Zavier Fong asked:
Choosing a binoculars can be a rather tricky task considering that there are so many kinds of binoculars out there. What do all these technical terms mean? Let’s find out.
Binoculars are great instruments that can enhance various activities such as hunting, bird watching, sports and even astronomy. In essence, a binocular takes a distant image, magnifies it through its lens, and presents that image for our viewing. All this is done while remaining small and compact enough to be carried around.
The actual architecture of most binoculars is fairly simple. The lenses positioned at the end of the barrel are often known as the objective lens. These lenses gather the light from a distant image and focus it on the lenses closest to your eyes for viewing. Binoculars are really just two mini telescopes set side by side so that viewing can be done with both eyes as opposed to just one. This helps to create a depth of field of the objects being observed a lot better than if it was a single scope.
When you choose a pair of binoculars, you’d find that there are usually two numbers used to describe them. These are often described as something like “10×50″ or something similar. Let’s translate this numbers to something more meaningful.
The first number simply refers to the magnification of the binoculars, or simply put, how many times the image is magnified. Hence, if this number is a 10, it means that the image you are seeing through the lens has been magnified 10 times its normal size.
The second number is related to the size of the objective lens at the end of the binoculars. This number is quite important to take note of because larger objective lens diameters mean that more light will be captured by the binoculars.
So how practical is all this information? Most people make the assumption that it’s best to get the highest magnification they can for their binoculars. This is not quite right. A hand-held binoculars at a high magnification tends to have too much movement for the highly-magnified image to be useful. Usually, binoculars that have anything more than 10 times magnification should be mounted on a tripod instead of being held. Hence, if you’re planning to use binoculars without a tripod, you should stay within the 4-8x magnification range.
We talked about the objective lens size of the binoculars earlier on. If the activity you plan on using your binoculars is a low light situation i.e at night or in a dimly lit situation, whether indoors or outdoors, then you’d need a larger objective lens for your binoculars. Generally speaking, 30mm and above is essential for low light situations, to ensure that you’re capturing as much light as possible.
The last thing you’d need to consider is the actual weight of the binoculars that you’re buying. For activities like hiking, or hunting, it’s probably best to acquire a pair of light weight binoculars. Plastic lenses, which weigh a lot less than their glass counterparts, may be the solution. The tradeoff is that glass lenses perform a lot better at the same cost, but are heavier and more fragile.
In summary, you’d need to consider which activities you’d most likely be using your binoculars in when choosing the right binoculars. The magnification and objective lens are key factors, but you may also consider getting water-proof ones depending on your needs. A more expensive pair of binoculars will generally be more robust and are able to withstand longer term use.
Choosing a binoculars can be a rather tricky task considering that there are so many kinds of binoculars out there. What do all these technical terms mean? Let’s find out.
Binoculars are great instruments that can enhance various activities such as hunting, bird watching, sports and even astronomy. In essence, a binocular takes a distant image, magnifies it through its lens, and presents that image for our viewing. All this is done while remaining small and compact enough to be carried around.
The actual architecture of most binoculars is fairly simple. The lenses positioned at the end of the barrel are often known as the objective lens. These lenses gather the light from a distant image and focus it on the lenses closest to your eyes for viewing. Binoculars are really just two mini telescopes set side by side so that viewing can be done with both eyes as opposed to just one. This helps to create a depth of field of the objects being observed a lot better than if it was a single scope.
When you choose a pair of binoculars, you’d find that there are usually two numbers used to describe them. These are often described as something like “10×50″ or something similar. Let’s translate this numbers to something more meaningful.
The first number simply refers to the magnification of the binoculars, or simply put, how many times the image is magnified. Hence, if this number is a 10, it means that the image you are seeing through the lens has been magnified 10 times its normal size.
The second number is related to the size of the objective lens at the end of the binoculars. This number is quite important to take note of because larger objective lens diameters mean that more light will be captured by the binoculars.
So how practical is all this information? Most people make the assumption that it’s best to get the highest magnification they can for their binoculars. This is not quite right. A hand-held binoculars at a high magnification tends to have too much movement for the highly-magnified image to be useful. Usually, binoculars that have anything more than 10 times magnification should be mounted on a tripod instead of being held. Hence, if you’re planning to use binoculars without a tripod, you should stay within the 4-8x magnification range.
We talked about the objective lens size of the binoculars earlier on. If the activity you plan on using your binoculars is a low light situation i.e at night or in a dimly lit situation, whether indoors or outdoors, then you’d need a larger objective lens for your binoculars. Generally speaking, 30mm and above is essential for low light situations, to ensure that you’re capturing as much light as possible.
The last thing you’d need to consider is the actual weight of the binoculars that you’re buying. For activities like hiking, or hunting, it’s probably best to acquire a pair of light weight binoculars. Plastic lenses, which weigh a lot less than their glass counterparts, may be the solution. The tradeoff is that glass lenses perform a lot better at the same cost, but are heavier and more fragile.
In summary, you’d need to consider which activities you’d most likely be using your binoculars in when choosing the right binoculars. The magnification and objective lens are key factors, but you may also consider getting water-proof ones depending on your needs. A more expensive pair of binoculars will generally be more robust and are able to withstand longer term use.
