Binoculars Info

When it comes to choosing binoculars you can get confused unless you happen to work in optics or have a good handle on optical physics! All the lingo and terminology can be confusing and there are so many binocular brands to choose from now too. It need not be so confusing, read through this little overview or read on at the links below to arm yourself with the understanding you need.

The first thing to do is decide upon the use you will be putting your new binoculars to. There is no such thing as a binocular that does everything well. Think about it, if the binoculars are to be used for gazing at the moon and planets, are the same ones likely to be useful at a concert? Of course not. Binoculars are mostly designed with particular uses in mind, though there are some good ‘general purpose’ ones too.

Those numbers on all binoculars refer to the magnification factor and the diameter of the lenses. So an 8x 42 has 8 times magnification with a 40mm lens. The greater the magnification the poorer the image quality and the harder it is to hold the binocular steady enough to actually enjoy the view. Most people find 8-10 times magnification to be the most useful and comfortable for outdoor use. Concert viewing requires maybe a 4 times binocular.

The diameter of the lens is important too as the bigger it is the more light is captured so the better the image tends to be, it also gives you a wider area to see (or field of view). This field of view is usually expressed as an angle or as the number of feet the view from side to side appears at 1000 yards. The smaller the FOV the harder it is to spot your target.

Those are the most basic factors, after these we start to get into a few more technical aspects such as the type of glass used and eye relief. This eye relief factor is important if you like to wear your glasses while using binoculars. It refers to the distance between your eye and the binocular eyepiece. Why is that important? Because if you wear glasses while viewing you’ll need to allow for the extra distance to your eye caused by your specs between the binoculars and your eyes.

The coatings used on binocular lenses and prisms adds to their quality and price. Various coatings do different things but their main job is to prevent light being lost by reflection. The sophistication of the coatings used will make quality and price vary wildly from type to type and brand to brand.

Other than those points you should also consider whether you need attributes such as waterproofing, robust construction for wear and tear and the like. Remember the more you need out of your binocular the more it is likely to cost you so when you have narrowed down to this point, get the best you can afford – you’ll never regret it!



By: Aidan James

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If you like to look to the heavens even just occasionally get yourself some decent binoculars and indulge in a little binocular astronomy. Think about it, binoculars are inexpensive, highly portable and require no complicated setting up procedure so are ideal for casual astronomy.

Binoculars allow excellent moon views, and great viewing of star fields, comets and even deep sky objects. They are especially useful for beginners as unlike astronomy telescopes they keep the view the the right way up, making it really easy to navigate the skies. With a little practice you can pick out several of the planets and even the larger moons orbiting Jupiter. Clusters like Pleiades look great because the binoculars wide field of view lets you have more of the cluster in view at one time than a telescope would.

So how to choose which ones? Binoculars have two specifications marked on the body of the binocular in the form of 7x 50, where the first number represents the magnification (in this case 7 times) and the second the aperture in millimeters (50mm in this case). When it comes to selecting the right binoculars for astronomy, aperture is the most important feature to think about. The bigger the aperture the more light is captured so the brighter and clearer the image will be. For astronomy use you will need at least 40mm aperture and preferably larger.

You will need a magnification factor of at least 7, maybe up to 10 if you have a steady hand. Any higher than about 10 times magnification and you will need to mount your binoculars on a tripod as the hand shake effect makes it difficult to get a sharp image.

There are giant binoculars available with higher magnifications and apertures which are designed for astronomy use but you will certainly need a sturdy tripod or mount to use them. These can offer excellent viewing up to about 25 times magnification with 100mm apertures.

This brings us to another point, a specification known as the ‘exit pupil’. This specification refers to the diameter of the shaft of light that exits the eyepieces and into your eyes. You can easily calculate it by dividing the aperture by the magnification so that 7 x 50 binocular has an exit pupil of just over 7mm. Capturing as much of that as possible is good as it means all the available light is getting to where you want it, i.e.your eye. If you are still in your twenties you can probably use all of that 7mm exit pupil mentioned above as your pupils will dilate to about that size in very dark conditions, however as you get older your pupil does not dilate more than about 4 to 5 mm so large exit pupils are wasted (though it starts to make those 25x 100′s look good!).

