The following BinoWizard question was sent into be by Rodrigo from Brazil who is in the early planning phase for a safari in South Africa next September and is looking for ideal mid range safari binoculars and night vision for the trip:

Answer

Low Light vs Night Time

Firstly you are right, in my experience and at any sort of reasonable budget and to the best of my knowledge there really is not a single solution for both night and day time observation.

Sure you will often see some very cheap binoculars on places like Ebay, Walmart and Aliexpress advertised as being both Day and Night binoculars and which usually have red or gold tinted objective lenses (click on the image on the right for some examples).

But in reality these claims are false and are all just gimmicks, which in my opinion should be avoided at all costs Indeed you will most certainly get a better low light performance from a good quality "normal daytime" binocular.

Here it is important to understand that true night vision devices that amplify the very small amounts of light available at night to produce an image (that is often green or grey) by using either intensifier tubes and phosphor screens or achieve it digitally are very different to your optical only binoculars (even those that have very good low light capabilities). If you are not sure what I mean here, take a look at this guide to Night Vision Binoculars, Monoculars & Other Devices.

Ok, so now that we have established that we are looking for a separate pair of bins for the day and up to and just after sunset and a night vision device for when it is completely dark, let’s first take a look at the night vision options:

Night Vision for Safaris

Whilst the very best NV devices cost many thousands of dollars, you don’t need to spend huge amounts to get good results and your budget of $300-$400 is enough… so long as you know what to look for:

NV Binocular / Monocular
My advice would almost certainly opt for a monocular as not only are they much less bulky and more lightweight and thus easier to take on holiday, but like for like, are also considerably cheaper than binoculars as well.

So rather than getting a fairly low standard night vision binocular, I would opt for a higher quality monocular instead.

Digital or Conventional Night Vision?
Here my suggestion is that you should narrow your search down even more and restrict it to digital night vision monoculars:

Conventional NV devices that use intensifier tubes and phosphor screens have been around for a long time and whilst it is true that the very best Gen 2 and 3 devices still use this system, to get a really high quality image and one that performs to a high level in very dark conditions (remember there are no street lights etc in the bush), you need to spend quite a bit more than your budget allows.

However I have found that many newer digital devices at lower price levels like $300 – $400 can and do perform as well and often better than most Gen 1 devices and will even equal most Gen 2 devices, whilst costing far less.

You also get the added advantage in that many digital NV monoculars come with recording capabilities.

Further Reading

• How Digital Night Vision Works

Suggestions

Based on your budget and what we have already discussed, below are a couple of devices that I would highly recommend that I have fully tested and reviewed and which I feel would be perfect for your needs:

• Luna Optics LN-DM50-HRSD Digital Night Vision Viewer/ Recorder
• Night Owl iGen 20/20 Night Vision Monocular – released in 2013, this device has been updated and still performs with the best in this category

Less Expensive Option

If you decide you want to go for a cheaper option, try the Luna Optics LN-DM5 Night Vision Monocular at only around $250, I found that that the level of performance was way above what i would have expected in this range. However you don’t get any recording capabilities.

Safari Binoculars

I would like to emphasise that a good pair of standard "day time" binoculars is far more important on safari than a NV device as you will almost certainly be using them a whole lot more often. Thus if I had to choose only one device it would most certainly be the normal binoculars.

The right pair with good quality optics will also offer better low light performance than cheap bins and thus not only are they good for during the day, but you will able to effectively use them just before sunrise (when many game drives start) and for some time sunset when there is still some light about.

Which to choose?
Rather than repeating myself, I have written a number of articles that you can take a look at which I feel will point you in the right direction and which contain a number of reccomendations with comprehensive comparison charts:

If you are looking for excellent low light performance and are willing to sacrifice a little in terms of size and weight (which is not always ideal for travel), then I would opt for a full sized bin (usually with a 42mm objective):

• Best Mid to High End Binoculars for Birdwatching & Safaris – here within your budget, pay particular attention to the Bushnell Legend M-Series 8x42, Hawke Endurance 8x42 and Celestron Granite’s as all look to be ideal full sized binoculars for your safari holiday.

Otherwise my personal preference for safaris would be to opt for a mid-sized binocular that balances a more than decent low light performance with a slightly smaller body size and weight

• Best Low Cost, All-Round Travel Binoculars – In this article there are many great options within your budget that I would highly recommend, but pay particular attention to the Hawke Endurance ED 8x32 and the Celestron Granite 9x33.

I hope that at least some of this advice helps. If you have any further questions, please do let me know

Further Reading & General Advice:

• Best Binoculars for Safari Holidays
• All About Night Vision Binoculars, Monoculars & Other NV Devices

The post Mid Range Binoculars & Night Vision for Safari Holiday appeared first on Best Binocular Reviews.

Press Release:

Canon Unveils New Binoculars Featuring Enhanced Image Stabilization Technologies

MELVILLE, N.Y., August 2, 2017 – Canon U.S.A. Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, today announced three new additions to its portfolio of Canon Image Stabilized Binoculars with the 14x32 IS, 12x32 IS and 10x32 IS.

While all current Canon binoculars are equipped with an image stabilization (IS) function, new to these binocular models is Lens Shift Image Stabilization Technology. The IS technology, found in Canon EF lenses, allows users to see an even sharper image by moving the IS lens to correct optical axis. This technology incorporates a vibration gyro mechanism that assists in canceling out the effects of user-shake or movement.

In addition, the new binoculars are the first Canon binoculars to feature Powered Image Stabilization, a feature frequently found in Canon digital cameras and camcorders. Even the slightest shake when using high- magnification binoculars could translate into a blurred or unstable image from the binocular. When a user utilizes the Powered IS user-shake and movement can be quickly corrected and image quality remains intact.

“Canon is very proud of its imaging heritage and ability to utilize technologies and solutions across a broad spectrum of products, including our line of Canon Image Stabilized Binoculars,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, president and COO, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “The technology implemented into these new models will enhance users’ experiences while offering the familiarity and quality they trust in Canon optics.”

Additional features include:

• Microcomputer Control Technology
• Improved Design and Comfortable Grip
• Field Flattener Lens
• Super Spectra Lens Coating
• 6.6 ft. (2m) Minimum Focusing Distance

Pricing and Availability
Canon’s new 14x32 IS, 12x32 IS and 10x32 IS binocular models are scheduled to be available November 2017 for an estimated retail price of $1449.00, $1399.00 and $1349.00 respectively

Relevant Links

• About Canon Binoculars
• Canon IS Image Stabilized 10x30 Binoculars Review
• Does Image Stabilization Work?
• Where to Buy Canon IS Binoculars

The post New Canon IS Binoculars with Enhanced Image Stabilization Announced appeared first on Best Binocular Reviews.

I recently came across and article on a website that made me really angry, so much so that I just had to get it off my chest and write about it!

The offending article is published on the OpticsHunt website and lists their Recommended Top 5 Best Binoculars Under 100 with their reasons for choosing them and the points that they liked and disliked about each. So far so good and whilst I don’t totally disagree with some of their choices, I do have some major issues with the facts and opinions that they offer on each of them. To make matters even worse, I am highly suspicious as to if they have actually ever seen any of the models that they recommend on their best binoculars under $100 list, let alone used or tested them!

Now I will be the first to admit that I don’t know everything about binoculars (far from it) and I am sure that if you take some time to browse though this website you will come across more than a few errors (especially in the spelling department!) and you may even find the odd factual inaccuracy or misunderstanding on my behalf.

But what I do promise you is that not only do I have more than what I would describe as a good understanding of binoculars, how they work, what makes a good or bad pair, but I have also used and tested many, many pairs over they years and when I recommend an instrument, it is always (unless stated otherwise) based on my real world knowledge of the binocular after having used, tested and in most cases fully reviewed it.

This is something that I take real pride in on BBR and is why I get really annoyed when I see sites with binocular reviews and articles written by those that either have very little or no understanding of optics and/or have never used the instrument that they are recommending that you should spend your hard earned money on.

Recommended Top 5 Best Binoculars Under 100 by OpticsHunt

Anyway enough of my ranting, lets go ahead and see what made my blood boil!

Below are OpticHunt’s Recommended Top 5 Best Binoculars Under 100 including their opinions and what they like and do not like on each of them. Note, I have added my two cents worth and where applicable, my recommendations as well. Have fun! Oh and I would also love to get your opinions as well, you can leave them in the comments section at the foot of this page.

1. Bushnell Falcon 7x35 Binoculars
2. Olympus 118760 Trooper 10x50 DPS I Binocular
3. Nikon 8246 ACULON A211 10x42 Binocular
4. Olympus Trooper 8x40 DPS I Binoculars
5. Celestron SkyMaster Giant 15x70 Binoculars

Further Reading:

• BBR’s Best Binoculars Under $100 – My list of binoculars that I recommend for less than $100 / £100 / €100
• Best Binoculars under $200 / £200
• Best ED Binoculars under $350 / £350
• Discounted Binoculars
• The Best Value For Money Binoculars
• Low Cost vs Very Cheap Binoculars
• Cheap Binoculars: Is a Roof or Porro Prism Best?

