Hi Kathleen, Disclaimer -- The following is my own personal opinion, and not intended to represent endorsement by any group or organization.
I've given Wingspan Optics FieldView 8x32's as gifts to multiple people, who love them. They've gone up in price, from $60 a couple years ago to $80 on Amazon today: https://www.amazon.com/Wingspan-Optics-Spectator-Binoculars-Lightweight/dp/B01AHC6IZG/ They're smaller than the 8x42 size preferred by many, but my wife and my mom both wanted something lightweight, which these are. I've also used them myself and compared them to several other more expensive options. My opinion as both a birder and an educator, these are great for a beginner, or anyone else. My only other suggestion is to steer clear of Celestron brand. Whether it's binoculars, microscopes, or telescopes, Celestron has a consistent pattern: Their expensive high-end stuff is very good, but anything they offer on the lower end of the price range is usually cheaply made, difficult to use, and prone to breaking very easily. That's why most of the binoculars in the Lab's Visitor Center (all $100 Celestrons) are broken. Their optical quality was once highly reviewed by the Lab, but reviewers tend to only look briefly through a brand-new pair and not consider durability. Don't let anyone push you to spend a lot of money. It really, really isn't necessary to spend much more than $100, and you can get away with less. I know many on this list will say otherwise, or share review articles that push expensive stuff. I've heard multiple esteemed ornithologists tell people to never spend under $300. I respectfully but very strongly disagree, AND I think such advice hurts our ability to recruit new birders, especially from working-class backgrounds. We should probably all have a community conversation about that issue sometime! Best, Leo -----Original Message----- From: bounce-126152155-83239...@list.cornell.edu <bounce-126152155-83239...@list.cornell.edu> On Behalf Of Kathleen P Kramer Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2021 11:13 PM To: CAYUGABIRDS-L <cayugabird...@list.cornell.edu> Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Binoculars - reasonably priced? Hello, I hope this is an acceptable message for this ListServ. Can anyone suggest reasonably priced binoculars for a beginning birder? I’m taking a chance that the recipient will even pursue birding and I also know that “bad” binoculars can discourage a beginner. So I’d really appreciate a couple of suggestions! Many thanks, Kathleen Kramer -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