You might notice another specification marked on the binocular, the field of view (FOV), it refers to the apparent side to side view as you look through the binoculars. It will be expressed as an angle in degrees or a measure such as 340 feet at 1000 yards. For astronomy use we can generally ignore that factor, it really does not matter a great deal at the distances we’ll be viewing at.

So now you have the basics why not get yourself some binoculars and indulge in a little casual astronomy, you’ll be rewarded with some wonderful sights!



By: Aidan James

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When you get to high end binoculars they are all pretty good, they have to be to command the prices but there is always going to one pair of binoculars that stands out from the crowd and for me that is most definitely the Swarovski Binoculars. The EL 8.5×42′s are absolutely amazing, you pick them up and you hardly know that you have them in your hand, the weight and balance is superb. The 8×42 HG DCF Nikon Binoculars definitely feel heavier and yet they are the lighter of the two (795g vs 819g).

When you pick up a pair of Swarovski binoculars they just feel special even when they are among the elite of the elite. The Nikon High Grade feel good but there is a definite difference which makes Swarovski, for me, win hands down.

As you expect the optical quality of both the Nikon and the Swarovski binoculars is outstanding. The Swarovski EL’s have a slight advantage of an extra 0.5x magnification which gives them an additional edge. Both deliver a sharp image, the contrast of the Nikon’s is perhaps slightly better but the Swarovski binoculars, in my opinion, are the brightest and have the best resolution, although the resolution of the 8×42 HG DCF Nikon binoculars is close.

Some people prefer the colour retention of the Nikon HG 8×42 Binoculars but I found the Swarovski binoculars to be exceptionally good. The EL 8.5×42′s boast the latest technology with Swarobright prism coating which dramatically increases light transmission and ensures natural colour.

For depth of field the Swarovski EL 8.5×42′s come in top and again with field of view which is 62.0o compared to 52.1o with the 8×42 HG DCF Nikon binoculars.

Both the EL 8.5×42 Swarovski binoculars and the 8×42 HG DCF Nikon binoculars enable close focusing, 2.5 mtrs and 3.0 mtrs respectively, not much to choose between them, both with excellent image quality.

Spectacle wearers can use either, the Swarovski binoculars come with twist-in eyecups (eye relief 18mm) and the Nikon have turn and slide rubber cups (eye relief 20mm), both are comfortable to use but I definitely preferred the Swarovski which just has the edge despite a slightly smaller exit pupil of 4.9mm (compared to 5.3mm with the Nikon).

The 8×42 HG DCF Nikon binoculars are waterproof to 2mtrs, nitrogen filled and sealed and perform well in extreme conditions. The Swarovski binoculars are waterproof to 4mtrs, also nitrogen filled and sealed. Both are rubber armoured and highly durable, little to choose between them.

I think you can take it as read that my preferred binoculars are the Swarovski EL 8.5 x42′s, exceptional all round wildlife / bird watching binoculars, beautiful to hold, excellent image quality and perform well in low light conditions. For anyone who is in the market for a high end binocular then the EL Swarovski binoculars have most definitely got to be strong contender. Use them once and you’ll never want to be without them so if you don’t have £1,000+ to spend on a pair of binoculars I highly recommend that you don’t try them!



By: Terry Ross

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AllieK asked:


I plan on seeing a play in the near future and since it seems to be a very popular play and I am no rich my seat is in the far back. What kind of binocular or viewing thing do you think would work best. What level of zoom would be enough to get a good picture of the action?

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Do you want to buy binoculars in London? Even though there are many places that sell a variety of products, it still can be hard to find the binoculars that we want to buy. In this article, we will take a look at where you can find binoculars and buy binoculars in London.

There are many different binoculars. There are also many different binocular brands, so picking the best pair of binoculars can be a bit difficult, especially if a store selling binoculars only has a few binoculars available for sale.

