STRANG! I say STRANG!
Get ya some amplification and start learning bird sounds. It's cool. Twice in the last couple of weeks I've identified different birds that I've never in my life seen.
Yesterday evening my 5 year old grandson was at the house. I told him "The catbird says MYOW!" Five minutes later a catbird in the red tips said 'MYOW!'.
I said "Did you hear it? Did you hear the catbird?"
He smiled and said "That was a cat!"
You are discovering
what most all birder's rely on heavily to find birds. It helps to learn all the little catch phrases like - "Sweet, sweet, Canada Canada Canada" or "Old Sam Peabody Peabody Peabody" for the White Throated Sparrow. Also, you will begin to learn what habits the various birds have which helps locate the birds you hear but do not see. Is this a bird likely to be on the ground - or is it more likely high up in the canopy? The more you work at it the better you get. After a long time you will be able to sit outside and recognize every sound you here and be able to identify it. Then you will want to travel to hear new sounds and make new identifications. Your life list will grow. Your experience in the wild will be greatly enhanced. There is this whole world out there that most people, (even most avid outdoors people), hardly recognize. You will get very good at hearing and spotting wildlife of all kinds. You will notice an out of place shape or shadow downriver that reveals an eagle perched in a tree in the distance. You will notice a small movement on the surface of the water and know that a trout is lurking and dimpling the surface for a snack. All these things that most people would never notice - you will see, or hear, as the case may be. You will find yourself floating along with all your senses in hyper alert so as not to miss out on anything. This, to me anyway, is what it is all about. Sure it is fun to paddle in challenging water and improve skills - but the real reward is the wild places and the wildlife that we experience.
One other thing - learning to play a musical instrument helps improve your hearing greatly. It opens up a huge universe of sounds in exquisite detail.
Protect your ears. I don't know what I would do if I lost my ability to hear.
How do they know?
How do focus free (auto focus I presume?) know what I’m trying to focus on?
Alan
They are an “assumed” range that
starts from about 35’ and goes to infinity, and they work well within that range.
A big plus for them is that I can watch flying birds and have them in focus immediately. Those times are usually for only a few seconds, and no time is wasted trying to get them in focus.
I am sure that an expert will see their view as less than perfect when compared to top-line models, but they work fine for me.
Try them out in a store, and see what you think.
Seem like most good binos
can be pre-set to be in good focus in that range - but they also offer the ability to focus in close with some adjustment. As you learn to use standard binos you develop the ability to set the focus for the range you are using and leave it alone. Same with photography.
stay around 8x
I have 4 pair: pocket sized 4x, waterproof 8x, 10x50, and a 12x50. The 4x is a convenient size, but not very good for birding. The 8x is a cheap pair with not very good optics. It needs near perfect lighting conditions to see any detail. The 12x is too big and is really hard to hold still enough by hand. The image literally jerks with my heartbeat. The 10x has good optics but is still a bit large.
I found the chest harness does not interfere with shoulder movement while paddling. It took a while to get all the adjustments right, though, to not affect my paddling.
So stick around the 8-10x size and spend more on the good optics. The quality of the lenses makes a huge difference in low light and flat light conditions.