The post OpticsHunt’s Best Binoculars Under 100 appeared first on Best Binocular Reviews.

Click for full size image that shows animated flightpath of Asteroid Florence. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Asteroid Florence will pass near to earth at the end of August early Sept 2017 and many be Visible with Binoculars – details of where and where to look:

Discovered in 1981 and named in honor of Florence Nightingale, Asteroid Florence will get close enough to earth in late August and early September where according to the Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), it will probably brighten to about the 9th magnitude and thus make it easily visible using a small telescope and possibly even with a good set of Astronomy binoculars.

Near-Earth Object

A Near-Earth Object (NEO) is an asteroid or comet with an orbital path that brings it close to earth and Florence is just that because it will close to within around 7 million kilometers (4.4 million miles) of our planet.

and as NASA’s Paul Chodas, manager of CNEOS point out, at 2.7 miles (4.4 kilometers) across “Florence is the largest asteroid to pass by our planet this close since the NASA program to detect and track near-Earth asteroids began.”

This size and it’s close proximity means that Asteroid 3122 Florence big enough to be seen in small telescopes, and maybe even in binoculars, as a small, very slow-moving “star.” Asteroid 1981 ET3 – also known as 3122 Florence – is a huge space rock at least 2.7 miles (4.35 km) in diameter. According to Paul Chodas at the Center for Near Earth Object Studies:

Asteroid Florence’s Flight Path in our Night Sky

When & Where to Look

I managed to get the following information written by Eddie Irizarry from the (Astronomical Society of the Caribbean) and published on the EarthSky Website:

Asteroid 3122 Florence will be the nearest to Earth at about 8:06am EDT (2:06pm CEST) on September 1st, 2017, but if you have a telescope or binoculars for astronomy, you can try a few nights before then:

On August 27, th asteroid Florence will be in the constellation of Piscis Austrinus at about 19° above the southern horizon as seen from central U.S.

Asteroid 3122 Florence on August 27 at 11:50 pm CDT as seen from central U.S. Credit: Eddie Irizarry

Then Late at night on August 29th, 3122 Florence goes into Capricornus and reaches an elevation of 33° as seen from Kansas.

Also on 11:40 pm CDT on August 30 and if you have a have a automatic computerized telescope, then set it to star HIP 104557 or to RA 21h11m57.45s / DEC -9º23’33.6″and you should see the asteroid making a slowly changing triangle with these stars (see illustration below)

Asteroid 3122 Florence on August 30 at 1140pm CDT – Credit: Eddie Irizarry using Stellarium.

Even though Florence will be traveling at 48,708 km/h (30,266 mph), the relatively far distance from us will mean that it’s movement will not be obvious. Indeed you will need about 5 to 10 minutes to notice the movement compared to the stars around it.

Further Reading

• Binoculars for Astronomy

The post Giant Asteroid Florence Visible with Binoculars appeared first on Best Binocular Reviews.

The question of the week comes from a teacher looking to get her class of geography students some inexpensive binoculars for an upcoming field trip:

Answer

Hi Ellie, thanks for the question which I will do my best to answer for you:

Binoculars for Older Kids

Judging by your question and the fact that you are going on quite an adventurous geography field trip, I will assume that your class consists of older children / teenagers.

Firstly if you have some time, take a look at these following articles, both of which will help you get a better idea of what features to look out for and offer some a host of recommended bins suitable for children within your price range:

• Guide to Binoculars for Children
• Lightweight, Inexpensive Travel Binoculars for Children

Your Selection
Of the binoculars on your list, only the Vanguard 10x25 Orros comes within your price range – it is a good compact binocular for the price and it’s unique offset hinge will adjust nicely for smaller hands and faces, so is not a bad choice at all.

BBR Recommendations
Below are also a number of other bins that I would suggest you consider based on your criteria:

The post Best Cheap Binoculars for Older Children under $100 / £100 / 100 Euros appeared first on Best Binocular Reviews.

This weeks question was sent into me from someone wondering about extra-low dispersion (ED) glass (or the lack of it) on compact & pocket binoculars:

Answer

Great question! To be absolutely honest, I am not 100% sure but think the fact that there aren’t many compacts with ED glass elements in their lenses is probably down to a couple of factors:

Why use ED Glass
Keeping in mind that ED means that the glass has extra-low dispersion properties and the aim of using ED Glass elements in the lenses of your binoculars is to use these properties to better direct the wavelengths of light to reduce the amount of a distortion known as chromatic aberration. This distortion is seen as color fringing in the final image and thus ED lens elements can help the lens designer to improve the color correction of a lens. (For more on why, please read my complete guide to ED Glass in binoculars).

Not All Lenses are Equal
However not all lenses show the same amount of color error, because aperture plays a large role in this regard: I have read that a large 80mm lens on a telescope will show only half the amount of color error to that of an identically designed and even larger 160mm lens.

So if you relate this to binoculars, the amount of color error in a standard 42mm binocular is already a lot less than that of much larger lenses. Thus I assume color error is very small and much less than that of a full sized binocular in the relatively tiny lenses on compact binoculars.

Thus the costs involved in adding ED lens elements to a compact does not warrant the amount of improvement that they can potentially make to the already small amount of color fringing. Remember there are some high dispersion and much cheaper glasses that can still produce excellent color corrections.

So it is for this reason, that for the most part we currently only see a few top end compacts using ED Glass in their lenses:

Compact Binoculars with ED Glass

Whilst there may not be many ED compacts, there are a few really good ones and below are some of the best:

For more take a look at the following:

• All about Compact Binoculars – Reviews & Guides
• Complete Guide to Extra Low Dispersion Glass (ED Glass)
• All about Hawke Binoculars
• All about Bushnell Binoculars
• All About Maven Optics

I hope that at least some of these article is useful and if anyone else knows exactly, or just has a theory as to why we don’t currently find more ED Compacts, I would love to hear from you (please just use the comments section below).

The post Best Compact Binoculars with ED Glass appeared first on Best Binocular Reviews.

New Maven C.2 Compact Binoculars

Maven Optics have added to their stable of high end binoculars with a new compact option:

The New Maven C.2 Binoculars come in either 7x28 or 10x28 configurations and boast an array of excellent features and components that are sure to place them up there with some of the best compact binoculars out there:

Main Features

The inclusion of Extra low-dispersion (ED) glass is the main headline for me.

Whilst commonly used on mid and full sized binoculars, ED glass compacts are far less easy to come across and thus it immediately shows the intent of Maven Optics to produce a premium quality compact binocular. Indeed, I am quietly confident that I will be adding it to my list of the Best Compact Binoculars with ED Glass once I have had a chance to test and review them!

Maven C.2 Binoculars

The theme of extreme high quality continues with the use of the same dielectric coated Schmidt-Pechan prism system that Maven use in their very high end, full sized B.1 and B.3 binoculars.

Once again, a compact with dielectric coated prisms is not that common, but is great to see as the increased light transmission is especially important with a compact binocular.

Maven Built Optics round of the optics by fully multi-coating them and then adding scratch resistant coatings to the exterior lens surfaces.

Maven C.2 compact binoculars are fog and waterproof and like most compacts, the chassis is made from a polycarbonate plastic. It is a slight shame that it is not magnesium, but then again it will be more lightweight.

I also like that Maven have used twist-up eye-cups on these compacts, unlike many who use simple folding rubber ones, on top of this both the Maven C.2 7x28 binoculars and the 10x28 models have more than a decent amount of eye-relief for a compact.

For me the only slight issue regarding their specifications is their fairly long minimum focusing distance of 3m (10ft). This is not a problem unless you specifically want your bins for activities like butterfly and insect observation.

Main Specifications

The table below shows the main specifications of both the Maven C.2 10x28 binoculars and the 7x28 Maven C.2 Binocular:

Cost & Where to Buy

When you consider the high quality features, I think that it is rather incredible that these have a RRP of only $200 – these are looking like they have the potential to be a great value for money high end compact:

• Compare Prices & Buy Maven C.2 Compact Binoculars

Further Reading

• About Maven Optics
• Maven B2 11x45 Binoculars Review

Maven C.2 Binoculars – Ideal Hiking Binoculars

The post New compact Maven C.2 Binoculars appeared first on Best Binocular Reviews.

Advice on how to choose between binoculars

I received an e-mail today from someone who is having some difficulty in deciding which binoculars are best / right for them to buy. They have narrowed their shortlist down to two pairs that is great, but still wanted some advice from me as to which one between the two is best and thus go for:

Which Binoculars

I get this type of question sent into me very often as it is a common problem with readers not knowing which binoculars are right for them and so rather then just replying to this and all the other similar emails individually, I thought I would share my ideas on the blog and hopefully this can help many more of you to make your own choice if you are in a similar situation.