One place which though is not the best place to go to, but is almost accessible from anywhere in the UK and London is Argos. Argos has many different binoculars for sale. However, buying binoculars from Argos doesn’t give you the best prices. Also you may not be able to find the binoculars you need for what you need the pair of binoculars for.

Another option is catalogue companies; however, again, catalogue companies can work out much more expensive than buying binoculars from a local store. Shops that sell electronic products such as digital cameras are also another option. The benefit is that you can get binoculars at a better price than if you buy from catalogue companies, and you can take a look at the binoculars before you buy a pair of binoculars.

Buying binoculars in London is much easier than other parts of the UK, where you may not be able to find a store, especially in remote areas. However, there are options whether buying binoculars in London or from anywhere else in the country; that is to buy online.

Some places that can provide great prices on binoculars in London, is by going to Tottenham Court Road, in central London. Here you can find many stores that sell at great prices. Also if you buy other products, you can always bargain with many of these stores to sell you at cheaper prices.

Buying binoculars online provides so much more variety. If you are simply buying the binoculars for general use, then local stores may suffice, however, to get the best prices, online is the best route to go.

Online you can find many stores that sell binoculars, and a little research will show you prices for binoculars at much cheaper rates than what you can find anywhere else. One of the problems with buying binoculars online or any other product is that of trying to find online stores in the UK or stores that can deliver to the UK.

If you buy from online stores selling binoculars in the UK, then you can make some great savings. However, those that deliver from other countries may charge a larger amount for shipping, which would make any savings soon lost. Always keep an eye out on the postage and packaging charges, also called shipping and handling charges in other countries.



By: Koz Huseyin

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Binoculars consist of numerous air to glass surfaces with each individual surface contributing to the loss of light. Coated lense binoculars help prevent the loss of light with one or more of the surfaces being coated with one or more layers of anti-reflective coating. Never buy binoculars with uncoated lenses, the lack of coating means that around 50% of light could be lost making non coated lense binoculars half as bright as their coated counterparts.

Coated lense binoculars used to come with a hefty price tag but now most binoculars come with coated lenses in one form or another and top quality fully multi-coated lense binoculars are often within the price range of many users.

The greater the number of coatings and the more surfaces that are coated the less light is lost so if you are looking for the best binoculars you want fully multi-coated lenses.

There are basically four grades of coated lense binoculars although some manufacturers have developed their own, exclusive, high quality coatings which offer greater durability and further improved light transmission with other added advantages:

• Coated lense binoculars means that one or more surfaces are coated with one layer of anti-reflective coating. If only one or a limited number of air to glass surfaces are coated such binoculars will provide you little more light transmission than un-coated lense binoculars.

• Fully coated lense binoculars means that air to glass surfaces are coated with one layer of anti-reflective coating.

• Multi coated lense binoculars means that one or more air to glass surfaces are coated with multiple layers of anti-reflective coating. Like coated lense binoculars you have to be careful here as just one surface could be coated!

• Fully multi coated lense binoculars are the best that you can buy. All air to glass surfaces are coated in multiple layers of anti reflective coating.

Fully coated lense binoculars can increase light transmission from 50% to around 80 – 85% which is now the norm for low cost binoculars. If you want something a bit more special that will increase light transmission to 95% or above then you want to go for fully multi coated lense binoculars and, for extra durability and advance quality viewing, take a look at the exclusive coatings offered by some of the top manufacturers. Bushnell Elite binoculars come with Bushnell’s exclusive XTR technology (60 layers of coatings on each prism) which delivers 99.73% light transmission per lense.

The difference between fully coated lense binoculars and fully multi coated might not sound that great but once you have owned binoculars with the best quality optics and coatings you’ll never look back. The light transmission, resolution and clarity of top quality binoculars is amazing and the enhanced viewing generally makes the higher price tag well worth it.

A few fully multi coated lense binoculars are Bushnell Elite, Bushnell Legend Binoculars, Bushnell Natureview, Pentax DCF SP / XP and HR II, Pentax PCF Binoculars, Nikon HG L DCF Binoculars and Olympus EXPS I Series Binoculars.



By: Terry Ross

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