Whales and Dolphins can be unpredictable. One moment they are nearby. They dive out of sight for minutes at a time and surface far away. A few minutes later they may be back again. So one of the handiest items you can take on your whale watching trip is a pair of binoculars.

At first, the wide variety of styles and types will be daunting. So here are a few tips to consider. First, lets look at how binoculars are rated. You'll see them listed as 7x35, 7x50, 8x20, etc. That's simply a shorthand way of telling you how close you can see (the magnification) and how big their lenses are. The first part of the number, for example, the '7x' in '7x35' tells your the magnification. In this case, an object will appear seven times larger, or closer, than you can see with your own eyes. The second number ('35' in this example) is the size of the front lens in millimeters.

Most people think that the higher the magnification the better you will see. But that's not true on a boat which is moving. When you go over 10x (10 times larger than you can ordinarily see) the motion of the boat makes it very difficult to see a whale or dolphin. The image jumps around too much for comfortable viewing. So, most binoculars used on boats are 7x or 8x magnification.

Next comes lens size. The bigger the lens, the more light it lets in. Bigger lenses are good for seeing in very dim lighting conditions - like at dawn or dusk. But your whale watching trip will be in full daylight so this number is of lesser importance. A lens size of 25mm to 35mm should be ideal for whalewatching (and for most other activities on land, too!)

Next comes the 'style'. Today you can get 'FULL' sized binoculars, and 'COMPACT' models. The choice here is basically size. Full sizes generally provide better images, but compacts have the advantage of fitting easily into your pocket - ready for quick use.

Other features to look for are:

• COATED OPTICS - these are anti-reflection coatings on the lenses which make them look green, blue or orange when held at certain angles. Coated lenses produce better images than uncoated ones.
  
  
• FIELD OF VIEW or WIDE ANGLE - The larger the angle or filed of view the more pleasing the image, and the greater the area that you can see.

For best quality, it's best to choose a brand name. Meade and Celestron are well known for their quality telescope optics as well as for fine binoculars. Models from Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Vivitar and others are excellent as well.

If this is your first pair of binoculars, you might want to try a low cost bargain brand. These give good results but at prices that start at about $20.

But whatever your price range, DO take a pair along on your whale watching trip. It will add substantially to your experience. Have a look at our shop for a wide selection at all price levels.

TELESCOPES

And, one final comment has to do with watching whales from land. There are many places in the world that have excellent whalewatching from the shore - sometimes even from a hotel window! Consider taking along a telescope for even better views.

You don't need one with super magnification, in fact, I'd suggest one that has about 20x magnification, or better yet one with a ZOOM lens. Don't go for telescopes that are over 50x magnification. And MAKE SURE you choose a telescope that is meant for viewing on land. These are often called 'spotting scopes'. Many telescopes sold for astronomical or skywatching purposes invert the image. So if you try to look at a distant whale (or passing boat) it will be upside down!! Upside down isn't very important in astronomy, but you certainly don't want that in a land telescope. So check the detailed description, or ask before you buy.