It seems like you have good grasp of binoculars already, but if you are a newbie, a good place to start is this guide on What To Look For When Buying Binoculars.

Reviews & Testing

The problem for me in giving advice in this as well as many other situations similar to yours, is there are times where I have not actually reviewed or even used the binocular(s) in question.

However for the purpose of this exercise, it is actually a good thing as most people out there shopping for binoculars online would not have tested the ones that they are interested in either. So here I will go through the steps that I take and hopefully that will help you and the other readers who face this same dilemma.

In this case, I have actually fully reviewed two Vanguard Endeavor ED models, the 8.5x45 and the 10x42, but not the 10x45, so for the Vanguard binoculars I can at draw a lot from these experiences.

Likewise with the Hawke Frontier ED, whilst have not tested the 10x43, version, I have fully tested and reviewed the Hawke Frontier ED 8x43 Binoculars and so once again I can take a lot of what I know from this model and apply it to your question.

Hint: You can see all the binoculars I have reviewed here: Browse Binocular Reviews by Brand.

So What to Do Now?

However what if you cannot test or find a review of the exact model you are interested in on my site or any other for that matter? (please make sure it is a real and fully independent review and that the person has actually used the binoculars in question as there are MANY fake review sites out there.)

1) Read Reviews of the Same Range

Firstly
look out for reviews of the same line or range of binocular but not the exact model.

So to take this example and as I have said, I have already fully reviewed a couple of Vanguard Endeavors and a Hawke Frontier HD, so be sure to read them.

This will give you a very good feeling of what to expect in regards to the design, build quality of the chassis, optical components, the coatings used and indeed the extras like the neck strap, carry case and lens covers.

Performance wise as well, you will at least get an idea as to what kind of quality you are lightly to get from the model that you are specifically after.

2) Compare the Main Features & Specifications

Now once you have gathered as much information as you can find on the binoculars you are interested in, compare their main specifications and features against each other.

Most of the specs you can get from the manufacturers websites or by working some of them out.

Once you have them, I find the best way is to create a simple table to make it easy to compare one against the other.

If I have reviewed the pairs that you are interested in then you can Compare Binoculars and there main features here or Try out my Features Search to return a list of binoculars that I have reviewed that match your requirements.

In this way you will often get a much clearer understanding of each of their particular strengths and weaknesses compared to each other and thus get a clearer picture of which binoculars are best.

So lets do this for this particular example and see what turns up:

	Hawke Frontier ED 10x43	Vanguard Endeavor ED 1045
Magnification:	10x	10.5x
Objective Lens Diameter:	43mm	45mm
Weight:	743g	760g
Length:	16.7cm	15.6cm
Width:	?	13.0cm
Exit Pupil:	4.3	4.3
Twilight Factor:	20.7	21.7
Field of View@1000m:	113m	105m
View Angle:	6.4°	6.0°
Close Focus:	2m	3m
Eye Relief:	?	17mm
Water & Fogproof:	Yes	Yes
ED Glass	Yes	Yes
Lens Coatings:	Fully Multi-Coated	Fully Multi-Coated
Prism Type:	Roof Prism	Roof Prism
Prism Glass:	Bak-4	Bak-4
Phase Correction Coatings:	Yes	Yes
Lockable Diopter Setting	Don’t think so	Yes
Tripod Adaptable	Not Sure	Yes
Body Construction:	Magnesium	Magnesium
Approx Price UK:	£299	£280 & £40 Cashback = £240
Approx Price US:	$450	$399 & $50 Cashback = $349

Optical Components & Coatings

The first thing that stands out for me from these stats and features is that these two binoculars are fairly evenly matched.

This is especially the case in the quality of the optical components and coatings used:

Both use extra-low dispersion glass (ED) in their lenses. Many high end optics these days use ED glass because it can reduce the amount of chromatic aberration (color fringing) and thus improve the sharpness of the image even further when compared to those made from standard glass.

Both have fully multi-coated lenses, which basically means that the lenses have received multiple layers of anti-reflective coatings on all air-to-glass surfaces which helps to increase light transmission to produce a brighter image and therefore better low light performance.

Both the Vanguard and the Hawke binoculars use roof prisms made from BaK-4 glass. This superior optical glass helps to produce clearer images will outperform the BK-7 prisms found on cheaper optics.

Both sets of optics have phase correction coatings added onto their prisms. Phase correction coatings counter the “phase shift” that occurs at the opposite faces of a roof prism resulting in a small amount of deterioration in sharpness and therefore produce images that have better contrast, a higher resolution and improved color reproduction.

Chassis & Body

Like the optical components and coatings, they are also very similar in their outer design and components used:

Both devices feature an open bridge design with a body made from magnesium.

Their weights and dimensions are also relatively similar and both are fully waterproof and fog proof.

One small difference is that the Vanguard Endeavor ED’s have a lockable diopter adjustment ring which is used to correctly set up and focus the binoculars to your particular eyesight. The fact that it is lockable is a nice touch and an indication to the amount of attention to detail shown.

Main Specifications

Apart from their price, the biggest difference between the two is in their main specifications.

The Vanguard has a slightly more powerful magnification. This means that you get slightly more detail in the image and because they also have larger objective lenses (45mm vs 43mm) they still produce the same size exit pupil as the Hawke binoculars (4.3mm) which is excellent because it means that you get the higher magnification without sacrificing any low light performance.

Because of the higher magnification and equal exit pupils, the Vanguard Endeavor ED 10.5 x 45 also has a higher Twilight Factor rating, meaning that you get a better resolution image through them at twilight or in very poor light conditions.

However, the one downside to the larger magnification that larger objective lenses can’t overcome and is one area where the Hawke Frontier ED 10 x 43 does outperform the Vanguard is that it has a slightly wider field of view and a slighter shorter minimum focusing distance. The differences are not huge, but may be something to keep in mind if either are very important to you. However if a really wide field of view is important, you should also consider the 8 or 8.5x versions of these binoculars.

Conclusion

As we have seen in most areas these two binoculars are very close and where there are differences and where one excels, the other makes up for it in the opposite areas.

So personally I would choose the one that best suits my individual needs:

Basically you are looking at a very slighter wider field of view and close focusing distance versus a potentially higher definition image, especially in lower light conditions. But to be honest the differences in both cases will be very minor and hardly noticeable unless you are REALLY looking for it and comparing the view next to each other.

So if you are still not swayed by comparing the stats and features between two or even more binoculars, I would just go on price and choose the one that offers better value for money:

Price Comparisons
Take a look at my Where to Buy Binoculars page that lists many of the best online optics retailers in the USA, UK as well as a few from Canada, Australia and Germany. Find the binoculars you are interested in and compare their prices – always take into account current deals and rebates etc.

For this example, you can either just take a look on Amazon both in the UK and USA:

Or you can compare prices at a number of different online retailers including Eagle Optics, Binoculars.com and Cabela’s in the US or Warehouse Express (WEX) and the Binocular Shop in the UK:

• Where to Buy Vanguard Endeavor ED Binoculars
• Where to Buy Hawke Frontier ED Binoculars

I hope this helps and as you can see, you can use this method when choosing between any binoculars.

Further Reading

• About Vanguard Binoculars
• What To Look For When Buying Binoculars
• About Hawke Binoculars

The post Which Binoculars Are Best? appeared first on Best Binocular Reviews.

The questions below are my answers to readers who are looking for a pair of high powered binoculars for long distance viewing and include some advice as well as options and recommendations as which high powered binoculars are best depending on the exact application:

Answer

Thank you very much for the questions, which I will try to answer to the best of my knowledge:

Firstly your friend is right in saying when describing a binocular, the first number is the magnification, so your Zeiss Dialyt 10x40B has a magnification of 10x, whilst the Bushnell 20×40 will magnify the image a massive 20x.

If you need more info on this, take a look at my page on What To Look For When Buying Binoculars that includes a section explaining all about what the numbers mean.

What they are not correct in assuming is that a larger magnification on powerful binoculars will be "much better" than a smaller one. Remember, the most powerful binoculars are not always the best option and there are many other factors to consider when choosing long distance viewing binoculars:

Magnification & The Exit Pupil

I am not surprised that the 20×40 Bushnell’s that your friend gave you were difficult to use as they produce an exit-pupil that is only 2mm in diameter (40 ÷ 20 = 2mm). This is tiny and is smaller that the size of the pupil in your eyes, even in good light during the day when your pupils are at their smallest.

Taking your Zeiss Dialyt 10x40B as another example, they produce a much more respectable 4mm exit pupil (40 ÷ 10 = 4mm), which will be larger than your eyes pupils in good light.

