Date: Thu, 2 May 2002 13:40:24 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Norm Saunders Subject: Re: Testing Binoculars MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Maryanne Dolan writes: > Where do I go to test individual bins? The best approach, I've found, is to join a bird club and go on a lot of field trips. Watch what others are using, ask them about what they like and dislike about their choices, and ask them for a look through the bins. Most people are more than happy to share their thoughts on their personal choice and to try to convert you. Shops that try to cater to birders will often let you take a range of optics outside the shop and stare at their feeders--in fact, if they won't let you do this, don't spend your money there. I would agree--don't spend big bucks for optics until you have a pretty good idea what you can expect for that amount of money and how various makes of the big dollar optics feel to YOU in a field situation. I know some people who absolutely cannot tolerate Zeiss, but who love Leica, etc. And vice versa... Best, Norm ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================