Posts tagged "Guide"

Birdwatchers: The Ultimate Buyer?s Guide to Binoculars

Birdwatchers: The Ultimate Buyer?s Guide to Binoculars

If you can, it is a good idea to actually see the binoculars you are looking to buy in person so that you can truly assess the quality of the binoculars prior to purchase and ensure that you are comfortable with the set that you buy. There are eight major things to look for when buying a new set of binoculars.

1. Weight: How heavy is the set of binoculars? Will you be able to hold them up to your eyes for an extended period of times without fatiguing your arms? Are the binoculars light enough that you can carry them in your rucksack all day without hurting your back? Is the weight well distributed when you are looking through them?

2. Size: How large is the set of binoculars? Are the binoculars comfortable to hold up to your eyes for a long period of time? Many better sets of binoculars have thumb rests built into them to make holding them easier – do these thumb rests fit well with your hands? Where will you be keeping your binoculars most of the time – your car, a bag or your pocket? Will the binoculars fit easily into your intended storage area?

3. Viewing: The inter-pupillary distance of the binoculars is important. Adjust the barrels of the binoculars so that you can view through the binoculars with ease. You should be able to see a full field of view with no shadowing. Better sets of binoculars will allow you to ‘lock’ your favourite settings into place. If you wear glasses, ensure that the eyecup material will not scratch your lenses.

4. Focus: Adjust the focus on the binoculars. Does the focusing wheel turn easily? Ideally, one rotation will take the focus from close to distance whilst still allowing for very minor focus adjustments in between. How closely & how far away can you focus? Think about how you think you are going to be doing most of your viewing and then ensure that you are happy with the focus of the binoculars at that distance. Some binocular models have a locking feature that allows you to lock a particular focus in – if the set that you are testing has this, is it easy to use?

5. Magnification: 7x is probably the most popular, however try a few different models and find what sort of magnification you prefer. Compare several different manufacturers at the same magnification as different brands will be of different quality and often the higher the magnification, the darker the image, the shallower the depth of field and the narrower the field of view. 6. Colour Fringing: Most binoculars will have some form of ‘colour fringing’ (an effect of lateral chromatic aberration where bands of colour appear to contrast boundaries). Cheaper binoculars tend to have a lot more colour fringing than more expensive models so test out a few sets of binoculars and decide what degree of colour fringing you will accept. You can test this easily by looking at a dark object on a light background.

7. Curvature: When looking at an image, do straight objects end up curving badly at the edges? Are the objects in focus all the way along the line or do they veer out of focus towards the edge of the picture?

8. Quality: Quality is difficult to assess unless you have owned the binoculars for a period of time. The key things to look for are to ensure that the binoculars are fully waterproof; look for a set which are gas filled so that they are sealed from dust and rain. Check how ‘solid’ the rubber armour is on the binoculars. Is it sticky? Sticky rubber will end up attracting all sorts of dust and muck so avoid rubber which looks like it might perish quickly.

Although most binocular manufacturers will push the quality of image of their binoculars, there is little point getting a high-end set with the best image around if they are really uncomfortable to use. Although quality of image is undoubtedly important, it is equally important to ensure that the binoculars you buy are comfortable and easy to use otherwise they will just become an expensive dust collector. If you have a set of binoculars in mind that you would like to buy, always remember to compare binocular deals to ensure you get the cheapest price possible.

CheckoutSpy.co.uk is a leading price comparison website which features all the latest discounts, deals, reviews & news.


Article from articlesbase.com

Posted by admin - October 10, 2010 at 8:36 pm

Categories: Waterproof Binocular   Tags: , , , ,

Marine Binoculars: A Guide For Buyers

Marine Binoculars: A Guide For Buyers

If you are contemplating on buying beautiful water -proof marine binoculars, it is imperative that you carefully choose from a small range of brands. Given the fact that you can use this for a very long time, procuring the best binoculars is necessary.

