• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Binocular Evaluations (3 Viewers)

black crow

Well-known member
I think that basically I know a good set of binoculars when I look through them but honestly I've never really thought about it until I joined this forum in December. I joined because I got excited about bird watching and the optical end of that. I've always carried compact binoculars but in November bought my first pair of full sized optics. I didn't really know about more than a half dozen companies and did my initial research on those. I had a low end budget but wanted something really good for my money. I knew from the inexpensive Nikon compacts I've owned that it could be done. I've owned maybe five pair of Nikons and one pair of Swift compacts in my life. I knew how good the Nikons were so I was biased for sure. Where I live it's kind of hard to put your hands on a lot of binocs so I went mostly on reviews. I ended up with the new Nikon Monarch 3 8x42. I think I did ok but now know I could have done better for that $200. That's my binocular history up to now so you get some idea of where I'm coming from.

When I got here I got swept up in the optical excitement. No one I know personally cares about optics like I do. So like a kid in a candy store I jumped in with both feet and within the next week (waiting for deliveries) I will own nine pairs of binoculars. :t:|:S|

Better late than never I'm realizing I don't know enough about evaluating these optics to know which ones to keep and which to let go of. I do understand some of the basics of course but I hear terms here that mean almost nothing to me.

So I would like to ask for some help here.

Would some of you be willing to make a list of the most important things to look for when evaluating and testing these optics? Many of these binocs will be close optically but there well be other things that I will not know to look for to separate the good from the great. Or if there is a link to a thread here that already covers this subject. I'd greatly appreciate the help. And if you can briefly describe how to make the tests to determine these different mysterious things.

Help out a newb dudes. Pretty please. I'd like to be able to make some reasonably worthwhile evaluations to share with you all.
 
Black Crow,

I am not sure if we have any threads specifically listing all of the things to look for when evaluating an optic. Star testing a binocular helps a bit. Do a little search in the binocular forum and you will find enough results for that. Beyond that it can often come down to individual preference for many issue. Edge performance that bothers one person might not bother another.

I know you have read through the Sightron thread I posted. I am fairly certain I hit most of the major areas. Optical characteristics to consider when evaluating an optic, at least for me, would include apparent sharpness (in the center of the field of view and on the edges...ie, size of sweet spot), apparent contrast, color representation (neutral, warm cold), color fringing control, field of view, eye relief, apparent brightness, etc....

Physically you should consider how well the binoculars fit in your hand. Are they ergonomic? Does your index finger comfortably reach the focusing knob? Are the strap lugs in the way? Is the binocular well balanced? How smooth is the focusing mechanism? Does it have good tension and speed? How about the rubber armor? How does it feel to you? Slick, sticky?

Just some things to consider. I am sure the others can come up with more.
 
I believe he means Chromatic Aberration (which I most fear... :eek!: :king: :). Basically, if you look at something with high contrast, such as a (black) crow or tree limb against an overcast sky, there can be a yellowish or blueish outline around the crow, etc. This so called CA can often be more noticeable off center of the field of view as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromatic_aberration

Frank or others might have more info yet.
 
Last edited:
It depends... It normally is less on center, but some bins have a larger area that is mostly free of it versus others. Although I've read a few reviews where the was CA on center, but not off center. No idea how that happens. Also, 10x often (but not always!) have more than 7 or 8x.

From my experience with the worst case scenarios (crow, or tree branches with winter sky) I'd say only the a few binoculars show little to no CA, even in center.

From what I have looked through, that seems to be Zen Ray ED2 or ED3, Zeiss FL and Cabela's Euro HD. My point is that even with some of the best these days, it's hard to eliminate CA completely, even in center.
 
