Color rendition ability of binoculars (1 Viewer)

Punchy71 · May 23, 2014

Greetings,
Somewhere I read, in passing, that some binoculars (and presumably spotting scopes too), vary in their ability to render color. Some being able to render color better than others. If that is the case, which kind are good at color rendition and which ones are poor at it?

Thank you

WJC · May 23, 2014

Punchy71 said:
Greetings,
Somewhere I read, in passing, that some binoculars (and presumably spotting scopes too), vary in their ability to render color. Some being able to render color better than others. If that is the case, which kind are good at color rendition and which ones are poor at it?

Thank you

"Some being able to render color better than others."

Color variation, from the actual color of the object, is due to the transmission of the particular metal fluoride used on the lenses and/or prisms.

Transmitting color--in general--is to say light--in general. That is a property of the design and construction of the instrument. If you stay with a reputable brand, you usually don't have to worry. Those who jump up and down over the $39.95 bino they just bought, always will.

Cheers,

Bill

brocknroller · May 23, 2014

Punchy71 said:
Greetings,
Somewhere I read, in passing, that some binoculars (and presumably spotting scopes too), vary in their ability to render color. Some being able to render color better than others. If that is the case, which kind are good at color rendition and which ones are poor at it?

Thank you

Punchy,

The second question is easy, a bin that is bad at it is a pair of Vivitar binoculars with ruby colored lenses and other cheap bins of the same ilk.

But your first question is trickier, because all the top shelf bins transmit light at 89% or better, but if you go to allbinos dot com and look at their transmission light graphs, you'll see that the transmission peaks in different areas of the spectrum for different bins. So their color contrast is different. Color contrast is not the same as color rendition, but it does influence your eyes/brain into judging which colors you like emphasized more.

For example, the Nikon EDG has a fairly flat transmission graph, with a small dip in the middle (green-yellow) and a bump in the red. The Zeiss FL has a slight bump in the blue, a camel hump in the green-yellow, and a steep drop in the red that even an experienced down hill racer would find challenging to ski.

Which one renders color better? That depends on who yoi talk to. FL owners would say the FL, EDG owners would say the EDG.

The EDG has a "warmer" balance since it peaks in the red, which appeals to some people, me included, whereas the FL has a "cooler" balance but the peak in the middle makes it better in dim light.

Ron and I were discussing the topic of color rendition not long ago, with Ron coming down on the side of higher light transmission = better color rendition.

What I said was that bins with ED glass have better color rendition because they bring more of the colors to the same spot on your eye so colors look more vivid. ED glass also increases contrast by about 15%.

We didn't come to any definite conclusions, but what we discussed is food for thought. You can read our discussion on this Leica thread, starting at post #7:

Color Rendition and the War of 1812 Treaty

Brock

ronh · May 23, 2014

Many of the recent reviews on the "Allbinos.com" review site show independently measured plots of light transmission across the visible spectrum. You are looking for a plot that is as high across the spectrum as possible.

Something Brock and I and probably everybody here agree on is, coatings have a lot to do with it. To get a binocular that is well designed and well built in every way, you're going to have to throw some money at it, as Bill says. But coatings per se have gotten surprisingly good and cheap, and some $100-ish binoculars, like the Leuopold Yosemite and Nikon Action EX, although hardly luxury items, give remarkably clean views, and good "color presentation".

Ron

typo · May 23, 2014

Punchy,

Just to add to what Bill has already said.

Not so long ago the 'better' binoculars had silver coated prisms which produced a warmer colour balance, and the lenses a limited level of AR coating which generally performed better in the green. Most models had overall poor transmission in the blue and generally a warmer colour balance often with a green or yellow bias. Coating technology has advanced greatly in recent years allowing higher precision and a wider range of materials to be used. While the big names have led the way the technology has cascaded down to the third party manufacturers in Japan, China and elsewhere. Dielectric coated prisms, and improved AR coatings are almost standard features above quite a modest price point and it's unusual to find much of a difference between the latest models. The enthusiast will still spot that one model or another is a little warmer or cooler than another. The top brands probably use more more layers and sophisticated materials to keep a step ahead but the gap is closing.

Colour bias is something we tend to make a fuss about here, but our brains are dealing with colour bias all the time and we hardly notice. At different times of the day sunlight might be quite blue or deeply red. Our colour judgement is technically impaired but our brains crank up the gain settings for our visual interpretation to try to neutralise the illumination bias. It's called chromatic adaptation. It means that after a very short time viewing we don't notice the bias anyway.