What this means is that not only is the Bushnell binocular transmitting less light to your eyes than those like your Zeiss binoculars with a larger exit pupil and so will appear less bright, but it makes lining up your pupils with those very small (2mm) shafts of light much more difficult than ones that produce larger shafts of light (larger exit pupils). If you do not line up your eyes with this light, you get dark rings forming around the image and it generally makes viewing the image very difficult.

For more on this very important concept to understand, please read my guide to the exit-pupil.

Objective Lens Size

Larger Objective Lenses
So as you can see by simply increasing the magnification on a binocular and nothing else, the exit pupil will get smaller and smaller. To counter this and make sure you get binocular that produces an image that is bright enough as well as easy to use, you need to increase the size of the objective lenses. These will have the potential to let in more light and therefore create a larger exit pupil, which can deliver more light to your eyes.

So if for example you kept the 20x power, but had a binocular with objectives twice the size (80mm), they would now produce a shaft of light that is 4mm in diameter (80 ÷ 20 = 4mm), which is much more reasonable and in fact is the same as your 10×40 Zeiss.

The main potential down side to this is as you increase the objective lenses, the larger and heavier your binoculars become. A typical 20×80 binocular will weigh around 2kg (4.4 pounds/ 70.4 oz) and so can be quite difficult or even impossible to hold steady for a reasonable amount of time. To counter this, you should mount them onto a tripod, which will also prevent the increased image stability, which I will get to a little later.

Almost all giant binoculars come with integrated tripod adapters that make attaching them to your tripod very simple – for more, see the section on tripods below.

Magnification & FOV

Whilst powerful binoculars give you more image detail, another down side to increasing the magnification on a binocular or indeed almost any other optical device is that it reduced the field of view (FOV) or to put it more simply the width of the image that you can see gets narrower. This can make locating and following an object more difficult and is also not ideal if you want to scan over a wide area looking for something as at any point you are viewing a smaller area than a binocular with a wider FOV.

If we consider that most full sized 10×42 binoculars have a FOV of between 300ft and 350ft wide at a distance of 1000ft, you can see that the FOV of the much higher powered bins I have listed below is greatly reduced.

Magnification & Image Steadiness

As the magnification of an optical instrument is increased, any movement you make is amplified even more and so it makes keeping the image steadier more and more difficult. For hand held devices you really do not want to go much above 15x – 16x.

So whilst it is possible to hand hold a binocular at higher magnifications, the constant image shake will make it hard to get a good view of whatever you are trying to observe, especially over longer periods and so you may find that you need to support the bin against a post or tree.

Tripods
So if you want to use a high powered long distance binocular, you really should attach them to a good tripod via a tripod adapter. Fortunately most giant binoculars and many larger bins will come with integrated tripod adapters that makes them really simple to fix securely to your tripod and even if they don’t they are an easy to find and relatively cheap accessory to purchase. If you are wondering which to get, I personally use this Vanguard Alta Pro 263AT Tripod that I highly recommend, but there are many, many others that I am sure will work just as well.

Image Stabilisation Binoculars
Binoculars like the excellent range Canon IS Binoculars, use electronics to stabilise the image which works really well. On the down side, the added electronics makes these a little heavier and more costly.

Recommended High Powered, Long Distance Binoculars

Price
There are few low cost options available, which I have listed below, but just remember that in life you usually get what you pay for. So whilst they will be better than not using any binoculars at all, generally the more you pay, the better quality prisms, lenses and optical coatings are used, which will all go a long way to improving the overall quality of the image that you see and so the best long distance binoculars also tend to be the more expensive options.

50mm High Powered Binoculars

Hand Held Option: The 50mm recommendations listed below may not have the longest range, but they are for those who are want a higher magnification binocular, but don’t necessarily want to have to attach it to a tripod.

Note: Most will still be tripod adaptable, giving you the flexibility to use them as you wish depending on the circumstance. Indeed just how far can you see with 10×50 binoculars will be greatly affected by how steady you can keep the image.

So for example it may be nice to have them permanently set-up on a balcony looking out to the ocean on a tripod and then if you wish to take them out with you, just remove them from the tripod and off you go.

60mm – 80mm High Magnification Binoculars

Possible Hand Held Options: Whilst I have listed these high range binoculars below that can be hand held if you don’t want to use a tripod, you will still get a better experience if you attach them to a tripod using a tripod adapter as it will not only ensure a steadier image but give your arms a rest if you spend long periods scanning wide areas:

Giant Binoculars – 80mm+

Giant high zoom binoculars, with objective lenses of around 80mm like some of those listed below are commonly used for astronomy as they have large objective lenses to let in as much of the little light that is available and have a high magnification to bring distant objects like the moon, stars and galaxies into closer view. However this does not mean that they can’t be used as effectively as a terrestrial long distance binoculars.

Low Cost Giant Binoculars:

Mid-Level Giant Binoculars:

High Powered Binoculars at Night

Answer

Hi Ryan, many thanks for your question and the kind words.

Whilst I have not had the opportunity to test the Fujinon 12×60, I don’t think you will go far wrong with them as I have heard only but good things about the brand in relation to long distance, larger objective binoculars.

The only thing I have reviewed that is similar to these and which I may recommend are the Celestron Echelon 20×70 Binoculars (see above or Read My Full Review here), which are in my opinion excellent.

However as you are planning on using your long distance binoculars mostly for night, I think you are right in keeping the magnification down to a reasonable amount, to maintain the exit pupil size. Whilst not the case for everyone, I think this is even more important when we consider your age, where your pupils may not dilate as much as when you were younger. For more on this please take time to read my complete guide to the exit pupil which goes over it all in detail.

I hope this helps and I would love to know what you do eventually get and how they perform for you.

Spotting Scopes

Another option would be to get a spotting scope which are in their most basic form, telescopes designed for terrestrial observation.

These generally have higher magnifications than even the strongest binoculars and come with larger objective lenses for the reasons that we have already discussed. The down side is that they only have one eye-piece (the are essentially half a binocular). Whilst this saves weight and makes them smaller, but in general I feel that a good quality high power binocular is easy to use, provides a better view and to me offers improved comfort, especially during extended periods of use than most spotting scopes.

If this option interests you, take a look at the Best Spotting Scope Reviews Website that includes much more information as well as reviews on a selection of spotting scopes that I have used.

Further Reading:

• Binoculars for Astronomy
• Sunagor 30-160×70 Mega Zoom Binoculars – I take a closer look at these super powerful zoom binoculars.
• Different Binocular Configurations & Which to Choose
• Best High Powered Binoculars for Hunting – In this article I take a close look at high end binoculars with magnifications of between 12x and 20x

I hope that at least some of the advice I have given is useful and that you are able to find the right long distance viewing binoculars for your needs and within your budget. If you or anyone else has any more questions related to this topic, please don’t hesitate to ask it in the comments section at the bottom of this page.

The post High Powered, Long Distance Viewing Binoculars appeared first on Best Binocular Reviews.

How a Binoculars Magnification affects your Viewing Experience

In this article I’m going to discuss magnification and in particular how a binoculars power (magnification) impacts your experience whilst using it.

Please note: For the purpose of this document, I’ll be using the terms power and magnification interchangeably.

Size of the Binocular

When considering a binoculars magnification, it’s important to note that the physical dimensions of the binocular have nothing to do with its magnification. It is a common misconception to assume that a giant binocular has to be the most powerful and that compacts only have low magnifications.

Sure it is common for very high powered long range binoculars to be large, but this is because high powered devices need to capture more light in order to deliver reasonably bright image (see my complete guide to the exit pupil for more on this) and so need larger objective lenses and has nothing to do with the magnifying of the image that takes place in the ocular lenses in the eyepieces.

So you can get pocket sized 10x22mm compacts, mid-sized 10x32mm binoculars, “normal” sized 10x42mm binoculars and then large 10x50mm instruments – all of which have a 10x power and it is largely down to the different sized objective lenses that affect their physical size.

Size comparison between the 10x powered 32mm and 42mm Snypex Knight ED Binoculars

Above is an example of two Snypex binoculars of different sizes but both have the same 10x magnification.

What is My Binoculars Magnification

A binocular will almost always have the magnification (the number that precedes an x) displayed somewhere on the binocular. This is often but not always indicated on the rear face of the focus wheel

This example above is of an 8x42 binocular with that first number referring to the binoculars magnification this means that when you use it, you’re seeing the object 8 times closer than you would with the unaided eye.

The second number, 42 refers to the size of the objective lens.

What the Magnification Does

By increasing the magnification, you get more image detail. Or to put it another way, high powered binoculars potentially offer you a more detailed view of your subject than lower powered ones.

However there are a number of trade-offs associated with this increase in power:

Field of View

The photo below of a small herd of elephants coming down to the waters edge for a drink that I took whilst on safari in Zimbabwe is what you might see with the naked eye or zero magnification.

