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Focus direction difference (1 Viewer)

aix123

Member
Apologies, really not sure where to post this. Thought there might be a general binocular section, but can't see it.

Perhaps an odd question - but what the hell... my current binoculars focus clockwise to infinity and that's what I've only ever had. But a pair I'm going to get (Kowa Genesis HD 8x33) focus the other way.

I suspect I'll get used to the difference quickly - but has anyone ever had a problem with the change between bins? I suspect it's the sort of change the human mind gets used to rapidly. But thought I'd check with others. Don't want to order them and be disappointed.

I won't be swapping between my existing bins and the new ones every few minutes, if at all, so that would make getting used to the new ones even easier, I imagine.
 
There are members here who have very strong preferences about focus direction and find they are unable to adjust. I use models with both directions with no problems. If I switch directly from one to another it takes a few seconds to get the fingers flex readjusted but generally it goes unnoticed.

Naturally the focal direction gets more mentions by those who are fussy about it, some like me are completely indifferent but I guess most will get accustomed with time. Just check the returns policy in case of difficulties.

David
 
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Thanks David. Seems my assumption was perhaps wrong - it does in fact trouble a number of people. The return policy of where I'm buying is good, so I'll give the Kowas a go.
 
It bothers me a great deal annoyingly, so much so I won`t buy bins I`d like to own, Opticron bga classic and Aurora to name two, the focus direction should be universal IMO just like the three pedal order on cars.

I`m not saying it should be clockwise, just universal.
 
I've never had much trouble adapting to it. I catch on to the counter-clockwise movement of my Pentax 9x32 pretty quickly.

Bob
 
What Typo said.

I just turn the focus wheel in the direction it needs to go at that moment, and don't much worry about which direction it happens to be.......
 
Cars originally had the pedals arranged randomly. Different cars were different.
With modern cars, some like certain Volvos have had problems with large brake pedals and throttle. Bad accidents have happened. This is driver fault, but has happened more than it should.
The driver has pressed the throttle harder and harder, believing it to be the brake pedal. Sometimes with near to fatal results.

Focus direction does not matter to me.

Also I switch effortlessly from upside down astro viewing to normal viewing. This includes moving the telescope, sometimes following moving objects.
But I do have problems with laterally reversed viewing.
 
It is easy to get used to however they focus.

Hard for me to understand why this is an issue at all. ;)

If this is a problem for you, that means you need more practice with different binoculars.

Jerry
 
It is easy to get used to however they focus.

Hard for me to understand why this is an issue at all. ;)

If this is a problem for you, that means you need more practice with different binoculars.

Jerry

Generally, I agree but it's harder for me when the focus direction differs from the +/- direction of the eyepiece diopter control.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by NDhunter View Post
It is easy to get used to however they focus.

Hard for me to understand why this is an issue at all.

If this is a problem for you, that means you need more practice with different binoculars.

Jerry
Generally, I agree but it's harder for me when the focus direction differs from the +/- direction of the eyepiece diopter control.
chartwell99 is offline

Now that's a good one! I guess you are using both the focus wheel and diopter compensation ring at the same time: that should give you an IF bin.

I agree with Jerry and other posters that the focusing direction is a minor problem, but I am wondering why we do not have a single standard? Does anybody have an explanation? I thought it was "tradition" but I now doubt that: I have a Vixen Atrek 8x25 (btw, a very good compact) that focuses CW to infinity, and Vixen recently released a new version Atrek II 8x25 that focuses CCW,. Why did they change? To please everybody?

Peter
 
There have been various discussions in the past about the choice of positive or negative focussing lenses dictating a focus direction. It seemed a trivial excuse to me if focus direction was deemed important. It's really not that difficult to source left hand threads if the need is there. I'm supposing the designers must be aware of some customer preference for one direction or another or at least operational for consistancy. Perhaps the numbers of objections are just too low, or the protests not loud enough?

David
 
Thanks David. Seems my assumption was perhaps wrong - it does in fact trouble a number of people. The return policy of where I'm buying is good, so I'll give the Kowas a go.

Focusing direction doesn't bother some people.
It bothers other people.
Some people Adapt.
Some people probably could adapt, but just don't want to!

As I posted in the thread Steve mentioned above, I have a distinct preference for clockwise to infinity focusers.

I don't like CCW to infinity focusers, I don't want to adapt, and I won't consider CCW to infinity focusing bins at all. If others do, that's their business - don't tell me mine.

If I had to have a guess at it, I think it has its roots in being brought up in Western Civilisation where I have been reading and writing left to right, and telling time on clockwise rotating clocks since before I can remember - certainly many many times longer than I have been using bins. :cat:

Good luck!


Chosun :gh:
 
Also being left or right handed?

That shouldn't matter, should it? Btw, I am right handed but am using the index finger of the left hand to turn the wheel (it feels safer to hold the bins using the right hand).

If I were to guess I would say that most people prefer CW focusers, some are indifferent / can adapt to CCW focusers, and only a minority seem to prefer CCW. If this guess is true then why so many manufacturers produce bins with CCW focusers, and some of them produce only such bins? It can hardly be a design reason, then what is it?


I like the way Phil put it in a previous post:
"I just turn the focus wheel in the direction it needs to go at that moment, and don't much worry about which direction it happens to be....... "
It's my approach too, but sometimes you KNOW that it should go towards infinity, for instance, and then you have to think for a fraction of a sec: does it run CCW or CW?
 
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So, you use a counter clockwise to infinity bin like the Sightron Blue Sky.

Right hand index finger on the focus, rotate it towards the right hand for closer focus, away from the hand for distance. Makes absolute perfect sense.
 
So, you use a counter clockwise to infinity bin like the Sightron Blue Sky.

Right hand index finger on the focus, rotate it towards the right hand for closer focus, away from the hand for distance. Makes absolute perfect sense.

This works even if I use the left hand index finger on the focus:
"rotate it towards the right hand for closer focus, away from the hand for distance". Now, seriously, I know it's more intuitive when you use the right hand index finger but the question as to why we have two standards remains.
 
If you go back to manual focussing cameras, at one time they all pretty well all focussed 'counter clockwise' it made sense, from the front you turned the lens as you would a wood screw moving it into the camera and hence towards infinity focus.
Many binocular manufacturers basically copied that, so their customers who had cameras didn't have to change the way they focussed. Later Nikon broke ranks and focussed their cameras the other way. (Patent issues I believe)
This is how it was explained to me donkeys years ago and it made sense at the time.
 
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If you go back to manual focussing cameras, at one time they all pretty well all focussed 'counter clockwise' it made sense, from the front you turned the lens as you would a wood screw moving it into the camera and hence towards infinity focus.
Many binocular manufacturers basically copied that, so their customers who had cameras didn't have to change the way they focussed. Later Nikon broke ranks and focussed their cameras the other way. (Patent issues I believe)
This is how it was explained to me donkeys years ago and it made sense at the time.

Nikon SLR and rangefinder cameras have always focused clockwise to infinity, just like the Zeiss Contax I with its Tessar and Sonnar lenses as early as in the 30's.
There is, however, one important difference between how a MF camera lens and a binocular are focused.

The camera lens is supposed to rest in the left hand like in a cradle, and the lens is focused from below. The focus knobs of binoculars are ususally focused with the right index finger on top of the knob, operating it from above.

Some binoculars like the Meostar 8x32 (and the Zeiss Dialyt Classic 7x42?) leaves space for the thumb to assist the index finger by pinching the knob between the index finger and the thumb. But, this is an exception and differs from the way a camera lens is intended to be operated.

//L
 
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