Which Binocular Is Right For Me?
With time, price will be forgotten, but quality will remain!
Good News ! – The quality of binoculars has improved drastically over the past few years at the same time that prices have come down. To select the right binocular for you, you need to focus (ha ha) on seven important features.
1. Magnification. Binoculars have two numbers, such as 8x42 or 12x50. The first number is the magnification or “power”. Eight means that an object will appear eight times closer than it would with your naked eyes. A magnification of seven is nice for general nature viewing while magnifications of eight or ten are the most popular for birding and sporting events. Twelve is used for sailing and astronomy. A magnification of 6 is nice for kid’s binoculars or compact binoculars you might take to a concert.
2. Objective Lens Size. The second number is the size (in millimeters) of the lens at the far end of the binocular. A larger lens lets in more light. The coatings on the glass lens also have a lot to do with the amount of light that reaches your eyes. Compact binoculars have smaller objective lenses so less light reaches your eye. This is no problem in broad daylight, but it will make it harder to see things at dawn and dusk.
3. Close Focus. You may want to look at a flower or butterfly that is only a few feet away. The close focus number tells you the shortest distance (in feet) that you can focus on. For birding, you will want a binocular with a close focus of seven feet or less. For sporting events, this will not be important to you.
4. Field of View. This number tells you how wide an area you can see through your binocular when you look out 1000 feet. It is nice to have a wide field of view, but as magnification increases, the field of view declines. The eyepiece design also affects the field of view.
5. Roof vs. Porro Prism Binoculars. All binoculars come in two basic “shapes”. Porro prism binoculars are typically larger and bulkier and cheaper to make. But they offer a more 3 dimensional effect. Roof prism binoculars have internal focusing that makes them sturdier and more waterproof.
6. Eye Relief. This refers to the maximum distance your eye can be from the eyepiece and still see the entire field of view. This is important if you wear glasses. Unless a binocular has a minimum eye relief of about 15mm, there will be some difficulty in comfortable observing and in seeing the complete field of view when wearing eyeglasses.
7. The 3 Ws – Weight - Waterproof - Warranty. If you are going out birding all day, the weight hanging around your neck will soon become very noticeable. Newer binoculars are manufactured with materials that help reduce the weight. Some very inexpensive binoculars may not be waterproof. You should avoid these. Finally, make sure the manufacturer has a good warranty and will fix your binoculars if something goes wrong.
There are many great binoculars. If you want to spend over $2,000 on a top-of-the-line binocular, we recommend the Leica Ultravid HD 10x42
, Swarovski EL 10x42
or the Zeiss Victory 10x42
.
If you are not made of money, we recommend Vortex binoculars for their exceptional combination of quality and price. We have looked through a LOT of binoculars over the past few years and we are quite sure you will find that Vortex binoculars are an exceptional value.
Top Picks Under $1,000:
Razor 10x42
Razor 8x42
Viper 8x42
Top Picks Under $500:
Fury 10x42
Fury 8x42
Top Binocular on a Budget:
Diamondback 8x42
Top Shore Birding/Raptor Watching Binocular:
High end: Razor 10x50 or Fury 12.5x42
Budget: 10x50 Diamondback
Top Butterfly Binocular:
High end: Viper 6x32
Budget: Diamondback 7x36
Top Kid's Binocular:
Raptor 6.5x32
Raptor 8.5x32
Top Spotting Scope:
Skyline ED 20-60x80 Angled Spotting Scope
Good News ! – The quality of binoculars has improved drastically over the past few years at the same time that prices have come down. To select the right binocular for you, you need to focus (ha ha) on seven important features.
1. Magnification. Binoculars have two numbers, such as 8x42 or 12x50. The first number is the magnification or “power”. Eight means that an object will appear eight times closer than it would with your naked eyes. A magnification of seven is nice for general nature viewing while magnifications of eight or ten are the most popular for birding and sporting events. Twelve is used for sailing and astronomy. A magnification of 6 is nice for kid’s binoculars or compact binoculars you might take to a concert.
2. Objective Lens Size. The second number is the size (in millimeters) of the lens at the far end of the binocular. A larger lens lets in more light. The coatings on the glass lens also have a lot to do with the amount of light that reaches your eyes. Compact binoculars have smaller objective lenses so less light reaches your eye. This is no problem in broad daylight, but it will make it harder to see things at dawn and dusk.
3. Close Focus. You may want to look at a flower or butterfly that is only a few feet away. The close focus number tells you the shortest distance (in feet) that you can focus on. For birding, you will want a binocular with a close focus of seven feet or less. For sporting events, this will not be important to you.
4. Field of View. This number tells you how wide an area you can see through your binocular when you look out 1000 feet. It is nice to have a wide field of view, but as magnification increases, the field of view declines. The eyepiece design also affects the field of view.
5. Roof vs. Porro Prism Binoculars. All binoculars come in two basic “shapes”. Porro prism binoculars are typically larger and bulkier and cheaper to make. But they offer a more 3 dimensional effect. Roof prism binoculars have internal focusing that makes them sturdier and more waterproof.
6. Eye Relief. This refers to the maximum distance your eye can be from the eyepiece and still see the entire field of view. This is important if you wear glasses. Unless a binocular has a minimum eye relief of about 15mm, there will be some difficulty in comfortable observing and in seeing the complete field of view when wearing eyeglasses.
7. The 3 Ws – Weight - Waterproof - Warranty. If you are going out birding all day, the weight hanging around your neck will soon become very noticeable. Newer binoculars are manufactured with materials that help reduce the weight. Some very inexpensive binoculars may not be waterproof. You should avoid these. Finally, make sure the manufacturer has a good warranty and will fix your binoculars if something goes wrong.
There are many great binoculars. If you want to spend over $2,000 on a top-of-the-line binocular, we recommend the Leica Ultravid HD 10x42
If you are not made of money, we recommend Vortex binoculars for their exceptional combination of quality and price. We have looked through a LOT of binoculars over the past few years and we are quite sure you will find that Vortex binoculars are an exceptional value.
Top Picks Under $1,000:
Razor 10x42
Razor 8x42
Viper 8x42
Top Picks Under $500:
Fury 10x42
Fury 8x42
Top Binocular on a Budget:
Diamondback 8x42
Top Shore Birding/Raptor Watching Binocular:
High end: Razor 10x50 or Fury 12.5x42
Budget: 10x50 Diamondback
Top Butterfly Binocular:
High end: Viper 6x32
Budget: Diamondback 7x36
Top Kid's Binocular:
Raptor 6.5x32
Raptor 8.5x32
Top Spotting Scope:
Skyline ED 20-60x80 Angled Spotting Scope
Questions or Comments? Call 800-865-2473
