FreeLists / va-richmond-general / [va-richmond-general] article in the NYT on rating binoculars with cameras for birdwatching

["Kathy Kreutzer" <k-kreutzer@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

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 March 24, 2005STATE OF THE ART 

Sizing Up a New Species: Camera-Binoculars

By DAVID
<http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?ppds=bylL&v1=DAVID%20POGUE&fdq=19
960101&td=sysdate&sort=newest&ac=DAVID%20POGUE&inline=nyt-per> POGUE 

        

 W <http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/dropcap/w.gif> HY do
bird-watchers get up so early? 

Yeah, yeah - that's when the birds are the most active, sure. But there
may be another reason: if the bird-watchers in your family are the only
ones in the field by 5 a.m., who could doubt their claim to have seen
the elusive bittern, siskin, shrike or blue-footed booby?

After all, bird-watching is an intensely private affair. It's just you
and your binoculars. Nobody else sees what you're seeing. And once
you've seen it, nobody else ever will.

Or at least that's how it used to be, before the invention of binoculars
with built-in digital cameras. The appeal to bird-watchers should be
obvious: not only can you prove your sightings, but you can also bring
home photos or digital movies in search of second opinions or
comparisons with your stack of field guides. And it's not just
bird-watching; these hybrid gadgets should also appeal to anyone who
takes binoculars to sporting events, concerts, the opera and so on.

(Apparently, the proper term is binocular, singular, as in,
"Congratulations on the purchase of your new digital binocular." But
frankly, that's just as pretentious as barbers who refer to a "quality
scissor" or sales clerks at department stores who praise khakis as "a
superior pant.")

Now, the idea of camera-binoculars makes obvious, satisfying sense; as
hybrid gadgets go, they rank right up there with the clock radio and the
toaster oven. You should be warned, though, that the majority of digital
binocs sold through catalogs in the $50 to $80 range are no-name models
that take camera-phone-quality 640-by-480-pixel photos. If you really
did see a buff-bellied pipit on your roof, you'd be better off drawing
it with crayons.

Fortunately, some of the big-name binocular makers have taken this
category more seriously. The four models they submitted for review - the
Bushnell Instant Replay and Compact Instant Replay, the Celestron
VistaPix and the Meade CaptureView CV-4 - are excellent binoculars in
the $160 to $425 range.

As for the digital photo part - well, you get the distinct impression
that these sporting equipment companies are still a little new at the
game. The photo resolution is fairly low: two or three megapixels,
suitable for 8-by-10 prints at best. A lot of typical digital camera
features are missing, too, including optical zoom, rechargeable
batteries and flash (not that a flash would be useful at 100 feet).
These are fixed-focus cameras, too.

Most alarming of all, the photo quality on some of these models ranges
from mediocre - too many shots wind up blurry, a casualty of the camera
shake that results from such powerful magnification - to worthless,
especially when indoors and in twilight. If you're used to real digital
cameras, your disappointment in the results will range from mild to
hysterical. More on this topic in a moment (and at
http://www.nytimes.com/circuits
<http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2005/03/23/technology/24stat_SLIDESHOW
_index.html> , where you can see some sample shots).

All four models are ruggedly built and offer 8X magnification. All four
let you turn on the camera portion independently (the binocs always
work). All four take AA or AAA batteries, and munch through them in less
than an afternoon. All four come with a carrying case, straps and a
cable for showing your photos on a TV. All can easily transfer photos
and movies to a Windows computer (described in the manuals) and Mac OS X
(not mentioned).

All but the Celestron can also film away as you watch, then store a
digital movie - at the touch of a button - of only the last 10 or 20
seconds. This feature, called Instant Replay or Flashback, is so useful
that it ought to make its way into digital cameras and camcorders.

What's so smart about the idea is that it perfectly suits the kinds of
situations for which you use binoculars. Waiting for that dark-eyed
junco to emerge from its hole? Instant Replay throws away all the boring
waiting-around footage and retains only the magic moment. Tracking your
child on the soccer field? Tap the button to retain only the goal-making
part. Not sure when your youngster's name will be called to collect the
diploma or karate trophy? Start filming when the last names approach
yours alphabetically; you'll store only the truly important one. 

This is a new product category, so there's no standard definition of a
digi-binoc. It's downright charming to see how differently these
companies have dreamed up their takes on the same task. 