Last edited:
I think that basically I know a good set of binoculars when I look through them but honestly I've never really thought about it until I joined this forum in December. I joined because I got excited about bird watching and the optical end of that. I've always carried compact binoculars but in November bought my first pair of full sized optics. I didn't really know about more than a half dozen companies and did my initial research on those. I had a low end budget but wanted something really good for my money. I knew from the inexpensive Nikon compacts I've owned that it could be done. I've owned maybe five pair of Nikons and one pair of Swift compacts in my life. I knew how good the Nikons were so I was biased for sure. Where I live it's kind of hard to put your hands on a lot of binocs so I went mostly on reviews. I ended up with the new Nikon Monarch 3 8x42. I think I did ok but now know I could have done better for that $200. That's my binocular history up to now so you get some idea of where I'm coming from.

When I got here I got swept up in the optical excitement. No one I know personally cares about optics like I do. So like a kid in a candy store I jumped in with both feet and within the next week (waiting for deliveries) I will own nine pairs of binoculars. :t:|:S|

Better late than never I'm realizing I don't know enough about evaluating these optics to know which ones to keep and which to let go of. I do understand some of the basics of course but I hear terms here that mean almost nothing to me.

So I would like to ask for some help here.

Would some of you be willing to make a list of the most important things to look for when evaluating and testing these optics? Many of these binocs will be close optically but there well be other things that I will not know to look for to separate the good from the great. Or if there is a link to a thread here that already covers this subject. I'd greatly appreciate the help. And if you can briefly describe how to make the tests to determine these different mysterious things.

Help out a newb dudes. Pretty please. I'd like to be able to make some reasonably worthwhile evaluations to share with you all.

It is basically very easy to evaluate binoculars. Experience is the best teacher. You don't really need to know all the technical jargon that is used on this website. Go to a store like Cabellas that has alot of different binoculars and look through these binoculars. A Swarovski Swarovision 8.5x42, Zeiss 8x42 FL and a Nikon 8x42 EDG. Now remember as well as you can what they looked like. Now look through a Nikon 8x42 Monarch. Again remember what it looks like. Now look through any 8x42 binocular that cost less than $100.00. Remember again what it looks like. Now you have a baseline of what the best, the good and the poor look like. When you move from the poor to the best you will probably go. WOW! These Swarovisions or Zeiss FL or EDG's are AWESOME. If you haven't looked through alpha glass much that will most likely be your response. You don't have to know anything about CA or ER or resolution or coatings or anything about optical theory. When you look through an alpha glass your EYES will tell you you are looking through something special. The trouble is once you have used alpha glass for awhile it is "Hard to go Backa" (A term I coined in the famous thread I started entitled "Once you have Alpha you can't go Backa"). Once your eyes become accustomed to fine optics it hard to go back to lesser ones. The more experience you have the better you will become at judging binoculars. Of course your memory fades so it is always good to revisit different binoculars to refresh it.
 
It is basically very easy to evaluate binoculars. Experience is the best teacher. You don't really need to know all the technical jargon that is used on this website. Go to a store like Cabellas that has alot of different binoculars and look through these binoculars. A Swarovski Swarovision 8.5x42, Zeiss 8x42 FL and a Nikon 8x42 EDG. Now remember as well as you can what they looked like. Now look through a Nikon 8x42 Monarch. Again remember what it looks like. Now look through any 8x42 binocular that cost less than $100.00. Remember again what it looks like. Now you have a baseline of what the best, the good and the poor look like. When you move from the poor to the best you will probably go. WOW! These Swarovisions or Zeiss FL or EDG's are AWESOME. If you haven't looked through alpha glass much that will most likely be your response. You don't have to know anything about CA or ER or resolution or coatings or anything about optical theory. When you look through an alpha glass your EYES will tell you you are looking through something special. The trouble is once you have used alpha glass for awhile it is "Hard to go Backa" (A term I coined in the famous thread I started entitled "Once you have Alpha you can't go Backa"). Once your eyes become accustomed to fine optics it hard to go back to lesser ones. The more experience you have the better you will become at judging binoculars. Of course your memory fades so it is always good to revisit different binoculars to refresh it.

