A $1,500 Pair of Featherweight Binoculars Will Make You Love Birdwatching
Because the best binoculars are ones you always have on hand.
The $1,500 Zeiss SFL 8x30 binoculars.
Photographer: Shawn Michael Jones for Bloomberg Businessweek
This time of year, the biggest stars in the sky have feathers. With the change of season, birds are on the move, and events such as Global Big Day (May 13) invite enthusiasts to spot and record them. To fully appreciate the brilliant orange plumage and white wing bars of a Baltimore oriole, a great pair of binoculars is essential.
With a strong but lightweight magnesium housing, the $1,500 Zeiss SFL 8x30 binoculars add little more bulk or weight to your everyday carry than a paperback book. They’re just shy of 5 inches per side and weigh about a pound, making them suitable for a walk or a baseball game—another chance to sight an Oriole in action. And with 90% light transmission, they even work well at twilight, when all of the most interesting creatures come out.