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mattyb · Dec 10, 2009, 10:24 AM

The in-laws live in a place with a good view of the sea, and a good view of some mountains - yes, in reality it is even better than it sounds, the swines.

Anyway, they want some decent binoculars for Crimbo and I haven't got a clue.

I'm thinking that these would be good (they don't need to be portable, they have some small binoculars already).

What do the binocular experts think? What does the 20 X 50 pertain to?

subego · Dec 10, 2009, 10:49 AM

The first number is magnification, the second number is how much light it lets in.

Bigger is better for the second number (in a very rough sense). The first is a matter of taste, and how much glass you're willing to lug around.

finboy · Dec 10, 2009, 10:59 AM

Originally Posted by subego

The first number is magnification, the second number is how much light it lets in.

Bigger is better for the second number (in a very rough sense). The first is a matter of taste, and how much glass you're willing to lug around.

Yep. First is mag, second is the size of the objective lenses (the big one). 20x50 is going to be really hard to look through (it will have a narrow field of view), 10x50 is about the most mag you'll want with such a small objective. There are plenty of 20x80s out there now for cheap, but they're heavy. Also, you should think about a spotting scope if you're going to mount it on a tripod or something anyhow, there are some good ones out there for cheap. Good = big objective lense.

7x50 is what they call a "night glass" because it gathers a lot of light relative to the opening in your pupil. Those are by far the most common and comfortable.

Make sure to avoid set focus or "zip" pivot focus types, you want a gradual focus for terrestrial objects.

Whatever you do, never look at or near the sun, even at sunrise/sunset. It can cause permanent and instantaneous blindness in the right conditions. It's amazing how many people damage their eyes each year b/c they don't know any better. (Maybe they think that there's some limiter built into optics or something).

mattyb · Dec 10, 2009, 11:25 AM

Cheers for the replies.

amazing · Dec 10, 2009, 09:56 PM

I'm wondering if a telescope might be better? On a tripod?

moonmonkey · Dec 13, 2009, 06:04 AM

a Swarovski spotting scope would be fantastic, like a telescope for land objects.

Eug · 10:58 AM

If they wear glasses, they want a high eye relief setup. Most of the cheap ones have a very shallow eye relief. The latter are very, very annoying to use with glasses, and can even be somewhat annoying without glasses for some people actually. Those Bushnells you listed have an eye relief of only 9 mm. in contrast, some of the better (but not super expensive) ones have an eye relief 17-20 mm. I suggest you go to a photo store and just through a few binoculars to get a sense of what we're talking about.

P.S. I found as a beginner than a mag of 10 was a bit hard to hold steady, but manageable. A mag of 8 was much easier, but of course didn't get you very close. I got an 8 x 40 because it was easier to keep steady and because it was much lighter for hiking, and it was mainly to be used for looking at birds, etc., not things super far away.

It depends on what you they want to do. A telescope will get them closer, but will also have a very, very narrow field of view, and will be virtually impossible to hold steady. The telescope will require the tripod, while the binoculars (at 10 mag and under) won't. If the place they'll use it is quite the hike, then some telescopes with tripod might be too heavy for them to use regularly. Binoculars you carry with you are much more useful than a telescope sitting in storage. Same goes for a 20X mag set of binoculars, so you lose the advantage of binoculars there. Well, at least you could get away with a monopod.

residentEvil · Dec 13, 2009, 10:53 AM

since they told you what they want, it isn't really a surprise...soooooo...

take them shopping so they can try a bunch out, what they like, easy to use (handle, setup, how it feels with their eyes, etc). in the end, they will be much happier.

Eug · Dec 13, 2009, 11:01 AM

Originally Posted by moonmonkey

a Swarovski spotting scope would be fantastic, like a telescope for land objects.

That's like 20-50X the price of his original suggestion.

mattyb · Dec 14, 2009, 03:54 AM

I was thinking of a tripod, but I don't know if they want to fool around with it every time they look at the mountains.

They'll be visiting in a bit so I'll take them to a shop and have them try some stuff. Interesting what you said about eye relief Eug, since the whole family wears glasses.

moonmonkey · Dec 14, 2009, 04:36 AM

Originally Posted by Eug

That's like 20-50X the price of his original suggestion.

Talking about money is so vulgar.

finboy · Dec 14, 2009, 10:20 AM

Good point about eye relief. I forgot about that. Fold-down cups are important too.

ort888 · Dec 14, 2009, 10:31 AM

Get them some Trioculars. They are 50% better.

Eug · Dec 14, 2009, 10:33 AM

I wear glasses and found an eye relief of 17 mm adequate, but an eye relief of 20 mm nicer.

To put it another way: If you get a killer deal on good binoculars which only has a 17 mm eye relief then that's fine. However, if everything else is the same on another model with a 20 mm relief, and it's only a little more $, then it's worth getting the higher eye relief.