Sort of like treasure hunting, bird watching is an experience of many lows with a few occasional discoveries that make the downtime worth the wait. I find bird watching to be a rewarding and zen experience, because it keeps me relaxed, focused, and breathing easy without anxiety. Then with the spotting of an eagle or owl, I find myself flooded with a jolt of wonder and awe, which helps to solidify my trust that Nature lives on in a world slowly suffocating by the cause and effect of modern human activity.
When you search, keeping your eye trained on every movement and flying dot in the sky, a peacefulness comes, or least for me it does. Bird watching is an art, because you have to keep your eyes peeled, always watching, always ready, and you must learn to be patient, because a spotting can take hours at times, so when you do find what you’re looking for, that feeling can be magical. There was one time I was utterly blown away in Ohio, having heard rumors of a snowy owl being spotted on a certain farm in Amish country. I ventured an hour-plus and came across the farm, and after a couple of hours of searching with a disparaging feeling welling up in my chest, the snowy owl finally showed itself swooping down from a faraway barn. I took in her mesmerizing white sheen and black markings, her regal face and stunning yellow eyes, and I was elated.
A couple months ago, my wife Leah and I ventured out west to experience Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and Glacier National Park regions. I had reached out to my friends at Steiner Optics, who were kind enough to send out their Peregrine 10x42 bird watching binoculars for us to test in the field. We toured the Grand Tetons, searching for bird life for a few days, eventually running into a storm that seemed to ground all wildlife. So, we set off north to Yellowstone, where the weather had cleared and we got busy finding 12 red-tailed hawks, 1 red-shouldered hawk, 7 adult bald eagles, 1 osprey, 7 swans (a swimmin’), and oodles of ducks.
Steiner Optics’ Peregrine 10x42 Binoculars are known as ‘The Birder’s Binocular,’ and they’re outfitted with 10X magnification, 42mm objective lens, 326 feet at 1000 yards field of view, and a distance control system. After 10-15 minutes of playing around with the Peregrines, I fell in love with the ease of focus and how sharp the 3D images were returned. I’ve used many brands of binoculars but Steiner’s Peregrine 10x42’s are my favorite, mainly due to the sheer quality of the visuals, but also because the build is high quality, the glass is awesome and crisp and clear, and because of how high-contrast and bright the images are.
A couple months ago, my wife Leah and I ventured out west to experience Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and Glacier National Park regions. I had reached out to my friends at Steiner Optics, who were kind enough to send out their Peregrine 10x42 bird watching binoculars for us to test in the field. We toured the Grand Tetons, searching for bird life for a few days, eventually running into a storm that seemed to ground all wildlife. So, we set off north to Yellowstone, where the weather had cleared and we got busy finding 12 red-tailed hawks, 1 red-shouldered hawk, 7 adult bald eagles, 1 osprey, 7 swans (a swimmin’), and oodles of ducks.
Steiner Optics’ Peregrine 10x42 Binoculars are known as ‘The Birder’s Binocular,’ and they’re outfitted with 10X magnification, 42mm objective lens, 326 feet at 1000 yards field of view, and a distance control system. After 10-15 minutes of playing around with the Peregrines, I fell in love with the ease of focus and how sharp the 3D images were returned. I’ve used many brands of binoculars but Steiner’s Peregrine 10x42’s are my favorite, mainly due to the sheer quality of the visuals, but also because the build is high quality, the glass is awesome and crisp and clear, and because of how high-contrast and bright the images are.
I can point and shoot with these bad boys and instantly am returned with an image so good that nothing but a drone flying parallel to the bird could get. I particularly love spotting birds in the trees, especially in their nests, because the 3D detail is intense and closer to HDR than real life, which as a photographer who specializes in HDR, I can finally see the world as I process it in Photoshop. There have been many times when roaming abroad where I’ve found a scene that my camera struggled to process the shades of light, the color, the true blacks and true whites, which is why I always process my photography through Adobe’s Lightroom and Photoshop prior to publishing. But these Peregrine 10x42 binoculars let me see the live view with awesome color, amazing detail and spot-on focus.
The 10x magnification reveals greater long-distance detail, which is a particular feature that brings me the greatest joy, because it opens up my ability to see more from farther away. So, when I am stuck to the main roads and dedicated trails in Yellowstone or on a kayak going along an Ohio river, I can still birdwatch with optimal versatility. The focus is rated to be razor-sharp as close as 2 yards away, so even when I’m hiking, I can spot nearby birds and enjoy an image so close and sharp as if I’m sitting next to them. After much testing, I have nothing negative to say and no constructive criticism. These are awesome binoculars that I will continue to take on may adventures for years and decades to come. The only issue I came across was that when attaching the strap to them, the plastic clip broke, but their customer service is awesome and took care of it with relative ease.
If you would like to learn more about Steiner Optics, click here.
(Eagle photo by lens-cap via Flickr)
The 10x magnification reveals greater long-distance detail, which is a particular feature that brings me the greatest joy, because it opens up my ability to see more from farther away. So, when I am stuck to the main roads and dedicated trails in Yellowstone or on a kayak going along an Ohio river, I can still birdwatch with optimal versatility. The focus is rated to be razor-sharp as close as 2 yards away, so even when I’m hiking, I can spot nearby birds and enjoy an image so close and sharp as if I’m sitting next to them. After much testing, I have nothing negative to say and no constructive criticism. These are awesome binoculars that I will continue to take on may adventures for years and decades to come. The only issue I came across was that when attaching the strap to them, the plastic clip broke, but their customer service is awesome and took care of it with relative ease.
If you would like to learn more about Steiner Optics, click here.
(Eagle photo by lens-cap via Flickr)
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