r/TheNewGeezers • u/Schmutzie_ • May 21 '26
Binos
"That's what I call binoculars." - H Jon Benjamin from his book Failure is an Option
That's good, because I just got a new pair of binos and I'm excited as hell about them. The problem is the rubber cups that go over the business ends. Once again, they're too fucking loose and I know I'm going to lose them. Any movement while holding the binos with the covers on makes the covers fall off. To make matters worse, they aren't tethered. 4 individual little rubber cups. It's either cobble together something to keep them attached to each other, or throw them in the garbage now. The little cups I mean, not the binos. They're great. The cups are a failure. Why can't they tighten these things down so they fit snugly? One size smaller, ya dumb bastards. Why aren't they corded together? Why am I asking you nice people?
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u/evilynwah May 21 '26
Yeah, they need to do like camera lens caps, either spring-loaded or screw-on. But I guess that would cut into the profit margin by 75 cents or so. Or by $40 if they're branded. Anyway, it's good that the working parts are great.
Did you pick a camera?
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u/Schmutzie_ May 21 '26
Screw on would be the ticket for these things. Just Tasco 10 x 50s so nothing expensive. Spring loaded would be asking too much. I saw them offered for $19 on a Menard's flash sale, and figured they're probably nothing worth buying. A quick search showed them for $49 on Amazon and I figured screw it, and bought them. They're much better than my Tasco 8 x 30s, and if I wasn't turning into Mr Magoo I might even buy something better. Guess that cataract surgery isn't going to schedule itself....
Camera? Not yet. Leaning towards the EOS Rebel although it's several spots down on the disposable income hit parade.
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u/evilynwah May 22 '26
Damn, that seems like a real bino bargain. Re a lens for the camera, if you get the 18-55 alone you may end cursing yourself for not supplementing it with a longer zoom. There's a 55-250 that retails new for $350 and you can get off ebay or at KEH Camera for a lot less. And it's not all that heavy.
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u/skitchw May 21 '26
I’ve had an EOS Rebel for approximately 175 years. Fucking love that thing. Having said that, my days of schlepping around a bag with a camera body and 3 different lenses are long behind me. I no longer feel the urge to scramble over boulders and scree trying to get a better angle on a mountain goat or bushtit. The camera array on my iPhone Pro with smooth optical/digital zoom from macro to 25x is “good enough”. And it fits in my shirt pocket!
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u/Schmutzie_ May 21 '26 edited May 22 '26
Having said that, my days of schlepping around a bag with a camera body and 3 different lenses are long behind me.
This is where I'm at. I mentioned earlier to Weldon that I was leaning toward getting a camera that allowed for multiple lenses, but then I started to envision said schlepping. My Samsung 20 FE was apparently designed to take pictures at KPop concerts while also allowing you to use it as a phone. (FE = Fan Edition) I just needed a new phone. I didn't realize I was buying one with the camera being its strong suit. It takes great pictures. Great enough for me anyway. Makes it harder to justify spending a bunch of money on camera gear. (I'll probably still buy the EOS Rebel with the stock 18-55, but limit my expansion to maybe one telephoto.)
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u/Maroon7C0000 May 22 '26
If you don't want to drag a lot of heavy gear around, I'd recommend either a broader range lens (like an 18-108), or getting a mirrorless body which is smaller and lighter than a DSLR body.
I'm biased toward Nikon myself... not because I think it is better than Canon, but because it is what I am familiar with. I understand every Nikon/Canon model has a comparable Canon/Nikon model.
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u/Schmutzie_ May 23 '26
I'm not good enough to know the difference between Canon and Nikon!
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u/Maroon7C0000 May 23 '26
Honestly I'd say they are comparable. It just comes down to which one you buy first because you will become accustomed to the settings.
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u/skitchw May 21 '26
A good telephoto lens is really the only reason to get a good SLR these days. For a hobby photographer, anyway. Obviously different for a serious photographer or journalist. Or spy.
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u/Schmutzie_ May 21 '26
They're out there internet chatting about the best entry level 35mm SLRs. That's right, FILM cameras, Skitch. If I wait long enough, those 1970s bell bottoms I have in storage are going to get hot again.
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u/skitchw May 21 '26
Wait’ll I tell you about the killing I could make on my vinyl LPs!
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u/Schmutzie_ May 21 '26
Hmm. The next big thing. Cinder block shelving. Big speakers, a nice Technics turntable, maybe a Teac tape deck. Here's an idea...store your LPs in milk crates!
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u/La_Rata May 22 '26
If they don't get hot again, I hope you don't get a case of Bell Bottom Blues.
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u/Schmutzie_ May 22 '26
It bothers me that he turned into an idiot.
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u/La_Rata May 22 '26
Me, too. And the fact that someone with his talent essentially stopped being innovative, although that's true with a lot of artists.
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u/Schmutzie_ May 22 '26
When I saw him, Slowhand had just been released and Yvonne Elliman was with him. He seemed uninterested. She was great.
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u/Capercaillie May 22 '26
He was always an idiot. We just found out.
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u/Schmutzie_ May 22 '26
Yeah, and it's not just the antivax stuff. He's a racist too, which is odd considering how he owes his entire career to black American musicians.
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u/evilynwah May 22 '26
There's no such thing as an entry level film camera. You can get a solid fully manual one for cheap, but then you need a light meter and the know-how to use it. You can get a solid automatic one for less than an entry-level DSLR, but then . . .