Having said that, optical filters have long been used to enhance the view for certain applications. The military, aviators and nautical users for example may well use yellow filters to increase contrast and cut the blue haze that can impair distance viewing. You may notice that different binoculars do better in certain light conditions than others as well. Bias isn't always a bad thing, though I don't expect everyone here would agree.

David

perterra · May 23, 2014

These kind of questions are pretty cool, I mean by that a question that the simple answer is there is no simple answer. But reading through it I learn something. Thanks gang.

Simon S · May 23, 2014

Yes different binoculars render colour or (Color)|8.|differently to others.
I have found that coatings make a shift in colour too, yellow coatings found on 70's Swifts shift the colour temp to a cool tone.
Russian binoculars give a yellow view but don't let this worry you to much.
You brain will use its Auto white balance and correct after a few minutes.
This colour shift is only found in older models though,

NDhunter · May 24, 2014

typo said:
Punchy,

Just to add to what Bill has already said.

Not so long ago the 'better' binoculars had silver coated prisms which produced a warmer colour balance, and the lenses a limited level of AR coating which generally performed better in the green. Most models had overall poor transmission in the blue and generally a warmer colour balance often with a green or yellow bias. Coating technology has advanced greatly in recent years allowing higher precision and a wider range of materials to be used. While the big names have led the way the technology has cascaded down to the third party manufacturers in Japan, China and elsewhere. Dielectric coated prisms, and improved AR coatings are almost standard features above quite a modest price point and it's unusual to find much of a difference between the latest models. The enthusiast will still spot that one model or another is a little warmer or cooler than another. The top brands probably use more more layers and sophisticated materials to keep a step ahead but the gap is closing.

Colour bias is something we tend to make a fuss about here, but our brains are dealing with colour bias all the time and we hardly notice. At different times of the day sunlight might be quite blue or deeply red. Our colour judgement is technically impaired but our brains crank up the gain settings for our visual interpretation to try to neutralise the illumination bias. It's called chromatic adaptation. It means that after a very short time viewing we don't notice the bias anyway.

Having said that, optical filters have long been used to enhance the view for certain applications. The military, aviators and nautical users for example may well use yellow filters to increase contrast and cut the blue haze that can impair distance viewing. You may notice that different binoculars do better in certain light conditions than others as well. Bias isn't always a bad thing, though I don't expect everyone here would agree.

David

David:

This is a good post about the coatings and all the rest that are used
to offer us the view we all enjoy.

Last fall I made a post here when I found a difference between each of my eyes, in how vivid the color was, while viewing fall colors. One of my eyes gives me a very vivid view, and other one more flat.
This was a surprise to me, and very striking, so just think how each of views things.
I suppose my brain is using an average to judge things with both eyes together.
This is something to try for yourself. I found it out, by comparing a new binocular on a fall walk. One of my testing methods is to make sure things
are in collimation, and also to flip them over and view with them upside down. I was so surprised, I had to go back and get another binocular to compare with, and the result was the same.

Jerry

OPTIC_NUT · May 24, 2014

The difference between 'vivid' and 'flat' is likely some contrast-reducing haze,
and you get better color 'saturation' with less haze. It can happen in the binoculars
with dust or film, but can also happen in the eye, in a cloudy vitreous filling
or the cornea. That would cause the same vivid/cloudy difference regardless
of the binoculars you use.

NDhunter · May 24, 2014

OPTIC_NUT said:
The difference between 'vivid' and 'flat' is likely some contrast-reducing haze,
and you get better color 'saturation' with less haze. It can happen in the binoculars
with dust or film, but can also happen in the eye, in a cloudy vitreous filling
or the cornea. That would cause the same vivid/cloudy difference regardless
of the binoculars you use.

That is a good point, my eyes both perform similar when compared
when I have an exam at the optometrist. My color test passes well in
each eye with the simple test they do.

But, I have found there are differences when I view things with binoculars.

Jerry

typo · May 24, 2014

Jerry,

I'm not sure I understood what difference flipping over binoculars makes, but as you know, quite a few regulars here report differences in colour perception between their eyes.

I wouldn't know if such things are inherent or due to differential age related changes over time, but I'm constantly amazed at what the brain is capable of sorting out and correcting. For a start it puts the image the right way up, corrects CA, geometric distortions, white balance and creates a stereoscopic single mental image. I'm quite sure the human brain can sort out a a small imbalace in the message from the three colour receptors of the eye. On the other hand, how something like a Mantis shrimp deals with 16 different receptors is very hard to imagine.

David

Color rendition ability of binoculars (1 Viewer)

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