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Reading time: 5 minutes - July 04, 2023 - by Markus Igel

Which binoculars are right for me?

Are you looking for the perfect binoculars, but you can't make sense of all the binocular designations and terms? Then you've come to the right place! On this page you will find all the important explanations of terms and reliable buying advice so that nothing stands in the way of your next observation!

Binoculars - what is important?

Just like when buying a new camera or lens, when buying new binoculars it also depends on what you mainly want to use them for. In a nutshell, this means: What features should it have for the individual area of application? Here are the main aspects that differentiate binoculars:

  1. The size and weight

  2. The magnification

  3. The field of view and light intensity

  4. The glazing

  5. The special functions

1. The size and weight

Binoculars are available in many sizes and designs: from 200 grams to 2 kg, everything is included! But what is the right one? On the one hand, the binoculars should sit very comfortably and quietly in the hand. With this criterion, you would tend to go for heavy binoculars. However, this can be annoying and heavy when traveling or on longer hikes. Small pocket binoculars are often not of particularly high quality and are difficult to hold due to their low weight. We therefore recommend using high-quality binoculars weighing between 800 grams and 1 kg. This gives you the perfect compromise between handling and weight!

As with cameras and lenses, the term "IS" stands for image stabilizer and can be particularly helpful if you are observing subjects that are far away and require additional stabilization.

Steiner Safari UltrSharp 8x22

2. The magnification

Now we come to the somewhat more complicated part: the magnification. There are several designations and numbers on binoculars that provide information about the coating, the magnification and the diameter of the glass. Binoculars usually have two designations on the eyepiece, for example: 8x21. The first number indicates the magnification, i.e. in this example the subject is shown 8x closer than with the naked eye. Standard magnifications are between 7 and 10: this allows you to see details perfectly without compromising on quality and stabilization from the hand. As soon as the magnification becomes too high, it is difficult to work without blurring, as is the case with lenses.

The second value indicates the diameter of the lens of the entrance pupil (in mm). This indicates how much light can enter the lens. This is particularly important when used in the twilight range. But what is right for you and how do you find out which binoculars are exactly right for your pupil? You can simply divide this value by the magnification and you will get the size of the pupil. In general, it can be said that older people have a pupil of 5-6mm; younger people tend to have a pupil between 7-8mm. This means that older people should buy binoculars with a magnification of 8-10x42 so that they can make optimum use of the light intensity. You should also pay attention to the twilight factor, as this indicates how powerful the binoculars are at twilight. This should be between 12 and 25. It is simply calculated by taking the square root of magnification x diameter!

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3. The field of view and light intensity

The field of view is also an important indicator when buying binoculars. It is calculated by dividing the eyepiece field of view by the magnification and is specified either in meters or as an angle: 1 degree corresponds to a field of view of 17.5 meters. This is particularly important for spectacle wearers, as you should be able to see at least 80% of the field of view when wearing glasses. This results in a distance between the eye and the eyepiece lens of over 14 mm. In general, values above 55 degrees are considered very suitable!

Particular attention should be paid to the light intensity of binoculars and therefore also the twilight factor, because the greater the light intensity, the more light reaches your eye. It is also important to ensure that the eyepiece diameter is large, as this also allows more light to reach the eye and creates a greater wealth of detail.

Binoculars have designations such as CF, which stands for CloseFocus, among other things. This means that the binoculars have a very short focusing range (usually 2-4m). This can be particularly helpful if you want to observe birds, plants or small subjects and want to get very close.

4. The glazing

The quality of the lenses is particularly important, as this allows the light to reach your eye directly and the subject to be imaged sharply. Here you should pay attention to the coating of the lenses and thus the optimization of so-called transmissions. Values above 90% are of particularly high quality. You can recognize coatings on binoculars by designations such as MC = multi-coating. In addition, some manufacturers have nano-coating designations such as LotuTec for Zeiss or AquaDura for Leica, which also have a water-repellent coating so that you are not standing in the rain even in bad weather.

A very simple trick when buying is to check whether you see a white round surface when you look through the eyepiece at a distance of 30 cm against a bright surface. If the corners appear angular and gray, the image will end up being very low-contrast and not as detailed, as the light passing through the binoculars will not even reach your eye.

5. The special functions of binoculars

Not all binoculars are just binoculars! With this in mind, we would of course like to present the special functions that can be built into binoculars and should be taken into account when making a purchase decision:

  • Built-in compass, particularly interesting for seafaring
  • Built-in calculation of ballistics, particularly interesting for hunting / Rangefinder
  • Image stabilization
  • Built-in automatic dimming in strong sunlight
  • Digital image zoom
  • Autofocus
  • Waterproof
Binoculars from Pentax

The most popular binoculars

  • 8x20: these are the popular compact binoculars that are particularly suitable for everyday use. They are very light and small and can be taken with you all day long.
  • 8x32: the all-rounder: these binoculars usually weigh around 600-700 grams and have such a large field of view that they are ideal for use in twilight.
  • 7x42: large and wobble-free: you can work particularly well with these binoculars if you focus by holding them steady. They have a field of view of 140-150 meters and weigh around 900 grams.
  • 10x42: perfect for birdwatchers: the magnification allows you to make great details visible and bring distant subjects very close! The field of view here is approx. 115 meters, and the binoculars themselves weigh less than 800 grams!
  • 8x56: perfect for all hunters! These binoculars score points with beautiful details and enormous light intensity!
All binoculars

 

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