Advice on Monoculars (1 Viewer)

I am not sure if this is thee right forum, but being new I am sure to make mistakes. I do a great deal of hill and mountain walking and was wondering if members have any experience in using monoculars.

My theory is that monoculars are lighter to carry,but would still allow me to viewand identify birds ect in the distance. Also being smaller than binoculars they will be eaier to keep in pockets and access when needed.

Hi,
Monoculars are a very practical way to have the benefit of binoculars without the bulk.
They are great for picking up any interesting birds during running here in Central Park. Of course, they are not as comfortable to use as a regular pair of binoculars, but for brief looks, they are unbeatable.
The Zeiss Design Selection 8x20 is ideal, waterproof and rubberized, with good optics.

Personally I find monoculars like spotting scopes more of a strain to use than bins. What do you do with that other eye? Close it and the level of strain goes up but keeping it open is an interesting challenge (I prefer to have a neutral color object close to the open eye ... cereal packet cardboard works well!).

Plus there's more shake from the one-handed grip.

Binocular vision is a significant advantage: your brain sees more with view from two eyes.

The two handed triangular grip on a binocular reduces shake a lot too and that lets you see more too.

I'd recommend a compact bin 8x25 (or lower magnification), 12oz or less for casual use. If you belt carry the bin you will never notice it's there. For more serious use a lightweight mid-size bin would be a better option (but that would weight at least 1lb).

For limited outlay a $100/£100 reverse porro 8x25 would work well if a little larger than a much more expensive folding compact. If you have the money go for the latter. The Pentax SW 8x25 is perhaps the cheapest roof I'd use: it's phase compensated and most cheap roofs aren't.

See the many, many threads on the trade offs with compacts between quality, weight/size and low cost (pick two!).

Many thanks for your help. I have been offered to chance to borrow some Opticron Monoculars next time I am out on the hills, so this will give me the opportunity to check them out. I can understand Kevin's comments on the use of a monocular for long periods, and I may still opt for a small pair of binoculars. Many thanks for your help.

I started off with that idea too. Tried out a carson 6x18?, Zeiss 5x10, and a Minox Macroscope, 8x25. The first 2 were roofs, the last a porro. The carson was decent, seemed to be bettered by the Zeiss, which was more compact. The best, of course, was the porro prism macroscope, but the weight and size basically brought me into the territory of small binoculars. I've ended up with the idea of a Zeiss mini-quick for 6 seconds or less (10 seconds really pushes it near eye strain), and the small binoculars for more. The Zeiss is for a quick glance, and binoculars for actual detail. Trying to ID a bird? Aside from IDing that it is in fact a bird, I say steer clear of monoculars for anything more than a preview of what's ahead.

Chall - there are a number of people who have lost vision in one eye, or have significant vision problems, who find monoculars useful. My first piece of optics was a Bushnell 7x35 monocular costing $25.00. That was back in 1951, when I was working for my room & board and attending high school and couldn't afford a binocular. Alas, I banged it too many times on a saddle horn and chipped a prism. But it was very useful for getting a closer look. Carl Zeiss made a beautifully crafted 8x30 B monocular that could be used as a telephoto lens in the Zeiss Ikon camera, or as a plain old monocular. It has excellent optics. It tucks nicely under my shirt. They occasionally come on ebay and go for around $150. . I had a nephew who suddenly lost vision in one eye, so I separated an 8x30 Kern IF and gave it to him for Christmas. Kevin's comments are very accurate. If you practice a bit with your dominant eye, you can make good use of a quality monocular, but only for a quick look (assuming you have two good eyes). John

I've been seriously considering a monocular in lieu of pocket binoculars as well. Though two eyes are always better than one, there are clearly some advantages with a monocular.

For me I want something to tote while walking my dog in a suburban environment to occasionally identify birds. I'm a little uncomfortable walking around with binoculars at the ready and therefore have been looking at twin hinge pocket bins. The problem I now get into is that I like like good bins and the cheap pocket bins pretty well suck, to me. I am not too keen on tying up the considerable cash for premium pocket bins as (knowing myself) I'll feel compelled to use them for more than my dog walks to help justify their existence, and I'd prefer to use larger bins of which I have a more than adequate supply.

Historically I have always disliked the idea of monoculars, but I'm softening. For my use anyway, they have advantages. They are as I see it:
Very small and light.
Very quick handling as there is no "unfolding" and setting the IPD.
Eliminates the all too common crappy focus of little bins.
Reduces the mechanical issues as there aren't two barrels to align.
Many have extremely close focus which makes for a decent museum optic.

However, if weight is your primary concern for hill walking Chall, but you will be scanning and observing wildlife for any real duration, I'd recommend some high quality pocket bins. Two eyes are so much better than one and the best pocket bins are very good indeed.

It seems there is no real answer to my original query. As in everything in comes down to personal choice. When I'm walking I spend most of my time wheezing up the hills and slogging through the boggy areas of mid and north Wales. I'll not be spending too much time watching, too busy making sure I'm careful wher I put my feet, but hopfully will be able to watch some of the buzzards and kites that are common around these areas. My thoughts were that maybe monoculars being light, would be easy to carry until I managed to reduce the weight of my pack following my mutliple stops to eat and drink my way though my supplies - I get very hungary up there!

Well you need to handle one, see how it compares to a binocular. I think it is shaky, but maybe at 8x it will work for you.

I use an Opticron monocular a lot, for convenience mainly (but if I am going out in the field for longer then the bins come out). The model I have is big enough to get two hands round, and if you are ok using a scope, then a monocular shouldn't be too much of a problem. No hesitation in recommending it.