A binoculars’ purpose differs on every type of user. If you are a marine then you are entitled to use one for your line of duty. However, this can also be beneficial to hunters, soldiers and the like. It is more used by those who work or thrive on the great outdoors. Hikers also use this on their trips. It is especially helpful when you would like to spot a bird or other animals that are at a certain distance in the wild or wherever. There are also those who go to football or baseball games and bring a pair of binoculars in order to get a closer view of the game. Of course, not everyone can afford the ticket prices to be near the fields, but these people can definitely afford marine binoculars.

Hence, magnification is the first thing you will possess if you have 7×50 binoculars. This magnification factor determines the power of your lenses and it is always followed by an “x”. This means that if you use a binocular with 7x magnification you may see a view seven times more than without the binoculars.

Some experts even claim that more magnification doe not necessarily mean that it’s better because as it increases, the clarity and the brightness of the image often diminish. Aside from this, the depth of the field tends to become shallower and the field of vision becomes narrower as well. Plus, the thing with this high -powered device is that they are heavier than the usual binoculars. This would mean that having this on your neck and making handshakes with other people will be very uncomfortable on your part.

Moreover, the aperture is the second thing to consider subsequent to magnification. This refers to the lens diameter that is measured in millimetres which is similar to camera lenses. Hence, the 20-25 mm ranges are typically pocket sized binoculars. This type is perfect for those nature trips. Plus, it can fit right into your camera luggage.

Nevertheless, with regards to marine binoculars, it is imperative to have at least a 50 mm aperture. This is in order to promote better light gathering which is crucial in dark, heavily shaded areas. For astronomical uses, over 50mm or around 70 to 80 mm is used for obvious reasons.

For light gathering purposes, prisms are used. This is due to the fact that they can employ high quality glass prisms, which can provide clearer and more circular exit pupils. In addition to this, glass quality can directly affect the clarity of the image. This means that the best glass can give you a clearer flat field as compared to the whole field of view, making it a higher priced product.

The exit pupil, as mentioned above, is those indicators that depict how well an image can be seen in particular conditions like sunny/bright, night/twilight/dusky views. This exit pupil can also be characterized in millimetres by having the aperture divided with the magnification factor. This is like if you have 7×50 binoculars, then your exit pupil will be 50/7 or 7.14mm, making it way better than the 10×50 ones having only a 5mm exit pupil. With this, your view will become very difficult to hold at a steady motion, especially in the water.

This means that it is way better to have a larger exit pupil due to the fact that you can have an excellent viewing convenience under the said conditions. Thus, if you are in a sunny condition, then the pupil size of a normal individual would range from 2 up to 3 mm, meaning, even the smallest exit pupil like a 7x 20mm or a 2.86mm exit pupil pair of binoculars can take in more light as compared to what your eyes needed to see.

Furthermore, this can be a match to those 7 x 50mm binoculars. However, when twilight or dusky shaded area becomes the background, you will not be able to see a clear field of view on a 7x20mm. On this type, a 7x50mm binocular is better because of its larger exit pupil.

Furthermore, Porro Prism versus the Roof prism designs is mostly discussed by people who are confused by their uses. To settle this account: Porro Prisms are the bigger, classic binoculars that have two offset barrels and are connected by a centre axis rod. They tend to give a wider field of view and crisp sharp images. In contrast to this, the roof prism is sleeker in design and is more compact. This is even without the gaps between the barrels and centre axis. Plus, this is more durable and less prone to contamination by some elements; although, of course, it is more expensive. With this fact, it will just come down to the better judgement of the user, especially with regards to how it can be beneficial to him or her.

Lastly, being a waterproof type of device is a very essential feature of this binocular. This is for the reason that there will be times wherein you will be exposed to rain showers. When you go on hiking, when you’re on a ship or a yacht, you still have a tendency to get wet. Having this water proof binoculars will definitely provide you with quality images amidst several water exposures. Furthermore, many of these types of binoculars are even fog proof and nitrogen purged.

However, it is important that you do not get deceived by the water resistant models that pose themselves similar to the waterproofed ones. Water resistant models would mean that it is okay even if it gets splashed by some water. Thus, submerging it in the water is a whole lot different because it can surely break and damage this type, particularly during the rainy seasons.

These are the reasons why it is best to choose the right kind of marine binoculars. It is as critical as getting your money’s worth.

