• 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.

Who swaps out glasses when viewing? (1 Viewer)

C

Canuck Bob

Well-known member
I asked this on Optic Talkers awhile ago and was surprised that it is a fairly standard practice. This is motivated by learning my 8X30 EIIs. However it is a general question not tied directly to any brand or configuration of binos.
 
You meanview without glasses? I used to do that with my 10x binos when I could still scribble some notes. Now I do not as I need to use eBird. And I use only 8x.

With the 50x widest view on the scope I take the glasses off. But my glasses are a bit expensive. Best way to not lose them or scratch them is not take them off.
 
Yup, I'm another one.
When using either bins or scope I always take off my glasses.
Well, I don't take them off as such. I have a cord that plugs on to the end of the arms that goes around the back of my head. So all I do is shift the glasses on to the top of my head (well, my forehead in reality). They conveniently plop back down when I look away from the viewing piece! And being on a cord means they will not fall off.
 
Not really an option for me since I'm short sighted and pretty much as blind as a bat without my specs. They stay on all the time, which makes the ER of bins of critical importance for me. The 16.8mm of my Zen ED3's is absolutely marginal, and means that I have to remember to keep my specs snugged right back into my face.


Chosun :gh:
 
Until recently I've always taken my glasses off when viewing through bins. In the last few weeks I've been experimenting - keeping them on for binocular use (but still removing them for my scope...it just doesn't feel right looking through a scope with glasses on). The advantage is that I can view the bird and write in my notebook without swapping glasses on and off. The disadvantage is that the view is not quite the same (especially in the rain). I've still not decided which I prefer.
David
 
Alexis Powell said:
I never take them off for bins. I use glass glasses that don't scatch. I always wear a hat to cut lateral light.

--AP
Click to expand...

Hello Alexis,

Wearing a hat, like a baseball cap, is good advice. It reduce veiling glare and reflection off the eyepieces. The latter is more common in the winter, when the morning sun is especially low.

Although I like a binocular which is usable without my specs, I rarely "swap them." Like Chosun Juan, I need them both to navigate and to spot a bird. I rarely scan my environment with a binocular to find a bird.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur :hi:
 
Like Chosun, was very near sighted and left my spectacles on all the time while glassing. Lucky now as with Cataracts removed, issues with ER are virtually gone! :t:

Ted
 
Theo98 said:
Like Chosun, was very near sighted and left my spectacles on all the time while glassing. Lucky now as with Cataracts removed, issues with ER are virtually gone! :t:

Ted
Click to expand...

Ted, are you comfortable discussing this. I was diagnosed with cataracts on Thursday and my binos arrived on Friday!

Bob
 
Hello,

I was out today, which was quite overcast. I found out that my astigmatism really precluded using my binocular without glasses. Perhaps on a clear, sunny day, my iris diaphragms will stop down enough to reduce the astigmatism.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur :hi:
 
I used to hate wearing glasses while using binos but as years went by I got used to it and since we are interested in most natural things from flowers to insects to reptiles to etc etc I wouldn't be without my vari-focals / progressives as I need to be able to see clearly at all distances.

Lee
 
I've been playing around and have some observations. Swapping glasses involves some pain in the rump. For my binoculars the glasses off view is noticeably better and easier if that is a term. I was lasered a decade ago and my eyes are quite ok for prescription. However I have cataracts so everything is suspect until they are gone.

I reported that I did not loose any field with glasses and the EII's tighter ER. I was wrong. When I got comfortable the bare eye view had very regular and sharp crisp edges to the circle (sorry for the non specific language) and when I wear glasses the edge is blacker and fuzzy unless I keep the folded cups tight to my small frame glasses. It appears to be about a 10% loss with gentle glasses pressure. Be aware I am very new and will assess this again when more experienced. The bare eye and extended eye cups fit perfectly. My !PD is 70 maybe 71 and I have a large head.
 
By choice I keep my glasses on. Bescides being a nuisance to switch, they are expensive and I don't want to risk damaging or losing them by constantly taking them on and off. They are ultra light weight and close fitting and I could get the full FOV even with the EII when I tried them so ER is rarely an issue. Technically I don't 'need' glasses for distance. I'm long sighted and can still get 20/20 without them. Of course the binoculars take care of the magnification correction but not my fairly low levels of astigmatism. Using binoculars without glasses will get me to somewhat better than 20/15, but If I want the full Monty, then I need the glasses.

