Minolta Binoculars Article

The arrival of potion-focus binos (clarity at as little as 4 to 6 feet) has wickedly distracted maniacal birders; spurring a buzzing curiosity in smaller chromatic beauties-butterflies and dragonflies. These flutter-bys now enroll the expert apprentice viewshed, and add a new level of bioregional love. These are the best guides with both self-sufficient-wing and open-addition, and male and female, photos of the butterflies. (Dragonflies don't photograph as well as butterflies; dragonfly colors at times differ between photo and contents.) The guides undergo gracious-to-assume descriptions, great ecological illumination, locations for discovery, plants for the lawn, and range maps.

Binos with close focus include: Bausch & Lomb 8 X 42 and 10 X 42 Elites (actually superior binos at about $900); Cabela 8x and 10x; Celestron 8 X 42 Regals; Swift 7 X 42 Eaglets; and 10 X 42 Viceroys. Pocket binos which do not work as well in dim light, but have close focus, are Minolta 8 X 22 and 10 X 25. The latest marvelous-high binos like the Leica Trinovid (see page 24) or my favorite, the Zeiss 10 X 40, cannot focus closer than about 10 feet.