First off did you read where I mentioned the Closest Cabellas like binoc store is like a four hour drive? :-C

But there are others things besides the wow effect of optics viewing that one needs to look for. I don't want to get on your case here but I mentioned that many good binocs can under easy viewing conditions compare with some of the best binocs. For instance I have managed to get a peep through upper end Kowa binocs and even had my Monarch 3s in hand for a comparison at the store's outside birdfeeders on an overcast day. There was all these beatuiful yellow finches at the feeders and Kowas won but not by much. They had more of what I called at the time a sense of "being there" with what you were looking at. But I certainly couldn't justify the difference in price. But I'll bet if I had them both in the field for a day and knew about stray light (is this the correct term?) problems or fringing and how to look for it I would have come away not thinking they were so close. Later when I got my Eagle's in the mail I noticed that same wow factor optically over the Nikons. In the field I really noticed it. I think they would have really compared favorably with the Kowa's and I might have said hey for $800 bucks less I'm getting the same binoc. And maybe I am. But there may well be things I'm missing.

I'm not convinced at all that the upper priced binocs are worth that money anyway and that really doesn't help me much in evaluation of the binocs I have at hand. I'm really happy with those Eagles so far. And so is my pocket book. I got em on sale at $179 and can't believe my good fortune. Like you mentioned I'm satisfied with less than you are. (for which o lord I am grateful) In the mean time I want to learn how to evaluate the optics I am interested in.

Best bang for the buck and all that. (I just said that to irritate you:t:)
 
BC
you can go to www.allbinos.com and read "How we test binoculars" and look at some of the test results to get an idea. You can also read the many reviews posted throught this forum for ideas.

Nikon puts out some good info here you may find useful- just click the links:
http://www.nikon.com/products/sportoptics/how_to/guide/binoculars/technologies/technologies_08.htm

Hi Tom, I have never seen that Nikon link before, thanks for posting it! I think I might be one of the lucky ones, my brain/ eyes adapt to some of the aberrations, positive/negative distortion, the dreaded rolling ball. That link has an excellent image showing CA. I can't adjust to CA though.;) Astigmatism and SA if high enough is a real view killer.:eek!:

BC you can check how sharp the field of view from center out to edge is real fast at night looking at stars.
 
Last edited:
If you don't do a direct A-B comparison, then I don't think you can tell for sure which optic is best. The memory is not reliable on fine details. That being said, your eyes are your reference. If a particular binocular is very decent, or very bad, your eyes will tell you based on what you see in everyday life. To judge two great binoculars against one another, you need to see them both together, or A-B them against a known reference. After you find the the optic that best suits you, you will find that it won't be best for everyone else. It depends on which set of compromises or strengths are important to the individual. Just my opinion for what that's worth.

Bruce
 
Hey Black Crow,

I'm pretty much in the same boat as you and I am interested in the responses you'll get from this thread. Which by the way I think is a great idea and I wish I would have thought of it 4 months ago. I am new to this binocular game also and have been comparing alot of binoculars over the past 4 months. Although my advice is not exactly what you are looking for, I can offer some hints I have gleaned through my experiences that I hope would be helpful to you in sorting out your comparisions.

Recently I've been thoroughly comparing 5 sets of binoculars over the last month and a half. Lord, I can't imagine doing nine at one time! You certainly have to have your ducks in a row to pull that off effectively. Even with just five pairs, it can get quite confusing sometimes. Especially during the analytical stage of comparison. Each pair will be strong in certain areas and weak in other areas. The hard part is deciding which strong points add the most to YOUR viewing pleasure. Sometimes the technical winner is not always the one that gives you the most viewing pleasure. There seems to always be some sort of compromise involved.

