Here is a resolution comparison of four different size binoculars handheld, braced, supported, and mounted by Professor Edz over at Cloudy Nights. HUGE difference even at 8x! I think the NL headrest even if it is only equal to supported binoculars will be a game-changer. i think we are going to have rig some kind of headrest on our present binocular's. How about something like what the Night Vision Goggle's use in the picture?
"Aug 27, 2005,
This is a resolution comparison of four binoculars; a 15x70, a 12x50, a 10x50, and an 8x42. I already know what resolution (mounted) can be achieved with each and that was retested here and confirmed to previous tests. I wanted to find out how that resolution changes for mounted binocular versus a braced supported binocular, braced elbows, and un-braced handheld. It was expected that resolution would get progressively less and that was found to be true. But by how much, and what effect does each binocular size have on the outcome? Here are the results.
These values were recorded for resolution. I have multiplied by magnification to convert resolution values into angular arcseconds apparent size, so any one binocular can be compared to any other:
15x70 Oberwerk
binocular mounted, clearly see 102", see both 91", suspect both 81"
binocular supported, clearly see 129", suspect only 115”, not seen 102"
elbows braced, clearly see 162", see sometimes 145", suspect only 129"
un-braced handheld, clearly see 204", usually 182", seldom 162", no see 145”
12x50 Nikon AE
binocular mounted, clearly see 103", suspect both 92", not seen 82”
binocular supported, clearly see 116", see sometimes 103”, not seen 92"
elbows braced, clearly see 145", see sometimes 130", not seen 116"
un-braced handheld, clearly see 145", suspected 130", not seen 116”
10x50 Nikon AE
binocular mounted, clearly see 97", suspect both 86", not seen 77”
binocular supported, clearly see 108", see sometimes 97”, not seen 86"
elbows braced, clearly see 121", see sometimes 108", not seen 97"
un-braced hand held, clearly see 153", sometimes 136”, suspect 121", no see 108”
8x42 Swift
binocular mounted, clearly see 97", suspect both 87", not seen 77”
binocular supported, clearly see 109", see sometimes 97”, not seen 87"
elbows braced, clearly see 122", see sometimes 109", not seen 97"
un-braced handheld, clearly see 154", sometimes 137”, suspect 122", no see 109”
As expected, lesser forms of steadiness in the support results in poorer resolution. What you can also see from these results is how much the larger binoculars are affected by a lack of support. There was essentially no difference between the 10x50 and the 8x42. And there was not much difference even with the 12x50, but with the 12x50 the differences grew wider with braced elbows or handheld. There was even a further slight drop in resolution when attempting to use the 15x70s with solidly braced elbows. I could not see as well as with the smaller binoculars.
The real significant difference was seen when attempting to handhold the 15x70s. In this case, the resolution plummeted.
None of this was surprising to me. But it does illustrate what the lack of support does to your view. And it very clearly illustrated for me just how poorly the performance of a handheld 15x70 matched up to any smaller binocular I choose to use handheld.
These handheld results would vary for other individuals, especially those who have practice at such sports as target shooting. But for most people, this might give you some indication of how much you really lose when attempting to view handheld through a large binocular. This unsteadiness of the view goes a long way towards supporting what I and many others have said, that regardless of what size some users might claim to be a handheld choice, a 10x50 or maybe a 12x50 might be a much better choice for most people.
I think another important piece of information this gives us is just how much resolution is achievable when using binoculars handheld for daylight viewing. Excluding the 15x70s, in all other cases handheld resolution was approx. 40% less than mounted. I think this goes somewhat further towards supporting that the resolution you see handheld in a binocular in daylight or at night is far more dependant on the power of the binocular than anything else.
edz"