Your Complete Guide To
Understanding Binoculars
When you first start look for binoculars to buy, it sounds like such an
easy task. But after you’ve started digging into the topic,
you find there that are literally hundreds of different binoculars to
choose from. So where to you start? What binoculars
should you choose? This handy guide will help you make the
choice that is right for you.
The
best and easiest way to get started with your binocular selection is to
answer two simple questions for yourself.
·
What do I need the binoculars for?
·
How much do I want to spend?
That
was easy enough!
Before we
get started, it may be helpful for you to understand a few things about
binoculars. While you won’t get a PhD in binoculars by
reading this guide, you should come away with a much better
understanding of how these things actually work and some of the
lingo. Arming yourself with this information will be a great
help with your binocular buying decision.
Now let’s get started!
It’s
important for you to understand that the quality of the binoculars you
buy is determined exclusively by their price. Generally
speaking, the higher the price the better the optical quality will
be. It doesn’t matter whether the product is a telescope,
binoculars or a camera. The same rule applies. Ok…
now a bit of the techy stuff.
What do all
those numbers mean? Since you’ve been looking for binoculars,
you’ve probably noticed that every single binocular has a pair of
numbers by the model. Typically, it looks like
this; 7 X 50 and such. The ‘X’ used in these
numbers is pronounced “BY”. It doesn’t mean
“TIMES”. (Thought you should know that.) These
numbers can look scary but they really aren’t. The first
number (7 in this example) is simply the magnifying power of the
binoculars. To make this magnification number easier to
understand, the number 7 means that the object will appear 7 times
closer to you when you look through the binoculars than it will appear
without using the binoculars. So, if the object is 70 feet
away, using the binoculars will make the object as though it’s only 10
feet from you. Got it?
The second
number (50 in this example) is diameter of the lens in
millimeters. Why is this number important? The
purpose of all optical systems is to gather and focus light.
The lens diameter determines how much light can actually enter the
binocular. Larger Lens Diameter = More Light
Entering. More light entering the lens means that the object
you are looking at through the binoculars will appear
brighter. Just to be sure you understand this.
Larger lenses do not increase the magnifying power of
binoculars. They only make the object you are viewing appear
brighter. I won’t do the math for you here but a 2-inch
diameter lens gathers 4 times as much light as a 1-lens.
Brighter is always better! But does this mean that you should
buy binoculars with largest lenses you can find? Not
always. It depends upon what you intend to use the binoculars
for.
Here
are a few “general rules of thumb” that you can use to determine your
binocular selection. Keep in mind that these “general rules”
are just that. They will get you in the right ballpark for
your application.
| “I
want to use binoculars for…” |
Recommendations |
|
|
| Viewing
Sporting Events |
4x21,
8x25 and 10x25 wide angle, All 7x35, 10x50 and 12x50, Any binoculars
with zoom, compact binoculars from 7x to 10x. |
|
|
| General
Outdoor Use |
7x35,
8x42, 10x42 and 10x50, Most compact and wide angle binocular models |
|
|
| Live
Concerts Or Theater Performances |
5x25
and 8x25 wide angle, 4x30, 7x18 and 7x21
Compacts, Any binoculars with zoom or wide angle model. |
|
|
| Camping,
Hiking, Or Boating |
All
rubber coated, waterproof and lenses with fog resistant coatings.
7x30 – 10x50.
Compact
binoculars are favored. |
|
|
| Hunting |
All
rubber coated, waterproof and lenses with fog resistant coatings.
7x30 – 10x50 for general hunting
and 12x
or higher for long-range hunting. Compact
binoculars that fit easily in your pocket should be considered. |
|
|
| Bird
Watching |
8x42
is commonly used. If you require
greater detail, opt for 10x42, 10x50 and 12x50. Compacts
may be used also with 30mm or greater lens diameters.
Binoculars advertised with the
ability
to focus at closer range. Roof
prism binoculars are preferred. |
|
|
| Low
Light Conditions |
7x50,
10x50 or larger lenses. |
|
|
| Star
Gazing |
50mm
or much larger *Casual observers
can hold these by hand. A tripod or
other holding device is highly recommended for serious observers. |
|
Additional
Considerations:
1.
Here’s a special note for you to keep in the back of your
mind before making your ultimate purchasing decision. The
higher the binocular magnification, the steadier you will need to
be. This realistically doesn’t come into play until the
magnification exceeds 10x.
2.
If you are an eyeglass wearer, take special note of any
specifications called “Eye Relief”. Eye relief is simply how
close your eye actually needs to be away from the binoculars to see the
image. The longer the eye relief, the easier the binoculars
will be on your eyes. Longer eye relief binoculars are made
for eyeglass wearers and people with poor vision.
Porro
Vs. Roof Prism Binoculars:
You
will probably see the terms “porro” and “roof” when you are looking for
your new binoculars. These two terms refer to the types of
prism systems used inside of the binoculars. Here are
examples of what they look like internally.
You can see
from the pictures that the porro prisms are offset while the roof
prisms are in line. Can you go wrong with either
system? No. Porro prism binoculars will generally
give you a wider field of view than the roof system. Most of
the higher priced binoculars use the roof prism system that is
generally noted to provide views that are more crisp and of
higher contrast than the porro design. The roof prism system
also allows for a more compact design. These differences,
however, may be difficult for novices to notice… or even find important
for that matter. In many regards, the debate between porro
and roof configurations is quite subjective so I’ll leave it at
that. Again, there is no wrong choice.
Focus
Mechanisms:
Most
of today’s binoculars us a central focusing wheel that is located as
shown in the photos above. As you probably know, there are
slight differences in the strengths of each of your own eyes.
No, you are not defective. Everyone has the same
eye-to-differences. Since binoculars magnify the object you
are viewing, you could only realistically focus the binoculars to one
of your eyes, and the view through your other eye would be slightly out
of focus. Well that’s no good!
Thankfully
the binocular manufacturers developed a way around this human
problem. One of the eyepieces (usually the one on the right)
on nearly all binoculars can be independently focused. To
focus the binoculars correctly you close your right eye and use the
central focusing wheel to bring a distant object into clear
focus. Then you open your right eye (and close your left eye
if you want to) and rotate the eyepiece to bring the object into
focus. Viola! Your binoculars are now set to your
eyes! Any further focus adjustments can now be made using the
central focusing control only.
Image
Stabilized Binoculars:
If
you’ve every tried to hold binoculars perfectly still so the image
isn’t swimming around in the eyepieces, you know that this can
sometimes be difficult to do. Many times it’s just
impossible! The more you try to keep still the more you
jitter around. Yes, you can brace yourself against a tree or
railing and sometimes that will stabilize the image nicely.
Unfortunately, there are times when this just isn’t practical.
…
Enter the image stabilized binoculars …
Image
stabilized binoculars make use of electronic gyroscopes and
liquid-filled prisms that compensate for even the slightly jiggling
around. The results are spectacularly clear viewing and very
stable images that greatly improve your experience. If get an
opportunity to try a pair of these, you will be in for a real
treat. The prices for image stabilized binoculars have
dropped significantly over the last couple of years. Yes,
they can be more expensive than their fixed system counterparts, but
the visual rewards are amazing.
 
|
Camping, Hiking & Boating
Bird Watching
Sporting Event Viewing
General Outdoor Use
Live Concert or Theater
Hunting
Low Light Conditions
Astronomy
Image Stabilized Binoculars