Binoculars for butterflies (and other bugs)

DQE · Post by **DQE** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 11:09 am

I just acquired a new pair of binoculars, especially designed for viewing things like butterflies, hummingbirds, and other small things. Although I bought it primarily for normal uses such as hiking, casual birding, etc, its close-up capabilities may be of interest.

The binocular description is the Pentax Papilio 8.5x21 Bak4 Porro Prism Binocular, and the (to me) most unusual feature is that it can focus so much closer than ordinary binoculars.

A front lens element moves in and out as one focuses. One can easily see the substantial movement by peering into the front of the binoculars while moving the center focusing wheel, and the mechanism is protected by a recessed glass plate. The right eyepiece is individually adjustable for diopter correction.

Some published optical specs are:

Objective Lens - 2 elements in 1 group Eyepiece Lens - 5 elements in 5 groups Magnification - 8.5X / Objective Lens Diameter - 21mm Field of View - Real - 6.0 degrees /Apparent - 51 degrees / Field Of View At 1000 Meters - 105m / Field of View at 1000 yards - 315 ft. Diopter Adjustment Range - +/- 4 m -1

The stated exit pupil is 2.5mm, and eye relief is 15mm.

Dimensions are:

116mm x 110mm x 55mm (4.6" x 4.3" x 2.2")

Weight: 290g (10.2 oz.)

By my own casual measurements, at the closest viewing distance of 19 inches (measured from the front of the binoculars), my field of view was about 2 inches. At 40 inches (1 meter), my field of view was 4 inches (100 mm). It's a somewhat strange feeling to look at bugs from such distances, and may be worthwhile for various purposes.

It's a somewhat strange experience to stand back 20-40 inches and to be able to see bugs and so forth fairly close-up. I think it's going to be useful for studying the behavior of bugs without moving in so close as to frighten them away. In some cases, given my poor stalking abilities, this will be the only way I can see creatures such as dragonflies reasonably close-up. Having stereo vision via binoculars also adds to one's enjoyment for casual bug-watching.

With a somewhat small exit pupil, one has to align the binoculars a little carefully with one's own pupils in bright sunlight, but I found that once I set the width between the eyepieces to the correct distance for my eyes, it was quite easy to brace the binoculars against my eyebrows and eyeglasses, and thus the viewing field became quite stable for me. YMMV, of course.

The Pentax specs web page is here:

http://www.pentaxwebstore.com/product_d ... +PAP+85x21

They also make a lower magnification (6.5x by 21mm) version of these binoculars, which some might find easier to handhold and to keep aligned, etc. I'm personally happy with the higher magnification and since they will be used for multiple purposes, I very much prefer the greater magnification of my model.

I read a web article that claimed one can take casual photos through these binoculars, with a P&S camera placed against an eyepiece. A tripod mount is available, but I haven't tried photography yet.

The combination of light weight, smoothly operating controls, subjectively good image quality and exceptionally close focusing makes this an interesting addition to my excessive bug photography and casual hiking equipment list.

My purchase price at Amazon (USA) was about $100 including shipping.

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 12:04 pm

8.5X at 19" is a seriously impressive specification!

Is anybody aware of other binoculars that compete with these??

--Rik

dmillard · Post by **dmillard** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 12:15 pm

See this post here. I still enjoy the 6.5X Pentax Papilios - a little less magnification, but a greater field of view for rapidly moving creatures.

David

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 12:40 pm

David, thanks for the link to that earlier thread. I remember it now, but had completely forgotten it until you mentioned. I've ordered the 8.5X, just in time for summer field trips...

--Rik

DQE · Post by **DQE** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 7:13 pm

dmillard wrote:See this post here. I still enjoy the 6.5X Pentax Papilios - a little less magnification, but a greater field of view for rapidly moving creatures.

David

Thanks for the link to the prior thread and reviews.

I suspect that somehow I failed to read the prior thread since it's just the kind of thing that would have been of considerable interest to me. The original post's timing was coincident with a visit by my grandchildren, and my best guess is that I didn't go back to read the posts I missed during that week.

More to the point, I should have searched for the keyword "Papilio" - such a simple search easily finds the prior thread!

Should this thread be merged into the prior thread or perhaps just deleted?

Charles Krebs · Post by **Charles Krebs** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 7:33 pm

Phil,

Should this thread be merged into the prior thread or perhaps just deleted?

I say let it run. These binoculars are such a treat to use (for those of us that like small things) that it won't hurt to make more people aware of them. You describe them nicely.

