Optics Tips

Binocular Tips

Tip #1. While Nikon binoculars are some of the most user-friendly binocular models on the planet, we want to offer a couple of quick tips to help you get the most enjoyment possible. If you haven’t already done it, make sure you set the diopter for your eyes. By changing the diopter you are accounting for the minute difference between each eye.

Here’s how to do it:

First cover your right eye while looking through the binocular. You can do that by covering your right eye or the right end (objective lens) of the binocular.
Pick out a fixed subject about 30-100 yards away and focus the binocular using the center focus wheel.
Next, cover your left eye, making sure your right eye is clear, and adjust the right side using the diopter adjustment located below the eyecup. Make sure you are looking at the same object as before. Be sure to keep the binocular focus wheel in the same position if possible for best results. Note the diopter setting.
Once the diopter is set, just use the center focus wheel when focusing and you’ll enjoy crystal clear viewing.
As time progresses your eyes may change minimally. Nikon recommends resetting the diopter every year or so to keep up with potential changes in your eyes.

Tip #2. Many Nikon binoculars – including all Nikon ATB (All Terrain Binoculars) – are completely waterproof and fogproof on the interior (nitrogen-purged), however, cold, damp weather can sometimes cause condensation on the exterior of the lenses (All binocular brands are subject to this). Even non-waterproof binoculars may fog on the exterior lenses without affecting the interior lenses. An effective remedy for this is to use Nikon’s Fog Eliminator anti-fog cloth on the lenses of your optics prior to leaving for the field. The reusable cloth utilizes a dry compound that stops condensation from forming on lens surfaces – including eyeglasses!

Tip #3. To help ensure the life of your binocular be sure to clean your optics appropriately after every couple of uses. Remember, dirt corrodes glass, but so does the cleaning liquid. The lens cleaning liquid is chemical-based so be sure to keep all excess dirt off the glass and use the fluid every now and again for optimum results. Here are a few tips to cleaning your binoculars:

When you are not in the field keep your binoculars in their case with the lens covers in place. This will help keep dirt off the lenses.
If you do notice some dirt that needs to be removed, first try blowing it off with either your breath or a puff bottle designed for the purpose.
If you must touch the binocular lenses do so very carefully and only with a Nikon Lens Pen, Nikon Lens Wipe or other Nikon Lens Cleaning product.

Tip #4. Binoculars can be the key to finding your next life-bird or research subject. The natural world is full of gorgeous subjects to view. Binoculars can be used not only for birds, but also for mammals, flowers, butterflies, dragonflies, scenery, etc. Make sure to take the time to scan all of your surroundings. You never know what will grace your field-of-view.

Binoculars also help in dense forest, Eastern or Western. The superb depth-of-field and sharpness of Nikon products allows for easy viewing in dark environments. No matter the conditions you’re in, Nikon glass will give you the maximum performance, especially at low light. Birds are primarily crepuscular (active mainly at dusk and dawn), so never underestimate the value of high-end Nikon EDG (extra-low dispersion glass). Learn to really view with your Nikon binoculars, instead of ‘glassing’ only when a Northern Goshawk darts through some spruce trees in front of you. Your enjoyment will rise exponentially.

Tip #5. The binocular that will fit you best varies but, as a birder, typically a 7x or 8x magnification is what you want. Birders need field-of-view and light absorption. These magnifications will perform the best in most birding environments. A good compact binocular is okay as a secondary glass, but isn’t suitable as your primary birding binocular and is no match for larger objective lens models for dawn and dusk viewing. Birds rarely cooperate in just bright light and compact binoculars are made to perform in bright light situations only.

Larger objective lenses give the added value of light, but tend to be heavier and less stable. The larger the objective lens the more light the binocular will gather. The field-of-view is a function of magnification in the eyepiece, so choose wisely. Hold any binocular at arm’s length, and observe the little dot of light in each eyepiece. This is the exit pupil, and its size is controlled by the binocular’s magnification and the size of its objective lenses. As an example, let’s look at the Nikon Monarch 8x36. Here, 8 is the magnification, and 36 is the diameter of the objective lenses in millimeters.