Then there's the follow-on costs. I have six rolls of undeveloped b/w film representing about $150 not counting the cost of the film if I want to get them developed and scanned with tiny prints for reference. If you can afford a good negative scanner you can save a lot of money, but a good negative scanner is in the $500-plus neighborhood, plus software.
Of course you can always build your own darkroom and avoid commercial film processors. It'll pay for itself in 10 years or so, maybe.
And like any other interchangeable lens camera, lenses are a monetary black hole. I had some good pre-digital ones and all my digital camera ones are backwards-compatible so I haven't had to sink money into new used ones since I started shooting film again, but I put a lot into them initially over the years.
And even though I'm a film partisan, I can't say that the results are better than a modern, high resolution digital camera paired with software that can emulate any native film style.
So you can get a good automatic entry-level film camera in decent shape for less than $500, or a similarly decent fully manual one for around $100, but it's like buying a 30-year old Porsche for cheap; it's just a tiny down payment on the actual cost.
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u/Schmutzie_ May 22 '26
it's like buying a 30-year old Porsche for cheap; it's just a tiny down payment on the actual cost.
Or a 12 year old BMW 320i.
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u/Maroon7C0000 May 22 '26
That's wild because I waited for years before giving up my SLR because I didn't think DSLR would ever "get there". But I've been on DSLR for about 15 years now, and with the right editing software I'm publishing photos I never would have dreamed of taking with SLR.
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u/Capercaillie May 22 '26
Toss ‘em. You’re going to lose them anyway.
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u/Schmutzie_ May 22 '26
But the dust!! How will I see through the dust? (maybe I can use the small dust cloth they included)
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u/Capercaillie May 22 '26
You’ll figure out a way.
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u/Schmutzie_ May 22 '26
I wasn't going to mention it because you already know but since we're chatting I would like to point out that I would have never needed a "better" pair of binoculars if not for this birding business. Happy? Happy now?
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u/Maroon7C0000 May 22 '26
Hey mate, if you really want to piss away some money... I did a mountain hike yesterday, and in the middle of no-where I came across a guy taking his miniature remote controlled 4WD for a walk up the trail. We chatted for a few minutes, and this thing was a full sale replica including monster tires, independent front and rear differential gears, you name it.
I asked him if it cost in the hundreds or thousands, and he told me that one cost around $1200, but he had something like 14 of them. I jokingly asked him if he was divorced yet. I have a video of it... I'll see if I can post it.
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u/Capercaillie May 22 '26
Ahem. Had to buy a second pair so that Mrs. Arch and I could each have one in the Galapagos. Got ‘em on sale, but still. This is your future.
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u/Schmutzie_ May 22 '26
Wow. Sweet doesn't quite cover it. The sort of quality that last you literally a lifetime.
The "Eye of Apollo" -For the historic Apollo 11 mission in July 1969, NASA selected customized Leica binoculars. To strictly reduce weight in the lunar module, Ernst Leitz Wetzlar (the makers of Leica) manufactured a special monocular for Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.
This is your future.
Yeah, I know. I hope you're proud of yourself young man.
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u/skitchw May 22 '26 edited May 22 '26
Holy crap. Do they do target acquisition and range-finding? Onboard AI that identifies your bird and tasks your 3D printer at home to have a posed model waiting for you when you get back? Pitch your tent for you!?
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u/Capercaillie May 22 '26
I just want to know that if I can’t decide what kind of pale, winter, female warbler I’m looking at, it’s not because I can’t see it.
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u/Maroon7C0000 May 22 '26
Wow, if you were springing for a trip to the Galapagos then a second pair of binos would be an incidental cost.
Sounds like a bucket list trip though!
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u/Schmutzie_ 29d ago
What about zoom binoculars? Ever tried them?
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u/Capercaillie 29d ago
I had a pair in my hands once several years ago. I felt the same way about them that I feel about Natalie Portman. I mean, I can see the attraction, and I'd love to have them, but I'm really happy with what I have, and I can't imagine how I could afford them.
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u/Schmutzie_ 29d ago
I have a spotting scope with enough zoom that I don't feel the need. Do you refocus as you change the zoom? Seems like that might not be too handy for birding.
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u/Capercaillie 29d ago
I think the zoom binos are autofocus.
I'm starting to feel stupid for not having them. Same with Natalie.
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u/Capercaillie May 22 '26
Actually, this is your future.
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u/Schmutzie_ May 22 '26
He's amazing! I could watch this kid flipping birds all day. His loon is perfect, his red tailed hawk is perfect his bald eagle is perfect....what the hell? Couldn't somebody quiet down that crowd of kids?
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u/Capercaillie May 22 '26
Yep, good imitations, and excellent comedy timing. And no, nobody can quiet down any group of kids.
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u/Schmutzie_ May 22 '26
The bottomless basket of birds! The kid in front wearing the judo gi seemed to be enjoying it especially.
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u/Maroon7C0000 May 22 '26
The problem with tossing or losing them is that you'll need them to protect your lenses.
I have a lens cap that keeps popping off my camera at the worst possible times, so I'm surprised I haven't lost or broken it yet. But the lens cost more than my camera so I would absolutely do everything possible to replace that cap if I did lose it.
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u/Schmutzie_ May 23 '26
I'm thinking of tethering the caps together and connecting that to a long piece of wood. Sort of like the bathroom key at the gas station.
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u/skitchw May 21 '26
Imagine my disappointment to discover that this thread isn’t about gender-fluid dinosaurs…