Ancient1 · Post by **Ancient1** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 12:16 pm

Reading this thread reminded me of a long working distance microscope that I built once using a monocular and close-up lens. Having both items within reach of my desk, I decided to perform a simple experiment. The monocular is 8X21. I attached (held) each of +1, +2 and +4 diopter close-up lenses directly in front of the monocular objective lens. Actually, the size was right, but wrong threads to screw in. Oh well... I used my LCD monitor for a test pattern and recorded the following crude measurements. They could be off by +/- 25%, but serve to demonstrate the method. The resulting image, looking through the monocular/close-up lens is excellent. The magnifications and working distances are approximately as follows.

Diop. Mag. Dist.
+1X 4X 40"
+2 8X 20"
+4 12X 12"

Perhaps a simple set of cheap close-up lenses can be attached to a pair of binocs to enable inexpensive close-up viewing of the small world. I'm anxious to try this on my Nikon 10X70s, but will have to find some large close-up lenses. To carry this to the extreme, how about a pair of Raynox lenses?

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 1:09 pm

Ancient1 wrote:Reading this thread reminded me of a long working distance microscope that I built once using a monocular and close-up lens.
...
Perhaps a simple set of cheap close-up lenses can be attached to a pair of binocs to enable inexpensive close-up viewing of the small world. I'm anxious to try this on my Nikon 10X70s, but will have to find some large close-up lenses. To carry this to the extreme, how about a pair of Raynox lenses?

The problem doing this with binoculars is that at close distance you get progressively worse misalignment between the two sides. Stick +2's in front of 8X binoculars and you'll be looking at about 3" fields that are only overlapped a little in the middle, maybe none at all depending on spacing of the objectives. The Papilio's are specifically designed to stay converged as they focus closer -- very cool engineering.

--Rik

Ancient1 · Post by **Ancient1** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 1:55 pm

Rik,

That should have been immediately obvious to me, having performed collimation on binoculars in the past. In any case, the monocular solution is cheap and dirty. I have already committed the aforementioned monocular and close-up lens to make a handy, very compact, bug viewer. Overall size will be about 4.5" long by 1.25" diameter and still fits into its belt case.

Gene

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 2:37 pm

Gene, I just figured I'd save somebody else the trouble of going down a non-productive path. The difficulty would have occurred to you the instant you saw it, if not earlier. But somebody else with less experience could easily have wrestled with it for a long time before finally figuring out the underlying problem. I've done that sort of thing many times -- wrestled for a long time before understanding the underlying problem -- and I always find the experience to have been very educational but not efficient.

--Rik

DQE · Post by **DQE** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 4:58 pm

Rik,

(and any others who decide to buy the Papilio binoculars...)

There is a $20 rebate coupon at the Pentax site for these binoculars, if I'm reading it correctly:

http://www.pentaxwebstore.com/pdf/PENTA ... E_2011.pdf

Save your packaging and receipts, etc...I wish I had noticed this rebate before I threw out my packing/UPC codes...

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 5:24 pm

Phil, that's very nice. How did you find out about the rebate?

--Rik

DQE · Post by **DQE** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 8:25 am

rjlittlefield wrote:Phil, that's very nice. How did you find out about the rebate?

--Rik

Rik,

I checked my browser history and figured out that my random walk to finding this rebate happened when I Googled the keywords Pentax Papilio.

One of the links was to the Pentax online store's page for this unit, where I decided to look "one more time" for a link to more technical info, my original search interest:

http://www.pentaxwebstore.com/product_d ... +PAP+85x21

I then noticed a link at the above page to "view offer details", and it turned out to be a PDF of the rebate instructions.

Thus, I was actually just Googling for more technical info about how these unusual binoculars work, applications, etc.

I *know* I saw a cross-section of the optical design and some additional technical info somewhere, but I can't easily find it now...

The short answer: finding the rebate page was pure chance, and I'm glad that others can benefit.

My partner has decided to buy a pair of these binoculars for herself, as we both enjoy bugs and bug photography, so at least she'll be able to get the rebate. These things really are fun to use. It's as if one has become a bug and can zoom around in 3-D within the plants as a miniature being. I am very near-sighted, and if I take my glasses off, I can see very close-up but I have to move in very close to the bugs and this often scares them away. With these binoculars, I can sit or stand and easily view the bugs from a distance that is much more comfortable as a viewer and that is also less disruptive for the bugs. It continues to remind me of looking in a stereo dissecting microscope, etc.

Now if they would only build in a good digital camera sensor, and allow us to function as the birding crowd does with their digitized spotting scopes...

DQE · Post by **DQE** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 8:31 am

There's an interesting discussion of the Papilio binoculars at this birding forum, linked below.

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=67896

As one might expect, some of these birding enthusiasts are also ultra-high-quality binocular enthusiasts, and I found many of their comments interesting as well as informative.

lauriek · Post by **lauriek** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 9:44 am

Thanks chaps you've reminded me I never got round to getting a pair of these, more for the wishlist! Now I just have to decide whether to get the 6.5x or the 8x...