Monocular ?????

[Aunt Phil]

OK, so I'm a  complete dummy when it comes to distance viewing machinery, got that stated real easy.

I'm looking into getting a birthday present for a friend who has taken up raptor watching etc in her retirement.  She has binoculars presently and wears glasses, varifocal variety.  The binoculars are large & not convenient to the intended use because of size & weight.

Reason for the monocular device, she only has vision in one eye.  Also it would be more convenient assuming something small exists that could hang conveniently around her neck. 

I'm presuming such a device could be handled effectively by a lady who is lets say not easily interfaced to SLR cameras to the degree she uses the screen viewfinder and still chops heads off.

I've been to ePay and came away frustrated.

Ideally the monocular should be hot pink, light weight, easily operable with one hand, rugged enough for field use and useful.  I'll take as many of those as I can find.

I await your enlightenment & education.

[bunger]

Are you talking about something like this ?
http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/browse/hunting-optics-spotting-scopes/_/N-1100060/Ns-MIN_SALE_PRICE?WT.mc_id=google|opt_Spotting+Scopes_general|USA&WT.srch=1&WT.tsrc=PPC&WT.z_mc_id1=43000000039361378&WTz_stype=GNU&rid=20

[Papaw]

Small, inexpensive spotting scopes are available.
http://www.amazon.com/Celestron-52238-Mini-Spotting-Scope/dp/B00150XFLU

[Dakota Woodworker]

My father only had distant vision in one eye and used a monocular as long as I can remember.  I still have his old monocular but for someone with decent vision the eye strain of looking through one lense gets a bit old.  Spotting scopes with their higher power need a tripod but are great for very distant viewing.  Binoculars or a monocular up to 10 by 50 can be hand held with very good results.  I have a pair of Swift binoculars I really like that I got through Eagle Optics for about $250 buck.  Eagle Optics let me try several different brands in my price range before I settled on the Swifts, they may have some monoculars as well or you might  try Cabellas.

[scottg]

I guess I am unclear on the parameters Phil? Is this for the prairie where she is trying to view from miles away? Or in close up brush where magnifiction is not the issue, its wide angle and quick focus? 

I don't think I have ever seen as many monoculars for sale at any given time, from featherweight necklaces to 12 pound spotting scopes.  I see about a dozen or more models under 20 bucks and plenty of higher standard models too.
 I would just get her a selection of inexpensive scopes to try first. Narrow it down to the right neighborhood and then look for a better one if needed.

 For my own local close quarters birds, I keep a miniscule 8X20 at the back door I got for like 4 bucks and its a fun little scope.  I probably have 6 pair of binoculars and several old fashioned field glasses, ok ok, some opera glasses too. heehehe Telescope, microscope, optical comparator and magnifying glasses galore. Guess I am just a little bit of an optics junkie.
 Not the egotistical "have to have the best" type.  Just a guy who looks to get what I need and doesn't want to pay more for it than I need to.  (I got a pair of antique opera glasses completely covered outside with pearl, for like 10 bucks one time :)
 
  I can't use --anything at all-- with my eyeglasses on though.
   Have to focus the scope to your eye in advance and quickly drop the specs to view.
   Putting a string on your glasses so you can just drop them away, is a help to me.
 yours Scott

[Aunt Phil]

Scott it's been decades since I was young & dumb enough to begin to think I could fathom the desires of the female human mind.  Her desires are probably unknown even to her.

The hawk & owl watching around here would probably be no more than 500 yards, and mostly within 50 yards.  I'd want the ability to mimic a SLR camera going from a wide field to tight focus on the bird rapidly, but I ain't the person who will be using it.

Then we need to factor in the birds superior skills at human watching.  Just last week a Redtail sat 20 feet away outside the window and watched her for 15 minutes after leaving another perch to grab a breakfast mouse.  The human sitting 10 feet from 3 cameras and never thought to grab 1.