To find the diameter of the exit pupil of the 8x36 Monarch, we divide 36mm by 8, resulting in 4.5mm. A person’s eyes dilate from 2mm-7mm on a daily basis depending on eye health. You want to find an exit pupil that fits somewhere between 4.5-5.5mm. This gives you the most versatile optic and allows for you to use the glass in a wider range of lighting situations. This number is significant, because an exit pupil above 4mm is about the minimum size needed for serious glassing—especially at first and last daylight. Any smaller and we run into problems with brightness, sharpness and steadiness.

Fieldscopes

A lot of people think Fieldscopes are just extra weight to carry and not worth the trouble. Don’t let that common misconception cost you some great viewing opportunities.

Fieldscopes are generally bigger and heavier than your binocular but they do have their place. When ultra high magnification is needed a spotter is what you should turn to. Plus they can save you miles and time no matter if you are spotting on foot or from a vehicle.

Tip #1. Transporting your Fieldscope can be the biggest hassle of all but Nikon’s new Optics Pack solves that problem. The Optics Pack offers a way to comfortably carry all of your essential optics into the field. Each component is protected and easy to access. You can even transport your tripod on the side of the pack plus there are plenty of pockets for the rest of your gear.

Tip #2. Comfort is the key to getting the most out of your Nikon Fieldscope. Try to set it up in a manner that allows you to glass without a lot of bending or twisting. If birding with a group of people who are varying heights, consider using an angled spotting scope for easier viewing and less neck strain.

Tip #3. Finding birds with a spotting scope is a little different than using your binocular. The best scenario is to use your binocular to locate the birds and then closely check them out with the fieldscope. If you are glassing with the scope, use it on a lower power setting (if possible) and then crank it up when you find that life bird.

Tip #4. If you are a backpack birder who worries about saving ounces, check out the Nikon ED 50mm fieldscope. It’s a super lightweight spotting scope with Nikon’s ultra sharp Extra-Low Dispersion glass. With an eyepiece, the ED 50 barely tips the scale at 19 oz. A birder’s dream!

Tip #5. To help you get the most out of your Fieldscope or other Nikon Spotter here are some basic maintenance tips.

Never wipe the lens with your shirt, as tempting as that is, it can damage the lens coatings
If you notice some dust or dirt on the lens, try to remove it with your breath or a puff bottle
If you have to touch the lens do so carefully and only enough to remove the debris. Lubricating the lens with a lens cleaning solution helps clean as well
Purchase and keep a high quality lens cleaning kit like those offered by Nikon. It has everything in it you will need to maintain your lens
When you are not using your scope keep it in the Vue-Thru Case that Nikon provides with all of its Fieldscopes

Tip #6. A quality spotting scope such as Nikon’s Fieldscope, or ProStaff Spotter are completely waterproof and fogproof on the interior. However, cold, damp weather can sometimes cause condensation on the exterior of the lenses. An effective remedy for this is to use Nikon’s Fog Eliminator anti-fog cloth on the lenses of your optics prior to leaving for a trip. The reusable cloth utilizes a dry compound that stops condensation from forming on lens surfaces – including eyeglasses!

Tip #7. Enjoy your Fieldscope all season long by trying Digiscoping. Nikon pioneered this fun hobby and it uses a lot of equipment you already have. Simply put, Digiscoping is using your spotting scope as a tele-photo camera lens. Nikon makes adapters for almost any of their COOLPIX or other Nikon cameras. You simply need to replace your current eyepiece with a Digiscoping one and purchase a camera bracket to secure your camera to the back of the scope. Then by using a remote or cable shutter release, start taking some amazing photos. Wildlife never looked so close!

Tip#8. Ever struggled to see a raptor at a distance during fall migration? Next time you’re heading to Hawk Mountain to view raptors in flight, don’t leave your spotting scope behind. It can save a lot of identification questions. Just make sure to dial down the magnification before you zoom in on that striking adult Cooper’s Hawk.

Digiscoping Tips

Nikon leads the way with its innovative Nikon DigiScope system as well as a complete selection of Digiscoping Eyepieces, attachments and adapters to marry its highly popular Nikon COOLPIX digital and Digital SLR cameras to its line of Fieldscopes/Spotting scopes.

