It's a Major Award!

I won, I won, I won!
It's not Italian.
It's Japanese!
It's binoculars!
AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! I won!
Bird Watcher's Digest is a great magazine that I've subscribed to for a very long time. It started when a lady from church gave me three years worth of issues, I think they were for 1985, 1986, 1987. Somewhere in that mid 80s range. I read and re-read each issue six times at least. Finally, I got a subscription as a gift, and have usually maintained it. One thing that the magazine does every couple of months is have a give-a-way, usually from a company that sponsors the magazine in some way.
Opticron is one such company. They make a variety of binoculars from beginner to advanced. The give-a-way they most recently had was for a pair of Savanna-R 8x33 binoculars.

Let's see what's in the Box!

Nice! Real Binoculars.

Highly portable, perfectly sized.

I've been using them since March 20th. Here's my quick take on them:
Pros:

• Weight to quality is amazing. Pretty light!
• These retail from around 140 - 160. Great price for the quality.
• Incredibly sharp image for binoculars this price. These produce the clearest image of any binocular I've ever owned.

Cons:

• 8 x 33. I'm a big fan of bins where the Objective lens is 5xs the magnification. Granted, lens coating have come a long way since I first started buying binoculars on my own, and these have the brightest, truest color image of any binocular I've owned, I can't help but wonder, how much better would an 8 x 40 be?
• No locking eyecup position. I'm constantly having to make sure they are adjusted correctly.
• Diopter adjustment is weird. Every pair of Binoculars has had an easily adjustable diopter on the right lens. I've always been near the limit on the + side. with these, I'm not, I'm close to the middle, but on the negative side. I'm sure that's just how the diopter is calibrated, but I've also noticed that the adjustment is really stiff. That's good in some ways because it means it will hold true, bad because it's hard to dial in. I won't be loaning these out for sure.

These things are a perfect example of why it's important to try before you buy. I've only ever seen this brand and model online, and nothing said really suggested that these things are must haves. It  took a chance drawing to put them in my hand. I'm so thankful to have them! They've become my first choice for binoculars to carry when I go birding, and until I get a pair of 10x50s, they will remain so.

Here's the takaway:

1. Bird Watcher's Digest is a great magazine, if you are a birder in North America, and you don't subscribe to it, you really should. They give great reviews, interesting species profiles, and all the latest environmental and birding culturally relevant news. In addition to that, their give-a-ways are legit, I know because I won!

2. My days of being a porro-prism guy are over. Technology has advanced, and these roof prisms are just too comfortable to hold and use. I love my Bushnell Waterproof 8x40s, but they are old in every since of the word. Old design, old prisms, old coating tech, and just plain old. 

3. The Opticron Savanna-R 8x33 binocular may be the perfect intro-to-birding binocular that a young birder could get. It's perfectly sized for smaller hands. It's not crazy expensive, I've seen some specials as low as $120. 

I hope you give Opticron a chance. The Lebron James of Birding Optics Ben Lizdas recommends having a compact binocular for quick trips. These are better than adequate for that task. There's also several models to choose from at Redstart Birding.

Ready, Retooled, Renewed

An Update
The ol' steed got an upgrade, new spokes,  new tubes, and a tune up.

Even better,  I got some birding accessories.
The Scope on the bicycle handlebars is a Roxant, 12-36 X 50, and came to me as a Christmas present from my parents with an attachment that will allow me to take pictures through the scope with my cellphone. Both are available on Amazon, and are relatively inexpensive. The clamp came as an after accessory from my Dad. Quality wise, the setup works for what it is. There's some chromatic issues with the image, but I've seen worse out of more expensive glass. With it, I checked out some little brown jobs that turned out to be some lifer sparrows (Vesper to be exact), so it's pretty much the best Christmas present ever. Now I have a reason to check out some of the ducks on Agricola Rd here in polk county. Terns on buoys at Lake Hollingsworth are no longer a mystery. I took the picture above on a Sunday morning excursion to see the terns. I scoped a couple of Forster's and some Royal's. Didn't get to all the buoys either, will have to work harder next time. Excitement builds as I continue to bird. There's big things planned for next year, and it will take a lot of work to make them all happen.
The Lowdown
I'm ready for next year, it's tomorrow after all. I'm ready to see new birds, and some of the regulars as well. I'm also ready to go new places, more to say about that later.
I'm retooled with necessary gear. It's hard to bird without optics, and this new scope will do the trick for helping me see new things, and document them as well. I also hope to retool and review what I'm using as well.
I'm renewed in my purpose for birding. The world has so many wonderful things to see and understand. I want to share them with my kids, who will add their own perspective, and find their own purpose for enjoying creation, and all the lessons it's here to teach us. I want to share what I'm learning, that there is beauty in odd places. There's so much here to see and do!

Come with me to the future!
Let's go see some birds!