See it, snap it

I love the idea of double-duty gadgets -- say, a blow-dryer that makes great cappuccinos. OK, maybe a better example is the ubiquitous Razr cellphone and camera. It didn’t take long for someone to figure out that binoculars and digital cameras also click. I took three models bird-watching to test the tiny pop-up cameras. In all cases, the binoculars worked fine. I thrilled to the prospect of snapping close-ups of turkey vultures and Swainson’s hawks. But by the time I focused the binoculars to sight the bird, switched to the camera screen, for a better view, reviewed the settings and clicked the button, the bird was gone. (Best to click while you’re looking through the binocs, I quickly learned.) I fared better shooting Joshua tree blossoms, which never flew away.

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MEMORY MASHER

First look: Barska’s Point ‘n View features 8-by-32 magnification binoculars with a nice grip and adjustable lenses. The 5-megapixel camera shoots magnified images and has a handy 4x zoom, an attachment spot for a tripod and a movie-shooting option. Like the other models, it comes with a USB cable and editing software to download images to a PC; Mac users use a memory card and download with a card reader.

Likes and yikes: This model was easy to use and lightweight. Two small keys mounted on the binoculars allowed me to set image size, play back images, change to movie shooting, etc. My pictures came out fine, but I found the slot for the memory card (wedged between the barrels) difficult to access. Also the camera requires a lot of juice: four AAA batteries.

The 411: $240; call or visit website for list of dealers: (888) 666-6769; www.barska.com.

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ENVELOPE PUSHER

First look: The Celestron VistaPix features 8-by-22 magnification binoculars and a 3.1-megapixel camera with a 6x zoom. Of the three models I tested, this is the only camera that shoots regular as well as magnified images. It has a mind-jamming array of options: you can shoot a movie with audio, edit and crop images, listen to its FM radio, shoot with a self-timer.

Likes and yikes: I fell in love with this short-barreled combo, which fit easily in my hand. Images were crisp with good contrast. I had a blast standing in the desert and watching a slide show of my photos playing back on the LCD screen. And the menu buttons allowed me to have fun cropping and rotating pictures. The heartbreak: Two AAA batteries drain quickly; in one day of heavy use, I changed them three times.

The 411: $250; available at B&H; ([800] 952-1815, www.bhphotovideo.com) and at www.amazon.com. For other dealers, contact Celestron at (310) 328-9560, www.celestron.com

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PATIENCE TESTER

First look: Bushnell’s Image View bino-cam has a dual-focus knob and 8-by-30 magnification for binoculars and a 3.2-megapixel camera with zoom. This two-tone gray-and-beige model shoots still pictures and video (without sound) and doesn’t have a lot of other bells and whistles, though it is tripod-ready and comes with a small shutter-release cord. Runs on two AAAs.

Likes and yikes: I wasn’t wild about this bino-cam. It was easy to use and images were sharp, but it felt as though I was shooting with the slowest shutter speed in the West. (It took awhile for each image to download each time I snapped.) The key pad and menu display were difficult to use every time I made an adjustment.

The 411: $185 at B&H; ([800] 952-1815, www.bhphotovideo.com); check with Bushnell for other dealers: (800) 221-9035 or www.bushnell.com

-- MARY E. FORGIONE