navigator Pro C Marine Binoculars or take a look at my guide to the Marine Binocular.

New: Steiner Safari Pro Binoculars

The German optics company Steiner has re-introduced it's popular Safari series of binoculars, this time the line will be known as "Safari Pro Binoculars"

This line of binoculars is aimed at the travel an sporting market as the binoculars are all light weight with a tough armoured covering and offer bright image resolution. The Safari Pro series will offer 3 models within the series, the Safari Pro 8x30 Porro Prism Binocular and the Safari Pro 8x22 and 10x26 Roof Prism compact binoculars.

Steiner Safari Pro 8x30 - Steiner Safari Pro 8x22 - Steiner Safari Pro 10x26 Binoculars
The first impressions are good, with improvements to the original Steiner Safari binoculars including longer eye relief and what is said to be an improved ergonomic focus wheel position on the two compact roof prism binoculars. On top of that all three models feature a more durable body and strong new outer armouring that is long lasting as well as comfortable.

Auto Focus Binoculars
The Safari Pro 8x30 is housed in a rugged Makrolon, armored and shockproof chassis that offers a one time adjustment, which Steiner call "Sports Auto-focus" from approximately 20 yds. to infinity. And are there for Auto focus or more accurately Focus Free binoculars (See my Article on Auto Focus Binoculars)

Entry Level Performance Binoculars
Both the compact Roof Prism 8x22 and 10x26 Safari Pro Pocket Binoculars make the perfect First Performance Binocular. The optics filter out harmful UV light, are shockproof rugged, and priced at a level as to make both binoculars very good value. The 8x22 and 10x26 Safari Pro Binoculars are perfect for travel, watching sporting events and Wildlife viewing. With new restrictions on baggage allowances on many flights, these handy little Safari Pocket Binoculars are perfect for travelling with. Good binoculars increase the enjoyment and fulfilment of any travel and especially safari holidays by bringing everything closer to the eye and enriching the outdoor experience.

I can't wait to get my hands on them, especially the Safari Pro 10x26 binocular and give it a full review. As entry level travel and Safari binoculars these seem excellent.

More information on Steiner Binoculars