You can see a nice wide field of view and a lot of things around the elephants like the water, tree stumps and the trees in the background. So if a lion was to come out from there you would instantly see it!

8x vs 10x Power
Now Let’s now look at the image with 8x and 10x power binoculars

Notice how you get more detail, but the more you increase the power, the more the field of view gets narrower and you can no longer see the water or the trees in the background. So if a lion had to come out from there, you would miss it!

So remember that when you increase the power of a pair of binoculars your field of view is going to decrease.

So although you can see the object closer with more detail, a higher power binocular will have a more restrictive field of view which you may want to keep that in mind when you’re looking for binoculars for activities like bird-watching or spectator sports where a wider field of view is really helpful.

Image Stability

Another aspect to consider as you increase magnification is how it impacts image stability as you increase the binoculars power:

Any movement of your upper body or hands is going to be magnified in the view.

So with a lower magnifications like 7x or 8x, if the binocular isn’t perfectly steady you may see some movement or bounciness of the image, but unless you are particularly unsteady this is not going to be an issue.

But what happens if we add more power:
At a higher powers that same amount of instability in your hands or body is magnified even more in the image and so produces a more pronounced movement in the view. Too much image shake and it can become hard to clearly see what it is that you are trying to view.

This is something to consider as you look at binoculars with higher magnifications: you’re going to need to hold them steady and you will probably need to consider some sort of image stabilization like the Canon Image Stabilized binoculars or tripod mounting a standard instrument when you start heading towards powers of 15x and over.

The unsteady nature of the platform is why marine binoculars tend to come in fairly low 7x magnifications and a good general rule of thumb is that lower power binoculars are more user-friendly for people like bird watchers and sports spectators who like a wide field-of-view as it helps them to more quickly locate the bird or on field action and then follow it.

Whereas observers of larger and usually more slowly moving wildlife and hunters prefer to get closer to their game and thus will often use 10 power binoculars or even more.

Obviously for long range observation even higher powered binoculars will be preferable – Guide to Long Distance High Powered Binoculars.

Image Brightness

Increasing the magnification can also be a major factor in you observing a less bright image:

If you keep the same objective lens size (say 42mm for example), but you increase magnification, the image may seem to become less bright to you and this is more obvious in poor light like at dawn and dusk or when birding in a deep forest. This is down to how the size of objective lens and magnification control the size of the exit pupil and thus how much light is sent to your eyes.

Thus, a 10x42 binocular, with more “power” than an 8x42, will be less bright under low light conditions and this is why very high powered binoculars and especially binoculars for astronomy where the light is very poor tend to have large objective lenses: Firstly to collect more light and then ensure that the exit pupil is of a reasonably good size.

I hope this guide to magnification on binoculars helped you understand a little bit more about how it affects the view and helps in you in your quest of choosing binoculars that work best for you.

Further Reading

• What To Look For When Buying Binoculars
• How Different Configurations Affect a Binocular

The post Binoculars 101: Magnification, Stability, Field of View & Brightness appeared first on Best Binocular Reviews.

First Look: Nikon LaserForce Hunting Binoculars

Earlier on in the year, Nikon Sport Optics quietly introduced a new hunting binocular into it’s lineup and this is the first opportunity that I have had to take a closer look at the impressive list of features and specifications on offer:

Rangefinding Binoculars
Equipped with a laser rangefinder, the Nikon LaserForce binoculars are primarily aimed at hunters, although there will be those like target shooters that simply want or need to know the distance to what ever object they are targeting.

Currently only available in the 10x42 configuration, this is another sure sign that the hunting market is for the time being their primary focus and not the marine world where rangefinder binoculars are also useful, but because of the unsteady nature of using optics on a boat, usually marine binoculars will have a much lower 7x magnification. If you want to know why this is, check out my guides to how magnification, field of view and image stability are connected.

Nikon LaserForce 10x42 Rangefinder Binoculars

Main Specifications

• Magnification: 10x
• Objective lens Size: 42mm
• Field of View: 320ft @ 1000 yards
• Eye Relief: 15.5mm
• Dimensions (Length x Width): 5.8in x 5.2in
• Weight: 30.9oz

As you can see from the supplied specifications above, for a 10x binocular the field of view of 320ft wide at a distance of 1000 yards is pretty good, which will make scanning for game much easier than binoculars with narrower views.

The amount of eye-relief is acceptable and so whilst not huge, should be enough to accommodate most eye-glass wearers.

For robustness and overall feel of quality, I like that Nikon have opted for a metal chassis (see features below), although this with the fact that it has an on-board laser and battery makes it a little heavier than your average 10x42 binocular.

Dimensions wise, it is fairly typical for a 42mm binocular.

Main Features

• ED glass elements in the lenses
• Full Multilayer-coated Lenses and Prisms
• Eco friendly Lead and arsenic-free glass
• Laser Rangefinder with a 10-1900 Yard Range
• Tripod Adaptable
• Waterproof and Fogproof (nitrogen-purged)
• Metal die-cast Chassis
• Covered by Nikon’s Limited Lifetime Warranty

The list of official features that Nikon supply us with is short, but even so you can tell that the build quality and optics on these will be of a high to very level.

The use of ED glass is good as is the fact that the optics are fully multi-coated (which is to be expected at this price), but combined should help to deliver a high quality image with less color fringing.

Whilst Nikon do mention that they have added a “Reflective mirror coating” to the prism, they don’t mention what level it is. At it’s premium price range, I hope and suspect that it is probably the best dielectric coatings, but can’t be sure until someone can confirm it for me.

All in all these look to be a very interesting option for hunters looking to get a premium level set of range finding binoculars.

Cost & Where to Buy

The Nikon LaserForce 10x42 Rangefinder Binoculars have an RRP of $1,199.95 and being new to the market you won’t find them for too much less than that, although I have spotted them on Amazon & Adorama for $1125.00:

• Compare Prices: Nikon LaserForce Binoculars in the US, UK, Germany and more..

For some more details on these Nikon binoculars, take a look at the couple of videos provided by Nikon Optics, both of which go over the main features and they also give you a good idea of their proportions etc:

Official Nikon Sport Optics Video

Nikon LaserForce Product Demo

The post New: Nikon LaserForce 10x42 Rangefinder Binoculars appeared first on Best Binocular Reviews.

This BinoWizard question comes from a reader who has significantly different strength vision in each of their eyes and therefore is looking for a binocular that can compensate for this, but is unsure of exactly what to look for:

BinoWizard Answer:

Great question and this is actually one that I get asked quite a lot as there seems to be a lot of confusion and general misunderstanding on exactly how to focus your binoculars and set them up for your specific vision.

Therefore I have decided to publish my answer as I feel it will be of benefit to a lot of BBR readers out there.

Single Diopter Adjustment

Many people have slight differences in the strength of vision in each of their eyes. Therefore any binocular worth its salt will have some way of making a dioptric correction to one eyepiece independently of the other and thus calibrate it to the differences in your vision.

This is known as the diopter adjuster (spelt dioptre in the UK) and is usually located on the right eyepiece, but some are integrated into the main focus wheel (see images on the right)

Once you have performed this calibration and thus made allowances for the differences in your vision, you simply use the binoculars normally and focus on objects at different distances using the focus wheel.

For more on this please check out my guide on how to focus your binoculars and set them up for your specific vision.

Dioptre Adjustment Range on Binoculars
The amount dioptric correction varies from binocular to binocular and rather frustratingly not that many manufacturers indicate what amount of dioptric correction their models are capable of.

Then even when they do, I have read that they often advertise a number less than what they are actually capable of, so as to protect themselves.

However I think as a good rule of thumb, most will go from -4 to +4, many will achieve -4.5 to +5.5 and I have see top end models from Zeiss and Swarovski that can go from at least -6 to +6.

I am not sure what level of adjustment that you need, but if you feel that this is enough, just make sure the binoculars you are looking at have a diopter adjuster and if possible look for some where they advertise the amount of correction available.

There is also another option that I think will offer more or at least a different alternative that may help depending on the exact nature of your problem:

Individual Focus Binoculars

You also get binoculars with individual focusing for each side and basically these have diopter adjusters on both eyepieces, with most forgoing a focusing mechanism that adjusts both the sides at the same time, instead having a very long depth of view.

Often described as fixed focus, focus free or no focus binoculars, I would assume that these individual focus binoculars could be a better option if you don’t get enough dioptric correction with standard binoculars.

This is because you potentially get more compensation, indeed double the amount as you can set the right all the way to one extreme and the left all the way to the other.

I think this is also where the confusion can often come from as for marketing purposes this type of binocular has often been somewhat hyped up been described as being auto focus or self-focusing binoculars, which are other terms that you could look out for should you decide to go this way.