The Nikon DigiScope line brings together Nikon’s renowned prowess in the digital camera world with its tradition of excellence in the sport optics field. The result is a Digiscoping system that is simple, easy-to-use and precision-engineered for optimal results.

Just What Is Digiscoping?

By marrying the magnification of a Fieldscope to the imaging capability of a Nikon digital camera, nature enthusiasts can capture their distant sightings much more easily than through the use of long, heavy, unwieldy telephoto lenses. On average, a Nikon Digiscoping system is one-third the weight of an SLR/super telephoto lens. Even better, a Nikon Digiscoping system costs a mere fraction of a traditional set-up.

With a Nikon DigiScope, you can achieve magnification of images up to the equivalent of a 3420mm zoom lens on a 35mm camera. A Super-telephoto lens (600mm) with a 2x teleconverter for an SLR camera would give you only 1200mm, but at a prohibitive price and significantly more weight.

Imagine The Possibilities On Your Next Outing!

Whether it’s a birding trip of a lifetime with several life-list hopefuls on the line or a nature-watching family vacation at one of our national parks, seeing that special bird or animal is great, but seeing it and taking a close-up digital picture makes it an unforgettable and enduring memory.

Quick Start to Digiscoping

NIKON COOLPIX Digital Camera

1 – Thread Digiscoping Eyepiece into Fieldscope body

Our digiscoping eyepieces will function on all of of Fieldscopes (50mm, 60mm, and 82mm)

2 – Attach digiscoping camera bracket to digital camera with thumb screw (bracket attaches in camera’s tripod socket)

3 – Attach camera/bracket assembly to Digiscoping Eyepiece. Mount assembled Nikon DigiScope to tripod, using Fieldscope body tripod socket

NIKON Digital SLR Camera

1 – Detach eyepiece from Nikon Fieldscope

2 – Attach Fieldscope Digital SLR Attachment (FSA-L1) to Fieldscope eyepiece mount

3 – Thread Nikon DSLR to the FSA-L1 and begin shooting!

Tips For Better Digiscoping

Mike Freiberg – Nikon Birding Professional

Know your camera.
Make sure you can operate the camera quickly and competently. Practice in a controlled setting is the best way to ensure an intimate knowledge about your set-up.

Know your subject.
Put yourself in the right place at the right time.

Learn to use photo-editing software.
Nikon Picture Project is a great first step, but products like Adobe Photoshop (Elements and Lightroom) can work wonders, too.

Be prepared.
Carry an extra battery and lots of memory in a camera bag that fits the camera, bracket and cable release totally assembled.

Practice focusing.
Focus roughly with the scope then let the camera’s auto focus do the rest. If still not sharp, refocus with the scope while holding the shutter release halfway down.

Practice sighting the subject.
When first starting out, find the subject in the scope first and then attach the camera. With more experience you will be able to pick up most images through the LCD screen only.

Control camera shake.
Use a very steady aluminum or carbon fiber tripod and try bracing it by holding down on the head to eliminate small vibrations. Using the wide-angle setting on the camera also minimizes shake

Cameron Cox – Nikon Birding Professional

Stay low
Always attempt to keep the center column of your tripod down when digiscoping. Raising the center column creates far more image-softening vibration than raising the tripod legs an equal distance.

Recognize Opportunity
Always be on the lookout for the perfect combination of light, proximity to the subject, background, etc. Developing a feel for the capabilities of your equipment is the first step toward distinguishing between a good photo and a great one

Take Lots of Shots
With no film to develop why not take a few extra photos? Try to take a minimum of 10 photos of any subject that will cooperate long enough to do so. Once several quality photos have been taken, try experimenting with additional camera settings.

Easy on the Zoom
A common digiscoping mistake is over-use of the zoom. Unfortunately, there tends to be an inverse relationship between zoom and photo sharpness. More zoom equals softer images almost all the time. Also, using less power allows you to take advantage of the background by showing the subject within a habitat to create the classic portrait shot.

Close the Distance
Despite the extreme high power that digiscoping affords, being closer will always create better photos. A little field craft can go a long way to solve this problem. Start by not charging right at the subject, instead move forward at an angle that brings you closer without moving directly at it. Additionally, moving slowly, using available cover, staying low, and not looking directly at the subject. With practice, these tips will greatly increase your chance of approaching close enough for a great shot.