jamie-mcpherson-binoculars Jamie McPherson On Leica Binoculars

 

Jamie McPhersonJamie McPherson is a wildlife documentary cameraman, producer and director and has worked on may landmark series and films including The Hunt, Planet Earth and most recently Netflix’ Our Planet. He reviews his trusted pair of Leica binoculars for Wildfoot travel notes.

I have been lucky enough to own a pair of Leica binoculars since the age of 20 and they are a vital piece of kit for my work. I’m a wildlife cameraman, but the first step in filming any animal is to find it in the first place, so I spend hours searching for wildlife in a variety of environments all over the world. My first pair of binoculars were the Leica Ultravid 8×32, which were fantastic as a lightweight option with excellent image clarity. I think they would have lasted forever as they were really well made and tough but sadly, they were the victim of an incident with a polar bear and are now sitting under the sea ice in the arctic.

I replaced my lost pair of binoculars with the Ultravid 10×42 which gives me slightly more magnification but are still lightweight and robust. Although I have added the Leica floating carry strap to this pair to ensure that they remain on the surface!

I’ve used my binoculars to find everything from polar bears in the Arctic to wild dogs in Africa, tigers in India and Orca in the Antarctic; last year they travelled with me to six continents. For anyone looking to travel to see wildlife, binoculars are an essential accessory that can make a substantial difference to the holiday experience.

At £2,000 the Leica Ultravid HD-Plus 10×42 may be expensive but it’s an investment worth making as they will hopefully be with you for life…As long as you don’t have a run in with a Polar Bear!

To follow Jamie and his expeditions around the world go to @JamieMcPherson on twitter and Byjamiemcpherson on Instagram or visit www.jamiemcpherson.com