You'll definetly be spending alot of time analyzing technical details through A/B comparisons on static objects, something that won't run away. Where you'll be comparing how sharp the image is, how well it is resolving the fine details, how easily did it snap into focus, the contrast, color representation, sweet spot size, edge sharpness, etc etc. After all this work I find it equally important to take the binoculars out to compare on some live subjects that really interest you. It being winter, I'm finding the best way for me is to lay out the bins on the front seat of my car and drive around the farm lands in search of wildlife. Crows are abundant, along with turkey, deer, hawks and various other birds. I find when I'm viewing a live animal that interest me, my attention shifts from the technical view of the binocular to the animal itself and the binoculars strong points and weak points become readily apparent. I also find trying to ID a bird in a far off tree is a good test of a binoculars ability to resolve fine details. Driving around this way also lets me use the binoculars in a varity of situations and varying light.

Another thing I've found useful is, after all the A/B comparisons, is to spend some alone time with each binocular, where there is no A/B comparisons. Say, one day with just one binocular. This helps me get a truer feel of how a binocular is going to fit into my daily uses and lets me really just enjoy the binocular. Instead of fretting over if this or that quality is better on this bin or that bin.

Hope this helps in some way and I'm looking forward to hearing the results of your comparisons.

John
 
is to spend some alone time with each binocular,

This sounds a little too kinky for me man.:eek!:

o:D

Thanks for the advice and I'll take it. I won't be comparing all nine binoc directly against each other. The compacts won't go against the full sized in any major evaluation. It will come down to evaluation of maybe three to four binocs against each other. Fortunately I took an early retirement so I have lots of time and I do spend at least two hours most days glassing in the hills around my home. Nice to know I'm not the only one with these questions. We'll have to compare notes when I get my evaluations done. I should have all the binocs by the end of next week. The set I really want to evaluate against each other is the

VORTEX TIMERLINE 7X36
VORTEX FURY 6.5X32
EAGLE OPTICS RANGER SRT 6X32

another comparison I'm very interested in is the

NIKON MONARCH 3 8X42
SIGHTRON SIIBL 8X32
 
Last edited:
First off did you read where I mentioned the Closest Cabellas like binoc store is like a four hour drive? :-C

But there are others things besides the wow effect of optics viewing that one needs to look for. I don't want to get on your case here but I mentioned that many good binocs can under easy viewing conditions compare with some of the best binocs. For instance I have managed to get a peep through upper end Kowa binocs and even had my Monarch 3s in hand for a comparison at the store's outside birdfeeders on an overcast day. There was all these beatuiful yellow finches at the feeders and Kowas won but not by much. They had more of what I called at the time a sense of "being there" with what you were looking at. But I certainly couldn't justify the difference in price. But I'll bet if I had them both in the field for a day and knew about stray light (is this the correct term?) problems or fringing and how to look for it I would have come away not thinking they were so close. Later when I got my Eagle's in the mail I noticed that same wow factor optically over the Nikons. In the field I really noticed it. I think they would have really compared favorably with the Kowa's and I might have said hey for $800 bucks less I'm getting the same binoc. And maybe I am. But there may well be things I'm missing.

I'm not convinced at all that the upper priced binocs are worth that money anyway and that really doesn't help me much in evaluation of the binocs I have at hand. I'm really happy with those Eagles so far. And so is my pocket book. I got em on sale at $179 and can't believe my good fortune. Like you mentioned I'm satisfied with less than you are. (for which o lord I am grateful) In the mean time I want to learn how to evaluate the optics I am interested in.

Best bang for the buck and all that. (I just said that to irritate you:t:)

If you think the less expensive binoculars ar as good as the alpha's then good for you. You just saved alot of money! To my eyes they are not. I think once you have more time with an alpha observing under different lighting conditions and viewing different birds you will come to realize there is a difference and that difference is worth the extra money. An extra $1k averaged over a lifetime of use is not that much. Maybe $30.00 a year? I think once you are more experienced with optics you will come to appreciate the top glass. To me that little bit of extra money is well worth it. You know all you have to do is give up a Starbucks coffee once in awhile to enjoy a Zeiss FL or a Swarovski Swarovision.
 
Warning! This thread is more than 12 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top