For more details on these, their relative strengths and weaknesses and links to the ones that I have tested and reviewed, take a look at this article on Individual Focus / Fixed Focus Binoculars.

I hope that this has helped. If you or anyone else has any further questions, suggestions or ideas, please feel free to use the comments section at the foot of the page.

The post Individual Focus Binoculars or Single Diopter Adjustment? appeared first on Best Binocular Reviews.

Those of you who have not heard of GPO (German Precision Optics) will be forgiven as they are a relatively new optics brand and one that has started with a big splash:

Earlier on this year they announced the release of their flagship series, the Passion HD, which if the impressive list of specifications and features is anything to go by looks to compete with some of the very best.

Designed in Germany, they are available in five different configurations, an 8x and 10x42, 8.5x, 10x and 12.5x50mm they are most certainly aimed at the very high end hunting, wildlife and birding markets:

Main Features

• Top Hinge Roof Prism Design
• Fully Multicoated Optics
• Double HD Lenses contain multiple ED (extra-low dispersion glass) elements in the objective lenses
• GPObright™ lens coatings
• Hydrophobic Exterior Lens Coatings
• Magnesium Bridge & Chassis
• Lockable Diopter Adjustment on Central Focus Wheel
• Aluminium Eyecup Housings
• Waterproof and fogproof

In terms of their features, an interesting highlight for me is the Double HD Lenses that GPO make a point of highlighting.

What they say is that each of these lenses have multiple ED glass elements contained within them and not just a single one as normal and which are said to improve image quality and lower chromatic dispersion, with the result being less color fringing in the image.

If this does turn out to be the case, then the high powered 12.5x50 Passion is sure to really benefit from this as it tends to be high magnification instruments that suffer more from this issue.

GPO USA owner, Michael Jensen says that “Feature for feature, spec for spec, this product simply outshines other competitive premium European product lines.”

Main Specifications

Going through the main specifications of each model, aspects that stand out for me are all models have ample eye-relief, are all reasonably lightweight for high quality magnesium chassis instruments and all have a more than decent field of view. Whilst minimum focus distances are not class leading, they are also there or there or thereabouts:

For a table that lists the main specifications of each model take here: About GPO Passion HD Binoculars

Price & Where to Buy

Depending on the model, the GPO Passion HD Binoculars have a recommended retail price of between €1299.99 and €979.99 in Europe and $1299.99 and $979.99 in the US, which considering their high end credentials looks to be very competitive and sure to take on the other European powerhouses.

Remember actual retail prices will drop, so it is worth checkin the current prices here:

• Buy & Compare Current Prices for GPO Passion Binoculars

The post New GPO Passion HD Binoculars Unleashed appeared first on Best Binocular Reviews.

The size of the ocular lenses on binoculars is something that is almost never considered when buyers decide as to which is best.

However apart from measuring them yourselves there is actually very little way of knowing what size oculars a particular model has. This is because very few brands actually publish this information and almost none that go one step further and use it in their marketing of their instruments.

Is Ocular Lens Size Important on Binoculars?

So because of this lack of information and the lack of any marketing buzz around it, does this mean that the size of the ocular lenses on your binoculars is unimportant?

I’ll tell you what I know so far:
Well to be honest at the moment I am not 100% sure, so if you are reading this and you know more than i do, please drop me a line, so we can fill in the blanks, but here is what I have been able to discover through research:

I have been measuring and recording the diameter of the ocular lenses on the binoculars that I review for a long time now. When I started, I was not sure if it was relevant or even if it was important at all.

Somewhat instinctively I assumed that if all else was equal, a larger ocular lens would somehow be better than a smaller one. But if so what were the benefits?

Firstly it is important to know and keep in mind that there are different designs of eye-pieces and in modern binoculars, they are all made up of a number of “lens elements” that are arranged into groups.

The number of these varies between brands and models, so whilst we can measure the exterior lens, apart from dismantling the eye-piece, or having the manufacturer supply us with the details, there is no way of knowing for sure if all the other elements are the same size. The eyepieces that i have looked at all seem to have the same size lenses, but is this true for all designs from different manufacturers?

Also if there are any benefits or down sides to a larger or smaller ocular lens, is this just the final exterior lens that matters or is it all of them within the eyepiece?

These are more questions that I have and can’t yet answer as I don’t know for sure, but below are the benefits to a larger ocular lens that I discovered:

Benefits of a Larger Ocular Lens

Easier Eye Alignment

A larger exit pupil makes it easier to line your pupils up with the shaft of light that is exiting the ocular lens, but as well as a larger exit pupil, a larger ocular also makes this easier and also minimizes the blackout that occurs with improper eye position.

Wider Field of View

According to the guys at Tract Optics, a larger ocular also helps to make it possible to create a eyepiece that produces a wider field of view.

I discovered this whilst reviewing their Tract Toric 8x42 Binoculars that has 24mm ocular lenses which is really large for a 42mm binocular in my experience. They are one of the few companies that advertise this as a feature when marketing their product.

Better Image Resolution

A larger lens makes it possible to produce a higher image resolution for a clearer, more sharp image.

More Eye-Relief?

I’m not so sure about this one, but I have read that larger oculars make it possible to have a longer eye relief?

Binoculars with Large Ocular Lenses

Below are some binoculars that I have reviewed with what I have found to have large oculars within their respective size classes:

Full Size Binoculars (Objectives around 42mm)

Minox BL HD 8x44 Binoculars

Ocular Lens Diameter: 25mm
Eye-Relief: 19.5mm

Tract Toric 8x42 Binoculars

Ocular Lens Diameter: 24mm
Eye-Relief: 19mm

Maven B2 11x45 Binoculars

Ocular Lens Diameter: 24mm
Eye-Relief: 16.7mm

Opticron Imagic BGA VHD 8x42 Binoculars

Ocular Lens Diameter: 24mm
Eye-Relief: 12mm

Athlon Argos 8x42 Binoculars

Ocular Lens Diameter: 23mm
Eye-Relief: 17.3mm

Mid Size Binoculars (Objectives around 32mm)

Swarovski EL 10x32 Swarovision Binoculars

Ocular Lens Diameter: 24mm
Eye-Relief: 17.3mm

As I say, this is just what I have been able to establish through research on the web

If you have any further information to provide or something that you would just like to add, please either comment in the section below or please feel free to contact me as I for one would love to know more.

The post Ocular Lens Size in Binoculars appeared first on Best Binocular Reviews.

This is an interesting question, because the current trend / buzz word within the optics industry is ED glass and it was not so long ago that you only found ED glass on very high end binoculars.

However there are many mid range and even some lower costing devices that have ED glass and all most certainly use it in their marketing and milk it for all that it is worth.

Because of this I now get a lot of queries from readers who wonder if they should automatically disregard any binocular that does not use glass in their lenses as they wonder if a binocular with out ED glass lenses is any good.

My answer to them is most certainly NO, especially at the lower price levels and here is why:

Firstly, it is almost certainly the case that not all ED glass lenses are created equal.

So your $100 ED binocular is almost certainly not going to have the same quality lenses as your $1500 Swarovski, Zeiss, Leica etc.

Then just because you use extra-low dispersion elements in your lenses, it does not immediately guarantee that you are going to reduce unwanted abnormalities like chromatic aberrations and thus get a higher quality image with lower levels of color fringing.

Ed vs Non Ed Binoculars

What it does mean is that they have the potential to achieve this.

To actually reduce color fringing, the whole optical system has to be taken into account and not just the use of quality ED lenses will do it. I have quite often looked through cheaper ED glass binoculars and observed more color fringing in the image than on some well made non ED binoculars.

So how and where were the binoculars made and by whom, what quality materials are used, the quality of glass in all the lenses and prisms is very important as are the coatings. There are many factors to be take into account.

Remember that all modern binoculars use some sort of low dispersion optical glass and ED glass just has a more low dispersion properties than "standard" low dispersion glass. Thus to get the benefit of reduced chromatic aberrations and viewable color fringing, you need a very high level of components, expertise and manufacturing that must be applied throughout the whole optical pathway on the instrument.

Therefore good quality binoculars without ED glass are not bad and unless you are comparing them against very high quality (and usually expensive) ED binoculars, you will struggle to notice any difference in the level of color fringing that they display in the view. Or if you look at it another way: a poor quality binocular will still show more color fringing with or without ED glass elements in their lenses.

I guess the takeaway from this and my personal view on this is I would rather have a very good quality non ED glass binocular in my hands than an average quality ED binocular.

I’d love to get your thoughts and opinions on this, so don’t forget to use the comments section below.

Related Content

• ED Glass in Binoculars – the Complete Guide
• Is Extra Low Dispersion Glass worth the extra cost?

The post Are Binoculars without ED Glass Any Good? appeared first on Best Binocular Reviews.