The most oddball model, for sure, is the Meade CaptureView CV-4 8x30
(about $180), a two-megapixel model that in May will be joined by the
3.2-megapixel CV-6 with what the company says is improved low-light
sensitivity. (The first number of specs for binoculars, the 8 here,
indicates the degree of magnification. The second, 30, is the diameter
of each lens; higher numbers mean a brighter image. As for the prices
cited here: they come from Amazon.com
<http://www.nytimes.com/redirect/marketwatch/redirect.ctx?MW=http://cust
om.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp&symb=AMZN> ,
shopper.com <http://shopper.com/>  and www.bhphoto.com
<http://www.bhphoto.com/> . Cam-binocs are such a new category that it's
hard to find them all on any one price-comparison site.)

Some of the Meade's eccentricities are extremely desirable. For example,
it's the only waterproof model in this roundup. And when you connect the
U.S.B. cable to your Mac or PC, the camera draws all its power from the
computer instead of draining the batteries. (How do you know this?
Because the flap that reveals the U.S.B. connector is also the top of
the battery compartment, and opening it pulls the upper contacts away
from the batteries.)

Other quirks are less delightful. The Meade's binocular focus knob, for
example, is on the underside, where it's difficult to reach. All four
models feature a tiny (1.5 inches) liquid-crystal display screen that
lets you frame and play back your photos, but the Meade's screen is the
only one that doesn't pop up. It lies flat on the upper surface of the
binoculars (for waterproofness, says the company). To see the screen,
you have to turn the binocs 90 degrees, pointing at the sky. So much for
the yellow-rumped warbler you were trying to photograph on your suet
feeder.

The two-megapixel Celestron VistaPix 8x32 (around $160) has its ups and
downs, too. It has separate, dedicated Photo and Movie buttons, which is
more important than you might imagine; as the rare red-flanked bluetail
alights on a fence post, the last thing you want to do is waste time
burrowing into the menus to switch from movie mode to photo mode. (The
Bushnell Instant Replay offers this feature, too.)

On the other hand, the Celestron's eyecups extend only slightly behind
the hard plastic body, meaning almost certain bruising for any but the
most plastic-surged noses. And the Celestron's status as the least
expensive model is clearly evident when you look at the fruits of its
circuitry. The low-light photos are disastrous, and the movies have all
the clarity of that old "Bigfoot in the forest" film. 

Bushnell's three-megapixel Instant Replay 8x32 model ($425) is big,
black and military-looking. In the binocular department, it blows away
its competition: the binocular image is the biggest and the brightest,
focusing is easy and precise, and the controls are cleanly designed. 

Moreover, this is the only model whose camera sensor records exactly
what the binoculars see; on the other models, the camera has its own
separate lens, so the photos may not match exactly what you saw. 

Too bad about the photo and video part. The image quality is just so-so,
both in the photos and on the pop-up screen; the manual's suggestion
that you use the coarse, washed-out L.C.D. for focusing makes you
mutter, "Easy for you to say."

Clearly, Bushnell is capable of doing better, though, because its newer,
smaller Compact Instant Replay (also called the ImageView) gets almost
everything right. The screen is bright and sharp, and the 3.1-megapixel
photos are nothing to be ashamed of, tying the Meade for best of breed. 

These are also the only binoculars that can take TV-quality movies (640
by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second), which is state of the art even by
digital camera standards. Too bad you have to burrow into a menu to
switch from movie to photo mode, but at least the menus are big, bold
and easy to navigate. And the price - $220 from stores like cabelas.com
<http://cabelas.com/>  - is right.

Now, camera enthusiasts may be snickering already. "Three megapixels?
Grainy photos? 8X zoom? Why, my regular digital camera takes
five-megapixel photos that look sensational - and it's got a 10X zoom
lens! Why would I buy a wannabe like these binoculars?"

There's some merit in that argument (if you ignore the fact that digital
cameras with 7X to 10X zooms cost a lot more). But just as you wouldn't
want a pair of binoculars as your sole recording instrument at a family
reunion, so you wouldn't want to use a digital camera for
minutes-at-a-time watching. That's something that binoculars - with
their big, bright, rubber-lined eyepieces - make comfortable and
effective. 

And now, thanks to the integration of basic digital photo features, you
can do more with these binocs than sit out in the bushes for hours at a
time while the sun comes up. At last, you can bring home proof of what
you've been up to.

E-mail: Pogue@xxxxxxxxxxx




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