Famous Brands of Marine Binoculars are as follows:

• Avian
• Bushnell
• Canon
• Fujinon
• Nikon
• Steiner

The price of these binoculars, depending on the model and features, would range from 189 Euros up to 939 Euros.

For more information on Marine Binoculars: A Guide for Buyers please visit our website.


Article from articlesbase.com

More Marine Binocular Articles

Posted by admin - September 5, 2010 at 1:13 pm

Categories: Marine Binoculars   Tags: , , ,

Guide to Buying Binoculars, UK

Guide to Buying Binoculars, UK

The task of buying binoculars, UK or otherwise isn’t easy to say the least but one way of simplifying the process is by buying binoculars from UK online stores where searching for specific functionality is so much easier than on the high street.

Making the decision to invest in binoculars is the easy part but once you take those first tentative steps towards buying binoculars you soon learn that the process isn’t as simple as it seems. There’s an amazing amount of choice, numerous top quality binocular manufacturer (are you thinking of buying UK binoculars, German binoculars, US binoculars), hundred’s of different types and sizes on offer (waterproof binoculars, IS binoculars (image stabilising), compact binoculars, lightweight binoculars, marine binoculars, bird watching binoculars, the list is endless) and a decision to be made regarding such things as magnification, objective diameter, lens quality and eye relief.

One of the biggest problems with buying binoculars in the UK is that there is so much choice it’s hard to make a decision and when you start to realise the whole new world that binoculars give you access to you tend to want to go for the best money can buy (which can get expensive).

So there you have it, buying binoculars (UK), is a minefield, be prepared to follow a few guidelines before you start:

Be clear about what you are buying binoculars for. You can buy binoculars for general use, many of which are very good but if you are looking for astronomy binoculars for example and you want the best quality viewing it’s best to opt for specialist binoculars, particular given UK weather conditions.

If you want to use your binoculars in wet, salty, environments then search for marine binoculars which will be waterproof, fog-free and built for extreme weather conditions. The best marine binoculars are also corrosion resistant.

A lot of binoculars aren’t waterproof and in nice hot climates this isn’t an issue. For UK residents, when buying binoculars, UK weather conditions have to be taken into account, given the number of wet or damp days we have are none waterproof binoculars going to provide you with the flexibility you need?

Do you want to be able to use high magnification binoculars without a tripod? If so you may want to consider buying IS binoculars (image stabilising) which will eliminate the distortion caused by slight movements in your hand normally apparent with high magnification binoculars. If you’re buying binoculars to use in a moving vehicle then IS binoculars are ideal.

Are you buying binoculars for travel, UK and abroad, if so look at compact binoculars. They are light enough and small enough to carry around wherever you go maximising the use you get out of them.

Unless you are going to use a tripod or IS binoculars look at buying binoculars that have a magnification of 10x or less. Anything higher and you start to get image distortion due to slight movements in your hand. The Canon 10x42L IS Binoculars are a popular choice.

If you want to take your binoculars out and about all day, weight could be important. Lightweight binoculars are worth looking at with modern materials enabling a significant weight reduction even in full-size binoculars.

In the UK we have some wonderful wildlife which shouldn’t be missed, for the best quality viewing try and buy binoculars with high quality Bak-4 prisms and fully multicoated lenses.

• uncoated lenses give extremely poor quality viewing, not recommended
• coated lenses is one coat and isn’t necessarily all lenses
• fully coated is one coat all lenses

If you wear glasses or for comfortable all day viewing look at buying binoculars with long eye relief (15mm and above).

Rubber armoured binoculars tend to be more robust.

One final tip for buying binoculars (UK) is that price doesn’t guarantee quality but it is worth paying a bit more if you want good quality lenses and an unforgettable viewing experience.

For more on buying binoculars and for an extensive range of quality binoculars visit pro-binoculars.com


Article from articlesbase.com

Related Waterproof Binocular Articles

Posted by admin - September 3, 2010 at 6:46 pm

Categories: Waterproof Binocular   Tags: , ,

SEO Powered by Platinum SEO from Techblissonline