A new series from the outdoor giants, the range of Bushnell Engage binoculars come in 8x42, 10x42, 10x50 and 12x50 configurations and I have to say they do look impressive when you take a close look at their main features and specifications:

Body Features

The fully water and fog proof chassis on all the Bushnell binoculars within the Engage series are made from magnesium alloy, which along with their lockable diopter rings are both good indicators of quality.

Optical Highlights

All Bushnell Engage Binoculars are fully multi-coated as you would expect at this price. They also utilize ED glass elements within their lenses and I like that they have tough water and oil repellent coatings on the exterior lens surfaces.

These not only protect the lenses from scratching, but as less dirt and water marks collect on the lenses, it should mean that you have to clean them far lest often, which is always a good thing.

The Bak-4 Roof Prisms are phase corrected, which is also good, but I would be surprised at this price level to discover that they were not.

Bushnell do not let on as to what reflective coatings they use on the roof prisms. I hope that it is dielectric, which would keep them in-line with the other leaders within this price level.

Specifications

For me one of the real standout models within this series is the 8x42 Engage that amongst other things comes with a massively wide filed of view.

For more details on this and their other specs, take a look that the listing of the Bushnell Engage 8x42 Binoculars in the BinoWizard database.

The other models within the series seem to maintain this trend and even the Bushnell Engage 12x50 comes with a FOV of 280ft/93m @ 1000yds/1000m which considering the 12x power is good.

Cost & Where to Buy

Depending on the model, the Bushnell Engage Binoculars have an MSRP of between $349.99 and $409.99

This puts them in the mid-high end bracket where their direct competitors include other impressive binoculars like the Vortex Viper, Opticron Imagic, Celestron Granite, Hawke Saphire ED’s Snypex Knight ED’s and the Athlon Ares series.

For current prices and Bushnell Engage Binoculars for sale in your country check out the links below:

• US: Bushnell Engage Binoculars for sale in the USA
• UK: Bushnell Engage Binoculars for sale in the UK
• All other countries

Bushnell Engage Reviews

As I say they are still very new to the market, but I do hope to get hold of a pair soon to test and fully review.
I also have not come across any other sites with a Bushnell Engage binoculars review on them yet, but stay tuned!

The post Bushnell Engage Binoculars appeared first on Best Binocular Reviews.

First off, let me just start this article by stating that I am a big fan of Simon King and especially love as well as completely respect the work that he does for wildlife conservation. Indeed one of my favorite wildlife TV series of all time is the Big Cat Diary which he was a co-presenter of.

Anyway I have always found what he has to say to be interesting, especially as it is often quite close to my heart and so because of this I subscribe to his Twitter feed. The other day I came across a post of his where he linked to a video review that he had made on the Zeiss Victory SF 10x42 Binoculars, which of course was of instant interest to me.

Zeiss Victory SF 10x42 Binoculars – Review by Simon King

Below is the video and even though it is just over 2 minutes long, I really like the review and wish I had both the confidence and the ability to speak on camera half as well as he can.

However and far be it from me to be over critical, but I do think there are a few points that are worth going over so as not to misinform those who may watch it:

Unbiased Opinions?

In this video he starts by saying that he has always been a big fan of Zeiss and their binoculars.

Judging by his celebrity status and the fact that Zeiss themselves use Simon in their marketing, I imagine Zeiss now either pay him to use their products or maybe just give him free samples. Either way, I don’t think there is anything wrong with him saying that he is a fan as I do believe it to be true. The problem is, even if he does buy his own Zeiss binoculars, the fact that he is a lifelong fan of them, means to me that he is already at least slightly biased towards the product.

Anyway to be fair, most people will usually have their favorite brands and so will always lean in a particular direction to some degree. There is nothing wrong with that, so long as what you say about the product in your review is your honest and truthful opinion, which I think Simon does express in this review, it is just that I do feel that some of his facts and opinions in this video are a little erroneous:

Higher magnifications tend to be heavier?

Simon mentions that in the past he has always tended to go for a binocular with a 7x or 8x magnification. This sounds logical to me and nothing wrong with that, but his reason for not selecting a 10x one is somewhat misguided: He says "Higher magnifications tend to be heavier and therefor harder to hold for prolonged periods in the field, you get a wobbly image".

Yes to a very small degree, to increase the magnification, you require thicker lenses, but this amount is very negligible in a pair of binoculars and when increasing the level from 7x to 10x and really not noticeable to be a factor. In fact if we look at the technical specifications of the 8x and 10x42 Zeiss Victory SF, they are listed as both being identical in weight! (780g).

What is true, is the fact that it is harder to keep the image still (or not wobbly!) with higher magnifications. This is because any slight movement you make is magnified even more due to the higher power and not because of any added weight.

However even here for the vast majority of people in most circumstances, the difference in image steadiness between an 8x and 10x binocular is very minimal and for me hardly perceptible.

Although it is one of the main reasons that most marine binoculars have a 7x magnification, but in this application you are using your optics on what is potentially a very unstable platform (boat on rough water), so it makes sense.

I personally feel that the main reason you would opt for a lower magnification like 7x or 8x binocular for wildlife observation and especially birding is because with the lower power you are less "zoomed" into the image and thus have a much wider field of view.

This makes it easier to quickly locate your subject and then follow it. So in the case of a small, fast and erratic moving bird in a tree this can be important.

Remarkably & Incredibly Lightweight?

Simon spends a lot of time in this video emphasizing just how lightweight he feels the
Zeiss Victory SF 10x42 Binocular is. For example he says "But what you notice straight away about the SF’s is that they’re remarkably light, incredibly light in the hand and even more so when you bring them up to your eye."

As we have already established and according to Zeiss themselves, these weigh 780g (27.5oz).

Whilst this is not heavy, I would not describe them as being a lightweight 42mm binocular.

I have reviewed many 8x42’s and 10x42’s that weigh considerably less. True some of the lightest tend to be cheap instruments that use a lot of plastic parts, but not all.

A few examples include the very high specification Vortex 8x42 Razor HD which I consider to be on the same sort of level as that of the Zeiss Victory SF has a weight of 686g (24.2oz), the mid-high value Celestron 8x42 Granite weighs 24.0ozs (680g), the Pentax 9x42 DCF BR Binoculars weigh 23.5ozs (666g) and the Opticron Verano BGA HD 8x42’s come in at 26ozs (737g).

Indeed I have also tested some equally high end bins that have larger lenses and use the same quality of components (metal parts & magnesium chassis etc) but still manage to weigh less.

For example the Pentax ZD 8x43 ED Binoculars with their 43mm objectives have a weight of 25.2ozs (714g) and the Minox HG 8x43 Binoculars come in at only 650g (22.9oz), which is really impressive, especially when they to have slightly larger objectives.

So other than these few observations, I totally agree with Simon and as I said really like the way he comes across with such enthusiasm and confidence. I just wish I could do the same!

Also I would like to say that whilst I have not actually been able to use or test the Victory SF yet (big hint to Zeiss!), I would love to as I do think that they look like a truly great pair of optics with many great features that I would love to explain and write about.

Cost & Where to Buy Zeiss Victory Binoculars

More Info & Further Reading

• About Zeiss Binoculars
• About Zeiss Victory HT Binoculars

The post My thoughts on Simon King’s Review of the Zeiss Victory SF 10x42 Binoculars appeared first on Best Binocular Reviews.

Hi, I’m Jason, the founder of BestBinocularsReviews.com (BBR).

I started this site over 14 years ago out of an interest in binoculars that I picked up whilst training for and then working as a safari guide in South Africa.

Since then it has been growing slowly but surely and has finally reached the point where I can no longer keep up with the amount of articles and reviews that I need to publish from the gear that I get in to test and so I am on the lookout for a writer(s) and reviewer(s) to work on a freelance type basis.

The ideal person would be someone who:

• Enjoys writing and is pretty good at it
• Has a good understanding of and uses optics like binoculars, scopes and night vision gear on a regular basis (a birder, astronomer, or hunter etc)
• Enjoys testing equipment and reads reviews before making a purchase
• Can take a good photograph (only if you want to write the reviews. This is not required if you only want to contribute articles)
• Who wants to earn a little on the side by writing about optics, their uses and would like to test and review products for BBR

The position will start with 1 article per week, with much room to grow beyond this if you can deliver consistent quality work. Each article will be between <800 - 2500> words per post (With an average of about 1500).

Once we have established a good working relationship, we could then progress to having instruments sent out to you to test, photograph and then review if you wish.

Please note that the main subjects of my site (Binoculars, Scopes, Night Vision & Accessories) is fairly technical and I also have very high editorial standards compared to most other blogs and especially other review websites out there.

Every post that I publish goes through a strict editorial process where I will check all claims and ideas for accuracy.

BBR readers trust my opinions and thus I absolutely must ensure that they are honest and that my content is of the highest quality.

