Dr T

We have a few pairs of binoculars kicking about, but my eyes seem to be getting older (not me just my eyes), and the old binoculars do not seem to work. I red about claims for new binoculars - like 18x50 and such. Is this possible or just hype?

eMacMan

Obviously.

Amazon.com: Bushnell PowerView 20x50 Super High-Powered Surveillance Binoculars: Sports & Outdoors

Guess my question is do you need greater magnification or are corrective eyepieces required?

Common mistake is trying to use glasses and binoculars together. Nice explanation of the correct method here.

How to Focus Binoculars | eHow.com

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Dr T

By which you mean, the claims of the amazon stuff is hype. Okay. I am not in the market for cheep stuff. I was comparing the $ 500 and $ 1,400 ranges, actually.

The explanation you cite, How to Focus etc et is a very clear explanation, which I would recommend to anyone, but I already have done all this. Corrective eyepieces, you say? I find the view through the existing binoculars kinda dark, so ... I will talk to my eye doctor guy before I shell out $ 1,400 + HST. Thanx for this, um, focus.

rgray

You are not very clear about what you mean by "do not seem to work".

Do you mean the image is dark or that you have trouble focusing or ???

A visit to the eye doctor is inoder to make sure your eyes are ok.

Binoculars are specified in the format aa x bb (eg 10x35). 'aa' is the magnification factor or power. By and large the greater the magnifivation factor, the darker the image because less light is bassing through. Brightness also varies with optical quality (higher price - better quality by and large) also. As we age there are minor tremors in the hands that are magnified as optical power increases making it harder to focus as we age. The 'bb' in the specification is the diameter of the objective lens (away from your face). In general terms, the larger the objective lens the brighter the image. The image in a 8x50 bino will be brighter than a 8x20 (compact type). Most claims of "light gathering" are just bull unless you get into electronics and 'night vision'. Hope this helps.

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SINC

That's bunk. I have several pairs of binoculars and use them all the time when wearing glasses. I have tried taking my glasses off and cannot see anything clearly through them no matter how they are adjusted. Binocular lenses cannot correct astigmatism so glasses off are not even an option for me. I see crystal clear through binoculars with my glasses on.

A word of caution about high power zoom sets. Unless you want to carry a tripod, they are pretty much useless when afield. You can get by with resting on a post or the hood or roof of a vehicle, but that feature is the least used of my high power set and I wish I had never bought them. The zoom is far too shaky to be of any real use when used freehand. A wider viewing pair with a modest zoom is far superior in many cases.

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rgray

+1

BTW Sinc is correct about astigmatisms, however wearing eyeglasse while using bino's does introduce another optical layer and surfaces which will degrade the image to a degree. If you can get away without glasses the image will be marginally brighter.c

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