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A critical step in selecting a pair of binoculars is determining the power you want. Binocular power is indicated by two numbers, as in these examples: 6x30, 7x50, 8x26, 10x42, and 12x60. The two numbers are not directly related; the first stands for the magnification and the second number corresponds to the diameter of the objective lens. -- Magnification -- The first number, invariably the smaller of the two, expresses the amount of magnification that the binoculars offer. This is a measure of how much closer the viewed image will look when looked at with the binoculars. While bigger sounds beneficial, this is not always the situation in binoculars. Selecting the optimal magnification will vary depending on your intended usage. Lower magnification binoculars, 7x and lower, allow for a bigger field of view which makes targeting things far away—like animals, ships, or birds—easier. A larger field of view also makes it easier to follow motion of the subject being observed. Since lower magnification binoculars take in more of the scene, they collect more light. Because of this, the resulting image will usually be easier to see and brighter even though it is not as greatly magnified. Because of the lower magnification, they also tend to be less sensitive to movement or vibration. If you are going to be in the field making use of your binoculars without the use of a tripod, this can be a critical consideration. Lastly, lower magnification binoculars often are able to focus on objects that are closer than comparable higher magnification binoculars. But when it's all said and done, lower magnification binoculars ultimately allow for less magnification, and therefore less detail than higher power models. If you actually need high magnification binoculars, typically 11x and above, for your use, make sure you also purchase a tripod or get binoculars with an image stabilization feature. The greater the magnification, the more affected binoculars are to vibration. Once you starting thinking about 10x magnification binoculars, they will be nearly insufferable to use without a tripod or an image stabilization system. Larger magnification binoculars also tend to be heavy. If you plan on using them for a long length of time, a tripod will be a better option than binoculars with image stabilization. As for expense, it shouldn't be too surprising that higher magnification models tend to be more more costly than equivalent lower magnification models. Unless you have special needs or uses intended for your binoculars, a reasonable middle-of-the-road magnification level is 8x. Binoculars with this level of magnification offer a nice trade-off of magnification while providing reasonable cost, good brightness, and low weight. -- Objective Lens Size -- The second number in the power corresponds to the diameter of the objective lens in millimeters (mm). The objective lens is the lens in the front of the binoculars, furthest from your eye. Smaller objective lens tend to indicate binoculars that are smaller in overall size. Binoculars with objective lens sizes of 30 mm and smaller are most often found on pocket and compact models. While compact and pocket binoculars are lighter and easier to carry, the downside of them is that the smaller lenses allow less light into the binoculars. This can make images darker and harder to see. If you intend to use your binoculars at nighttime, binoculars with smaller objective lenses will not be a good choice. If brightness, or nighttime use, is an important consideration, objective lenses that are 50 mm or larger will work best for you. However, binoculars with large objective lenses will most often be heavy and large. If you intend to use binoculars of this size, you will want to have a tripod available, independent of the magnification level. The most common objective lens sizes used tend to be between 35 and 50 mm. Since the magnification level also has an effect on image brightness (higher magnification will be darker), the objective lens sizes tend to increase as magnification increases to balance out the lost brightness. For a good general rule, look for binoculars that have an objective lens diameter that is at least 5 times larger than the magnification. For example, 6x30, 8x40, 10x50, etc. While there are some binocular manufacturers with exceptional optics that will provide good brightness at a ratio under 5, the safest thing is to stay at or above this ratio for good brightness.
Article Source: http://www.phalenes.org/articles
Buster is a dedicated bird watcher. You can view his bird watching binocular reviews at binocular-rankings.com.
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