After we settle into things, I would like to discuss the frequency that you would like to contribute as ideally I would like to get to about an article a day, either from one writer or perhaps more.

Initially you’ll be assigned topics along with a detailed brief from myself and given a submission deadline.

It’s quite likely that in the first couple of weeks there will be a lot of feedback and editing required, but generally once we get into the swing of things, that part should become minimal.

Recent Examples:

By all means check out my latest articles and reviews to get a feel for the sort of quality and style I am looking for.

Articles:

• Guide to the Best Birdwatching Binoculars
• Best Monoculars 2017
• Binocular Harness Guide

Reviews:

• Snypex Knight D-ED 8x32 Binoculars
• Kabuki Glasses Review
• Carson RD Series 8x42 Binoculars

Note that I only require you to write the content and then if you wish to write reviews, you will need to be able to take photographs. No web formatting, photo editing or design is required.

Interested?

If this of interest, I would love to hear from you. Please fill out the form below don’t forget to add any relevant details regarding your experience, expectations and interests.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to working with you!

The post Native English Writer & Bino Reviewer needed for BBR appeared first on Best Binocular Reviews.

A question I often get asked is: How to use binoculars with glasses?, or If I wear eyeglasses, do I need to buy special binoculars? Unfortunately the answer is not just clear cut and I will try and explain as best I can:

It often depends on why you wear glasses:

If you wear glasses to correct far or nearsightedness, you may not actually need to use your eyeglasses when looking through your binoculars at all. This is because the focusing mechanism will allow for adjustment, thus correcting your vision.

If however you use glasses for other reasons, like Astigmatism you will need to wear your prescription glasses when you are binning, or you will sacrifice valuable image sharpness.

The other issue many people have is even if you don’t need to wear your glasses whilst actually looking through binoculars, it is what to do with them whilst you are!

The obvious answer to that is to just remove your glasses, put them down or wear them around the neck with a safety cord. This sounds simple enough, but doing it all the time, over and over again can get really annoying and then there is always the risk of forgetting or loosing them somewhere. The other issue with this is the time it takes. Whilst this may be fairly small, there is always that once in a lifetime sighting that you miss whilst you were swapping over.

Fully Extended Eye-Cups on these Snypex Binoculars

Eye-Relief & Eye-cups

The solution: Binoculars with Long Eye Relief.

What is eye relief?
Eye relief is the optimum distance distance between the ocular lens on the instrument and your eyes when using your binoculars. Any good quality binocular will come with adjustable eye-cups that enable you to get this distance just right so that you can see the full image without any bark rings forming on the edges.

For those that don’t need or wear glasses, the usual setting is to just have these eye-cups fully extended as the manufacturer usually designs the binocular so that the optimal eye-relief is at the same distance as the amount the eye-cups can extend. However as we know different people have different shaped faces and so being able to micro-adjust them to get the distance exactly right for you can be important.

If you do wear eyeglasses, you should pay extra attention to the quoted maximum amount of eye-relief. This is because your glasses sitting in-between your face and the binocular increases the distance between the ocular lenses and your eye.

This most eye-glass wearers will need to twist or fold (depending on the type) the eye-cups down because your glasses take up the eye-relief space instead of the eye-cups.

So it is important that you get a pair of binoculars with enough eye-relief to allow for this:

How Much Eye-relief is Enough?

Most binoculars have an eye relief of greater than 10mm, but for most eye-glass wearers this is not enough to ensure that you get the full image and can comfortably see the full uninterrupted field of view without any dark rings on the edges.

In my experience, to be considered to have long eye relief and enough for those who wear glasses, you should be looking for a binocular that has at-least 16mm and ideally a little more.

Sure, an eye relief of 14 to 15mm is enough for some, but ideally and to be more certain I would suggest that you should look for binoculars that have more eye relief than this. These days there are many instruments that have 17, 18 and even 21mm, which you can take a look at by following the links under more information at the foot of this page.

Eye-Cups

The design of the actual eye-cup can be especially important if you wear glasses.

Most cheap binoculars older and many fixed focus designs will have simple rubber cups that you fold down. These are fine if you don’t require any adjustment and the folded down position is sufficient.

However if you need or want some flexibility to alter the distance, then look for binoculars that have a twist up/down eye-cups. The best ones have a number of fixed “click” stops between fully extended and retracted. Others will have just enough friction and thus resistance to movement in order for you to position them at any point. For more on this, read this section on my reviews as this is one area that I check on every binocular that I test.

I hope that this helps in some small way in helping you to know when and how to use your binoculars with glasses.

For More Information:

• Read my article on Long Eye Relief Binoculars
• View all binoculars with Long Eye Relief (greater than 16mm)

The post How To Use Binoculars With Glasses: Eye-relief & Eye-cups Explained appeared first on Best Binocular Reviews.

I asked this question in a hurry. We were at the airport waiting to fly to Peru, our once in a lifetime trip was planned to the last detail. I had forgotten to sort out binoculars for our stay on an oxbow lake in the Amazon. With so much variety I had to understand what do binocular numbers mean?

In this article I am going to explain about the two numbers often found printed on the body of a binocular. The binoculars in front of me are 8x40. Searching for the extremes I found 6x21 and 25x150. Why are these numbers important?

Binocular magnification

Of the two numbers “8x40”, the first number is its magnification. Binocular magnification is sometimes referred to as power, I will just use the term magnification. You will notice the “x” alongside the “8” in my example, this belongs with the number. Meaning “8x” or eight times magnification.

The purpose of binoculars is to allow you to see a distance object more clearly by making them look larger, as if you were seeing them from much closer. My “8x” binocular makes the object I am looking at appear eight times larger than it would if I look at it with just my eyes (unaided).

Binoculars with 8x40, 8x42, 8x70, 8x32, or even 8x21 all offer the same magnification. They will all magnify the image by eight times. Likewise 10x42 will magnify ten times, 12x50 will magnify twelve times.

How about 30-160x70? This example is taken from the Sunagor 30-160x70 BCF Mega Zoom Binoculars. It has a range of magnification (sometimes referred to as zoom binoculars) 30-160x, and thus the power can be adjusted anywhere between 30 times and 160 times.

Such high magnification will not suit all intended uses, and more about the competing factors for choosing magnification are in this guide to How a Binoculars Magnification affects Stability, Field of View & Image Brightness.

Objective lens size

Of the two numbers “8x40”, the second is the diameter of the main objective lenses, in millimeters.

Using the same examples, an 8x40 binocular has 40mm diameter objective lenses. Whereas 8x21 has 21mm objective lenses, although with the same magnification.

Comparing 6x21, 8x21, 8x42, and 10x42. These have objective lenses with diameters of 21mm, 21mm, 42mm, 42mm.

The surface area of the objective lens captures light from the scene, and transmits it to the ocular lens (which then transmits that light to your eye). A larger objective lens captures more light and so the image seen is brighter. In low light conditions the more light that can be transmitted to the eye the better.

A 42mm objective lens has four times the surface area of a 21mm lens, and so has the ability to captures four times more light (area = pi x radius squared).

25x150 binoculars capture over twelve times more light than 10x42.

Do these numbers tell the whole story?

So we have established that the binocular numbers provide the magnification and the size of the objective lenses on a bino. The surface area of the objective lenses can be calculated, which determines how much light is captured by those particular objective lenses.

The two measures, magnification and size of objective lenses, relate to the field of view. Field of view is how wide an area is encompassed in the image seen through the binocular.

As the size of the objective lens increases, so does the field of view. As the magnification on a binocular increases the field of view decreases. So almost every 8x42 has a wider field of view than a 10x42. Just remember, other factors also affect the field of view, so two 10x42 from different manufacturers may have a different field of view.

Also: The numbers do not indicate how much of the light captured is actually transmitted to the eye, as the quality of the materials used in the lenses and other components on the light path determines how much light is lost (not transmitted).

They also do not indicate the weight of binoculars, as more powerful magnification and larger objective lenses will increase the overall weight. This may determine whether the binoculars can be used handheld or using a tripod (or with a monopod).

There are many other factors that influence the suitability of binoculars for a particular intended use. How big is the eye relief? How large is the subject being observed? How far away will you be from the subject? What is the minimum focus distance?

Summary

What do the numbers on binoculars mean? I hope you have found this article informative. The first number (including the X) is the power (magnification). The second number (immediately following the X) is the size of the objective lenses.

Together these numbers inform you how much larger an object will appear through the binoculars, and how bright the image seen will appear relative to the amount of light available.

The binocular numbers do not answer all the questions you may have about a particular pair of binoculars.

Further Reading

• Next: If you are interested in buying your first binoculars, take a look at our guide: What To Look For When Buying Binoculars

Please contact me if you have any further questions.

The post What do binocular numbers mean? appeared first on Best Binocular Reviews.