Video: About Bird Watching Binoculars

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The porro prism binoculars are what the most avid bird watchers use. Learn more about porro prism binoculars for bird watchers in this free bird watching video about how to begin to bird watch.

- Picking a Spotting Scope for Bird Watching

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Video Transcript

If you're going to be a bird watcher, you're only going to need a couple of tools. The first is a pair of binoculars, and the second is a field guide which we'll get to in a moment. This is the classic style of binoculars, called a porro prism. This is what most avid birders use, it's called a roof prism. The difference is in how the prisms are laid out in the device. The roof prisms are actually glued in place, so they're much stronger and much able to take a beating; more so than the porro prisms. These days you can't get anybody to work on a pair of binoculars, because they're so cheap. So the stronger binoculars are better. When you first look at a pair of binoculars, you'll see a bunch of numbers, such as on this one 8.5X43. That has to do with the magnification 8.5 and the size of the objective lens 43 millimeters. That's important because you determine how much light is coming out. I don't know if you can see the little circle of light. That's called the exit prism. And, you want a good exit prism to let a good amount of light reach your retina, so that you have a crisp, clear image

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About Bird Watching Binoculars

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