I read somewhere that by middle age, over 90% have some level of astigmatism. Even if you don't 'need' glasses, almost everyone would see more detail with them. Food for thought?;)

David
 
Last edited:
I did it for years. Wasted time IMO. If one wears glasses, best to just buy binoculars that work with glasses then use them until it becomes second nature. I really don't give it a second thought now wearing glasses and using binoculars.
 
Although I can have better visual performance without glasses, I don't care for swapping because for me its finicky manual requirements ruined for the most part flow and fluidity of movement. I tried several bins before settling on one as the best performer with glasses. Almost finished the search with the bin that became the second best, but with it I believe I'd end up dissatisfied in the long run.
 
Much depends on the type of watching you do. If you're using your binoculars to pick up fast-moving targets initially spotted by eye, the couple of seconds extra time required to remove your glasses before bringing your binoculars to your eyes can lose you your target. I got quite practised doing this with the 8x30 Jenoptem that used to be my main birding binocular but would still lose targets (at a rough guess, 10%). Furthermore once you fail to acquire your target you need to put your glasses back on to try to reacquire it by eye - this takes longer than removing your glasses and your target may have completely disappeared by then.

If you're using your binoculars to find your target, and then observing from there, you won't need to execute these kinds of rapid swapovers; you'll probably be in your binoculars a great deal more and my experience agrees with those who say viewing without glasses gives you a more immersive and overall better view. Hardly to be wondered at, I suppose, as your glasses add an extra piece of glass (probably not of "alpha" class) between you and your target.
 
Interesting discussion. As I understand it, if you have astigmatism your binoculars can't correct for this, so you simply won't see as well if you use them without glasses. But - you do get a less immersive view, have stray side light issues and as Patudo says, you are poking another lens into the light path. Some of the lightweight lens materials for glasses come with high levels of CA. So it's all trade- offs, but for me I wouldn't use binos without my glasses.
 
My eyesight has declined in quality enough that I see an impressionist view of the world without glasses, and must squint mightily to read labels on all the bottles of lotions and soaps that my wife leaves in the shower, searching futilely for the one that says shampoo...

Watching a 3d film is also a bit of a bother, as I must wear 2 pairs of glasses. Using binoculars with glasses is not dissimilar to that in some respects. There is also some irony in taking a precision optical device, and forcing it through a possibly mis-aligned and imperfect optical path on the way to the retina.

However, once one is resigned to the issue, the challenge is to go looking for the binoculars that fit one's needs, which unfortunately does limit the choice a bit when it comes to eye relief.
The good news is that there are binoculars in all price ranges that accommodate eyeglass wearers.
Once you get used to the process, and you've found a good fit, the binoculars will disappear, and you're back to just enjoying the view.
 
Pinewood said:
Hello Alexis,

Wearing a hat, like a baseball cap, is good advice. It reduce veiling glare and reflection off the eyepieces. The latter is more common in the winter, when the morning sun is especially low.

Although I like a binocular which is usable without my specs, I rarely "swap them." Like Chosun Juan, I need them both to navigate and to spot a bird. I rarely scan my environment with a binocular to find a bird.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur :hi:
Click to expand...

Arthur and Alexis I agree with you 100% about wearing a hat with a bill, cuts down the glare, you can see better etc. etc. I wear a hat outside even when not using binocular etc.

For other people try using you hand to block the sky glare w/o even using binocular , you will see a difference.
 
Warning! This thread is more than 7 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.

Similar threads

L
First pairs of binoculars - travel
2
Replies
26
Views
2K
[email protected]
D
G
Leica, Zeiss & Swarovski binoculars compared: A personal report
2 3
Replies
42
Views
4K
Paultricounty
P
tenex
Binocular Evolution I: Field of View
3 4 5
Replies
93
Views
7K
Binocollector
B
looksharp65
EDG 7x42 and Meostar B1.1 8x32 head to head
2
Replies
22
Views
2K
Scott98
S
dorubird
My only four hand-held binoculars
2 3
Replies
41
Views
8K
dorubird
dorubird

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top