Tag: binoculars

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Sympathy Optics

Once the initial shock of my Parkinson’s diagnosis wore off—which admittedly was a shock that lasted at several weeks if not months—my wife began to search* for a serious upgrade to my thirty year old B&L Elite scope. Coincidence? She denies any connection whatsoever to the PD, but in no time at all the spotting scope I’d been coveting for a long, long time magically arrived at my door. Complete with matching cover and case, additions I would never have sought but which admittedly are quite handsome. “Pity optics!” I cried indecorously, whooping and hollering at first sight of the box.

So “pity optics” is a real thing? Brothers and sisters, I am here to tell you that it is! I was lucky: it’s best if the urge to fulfill the need for new glass comes on with little provocation, as it did for my wife, but If for some reason your partner has not quite come around to it yet, you might need to do a little soft nudging and subtle hinting at the crucial existence and sublime beauty of pity optics. Words are important, and pity is an ugly word, so maybe we should call them “sympathy optics.” If you’re one of the poor bastards who needs it, here’s a little primer on the topic of sympathy optics:

Sympathy Optics—the basic rules

  1. Assess the situation. First and foremost, realize that your potential for success correlates strongly with your partner’s happiness and satisfaction with your relationship. If that’s not where it needs to be, forget it—you’ve got more important fish to fry!
  2. Drop hints. The longer you have been referring to your dream setup, the better. Be careful not to overwhelm with the details; focus on how much better x would make your birding and therefore your life. Bonus points if you can relate this to hints you dropped before your PD diagnosis!
  3. Don’t be greedy. It’s OK to aspire to gear in a price range that is a stretch out of your household’s regular comfort zone for purchases, but not a huge leap outside it.
  4. Bins are an exception. It’s not at all clear that the limit above (rule #3) applies to binoculars, especially if yours look like WWII surplus.
  5. Be flexible. If you already have all the equipment you need or can handle (keeping in mind that your ability to handle that gear is melting away faster than soft-serve in July ), the “sympathy optics” impulse may, if you are lucky, be parlayed into “sympathy birding travel.” Its awkward wording belies its terrific potential. Because you’ve just got to see more birds while you still can!
  6. Be gracious. Seriously, remember your role in this—share your desires when asked but don’t micromanage the process. Your loved one wants to do something for you, to help you enjoy birding even more. The only appropriate response to such a thoughtful and generous gift is gratitude!

*RIP Eagle Optics

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PD and Binoculars

There are so many solid binocular options out there, and comparison guides for all budgets. I don’t have the time or energy to replicate those. Instead, some advice–if you are in the market for binoculars—maybe you’ve just started birding, or maybe you’re looking to upgrade—some time-tested rules apply, with a few special twists for people with Parkinson’s:

Buy the best binoculars you can afford.  This maxim of birding holds true no matter what your health status. But in particular if you have PD there’s no time like the present to improve your optics!  Replacing your old binoculars with ones that have sharper, brighter images will make birding more pleasurable in a wider variety of weather and lighting conditions, and keeping the disease in mind can help you make choices to enhance the experience.

Trade magnification for field of view and forgiveness of image. The two magic numbers in binoculars (e.g., 7×35) refer, respectively, to the magnification (power) and the size of the objective (light-gathering) lens in millimeters.  Objective lenses being equal, a lower magnification means you don’t seem to be quite as close to the bird, but as a tradeoff the image is generally brighter, and the greater field of view you may also gain is more forgiving of shakiness and helps keep an active bird in view.

If you wear eyeglasses, pay attention to “exit pupil” and “eye relief.” Even the sharpest-visioned of us may succumb to presbyopia. Eye relief is the maximum distance your eye can be from the eyepiece lens and still see the whole image–and if you wear glasses, you want that distance to be as long as possible. Exit pupil is the measurement of the width of the image coming through the eyepiece and, again, bigger is generally better.

Consider the kind of birding (and other wildlife observation) you like to do. If (in addition to birds of course) you also want to study butterflies and dragonflies, you should pay attention to close-focus distances (shorter is better). Do you need waterproof bins?  Will you be birding in very humid environments where fogging might become an issue?

Most importantly, the best bins are those that bring you happiness and that you will actually use. Consider the weight and feel of the binoculars in your hands–do they feel natural and comfortable?  With PD it is easy to become fatigued; will your bins become too tiring to hold?  Some people actually prefer heavier binoculars, since their mass serves as an inertial damper to counteract shaking and tremor.  Others prefer smaller, lighter bins that easily slip into a bag and go everywhere. With so many decisions, the choice of binoculars comes down ultimately to personal preferences.