Hello Everyone, I was thinking about this topic and thought it would be great to hear other people’s experiences.
So I’ll give the question and my experience - then would like to hear yours!
Question: In your experience, what factors did you realize were the most important to you when it comes to binoculars and what factors did you discover weren’t as important as you once thought?
Most Important Factors for me:
Ease of Use -
I’ve had good performing binoculars that had blackout issues. While I learned how to use them and minimize the blackouts, I noticed that when I would give it to others to share the view, they would be bothered by the blackout. It bothered me that they couldn’t really enjoy the view with me. That’s when I realized Ease of Use was a huge factor for me - that anybody would be able to use the binos and not think twice about it.
Consistent Performance -
I didn’t know this was an important factor until recently - when I tried the Opticron Traveller 8x32. The sharpness was great but I noticed that if the light conditions weren’t optimal, the performance would drop. That made me realize that I wanted more consistent and flexible performance, which opened me up to the idea of upgrading to a 8x42 (despite the added weight).
FOV/sharpness -
I had The Nikon Prostaff 7s 8x30 and it had great ease of use, (despite it being a x30) but I was bothered by the tunnel field of view and the OK sharpness. For me, the binoculars have to reach a certain threshold in both, so that I’m focusing on the view rather than the lack of FOV/sharpness. My old Opticron Explorer 8x32 definitely hit this balance well. (my main issue was the ease of use, which is why I upgraded to the 8x42 Vortex Viper and am loving it)
Not Important Factors For Me:
Weight -
My first binoculars were a $50 8x42 pair from amazon and It did the job. But I noticed that I couldn’t use it well with one hand and thought if I got one that weighed less, it would solve the issue. So weight became one of my top priorities. But I quickly realized that no matter the weight - two hands will always provide a WAY more stable view than one hand ever could. And while less weight can be nice, we’re talking the difference between a handful of ounces, so it’s not a drastic difference. Needless to say - it became a non-factor for me. (Note: I’ve never tried pocket binos, but I suspect ease of use would be an issue for those)
So that’s what I’ve learned in my experience with binos so far, How about you all?
So I’ll give the question and my experience - then would like to hear yours!
Question: In your experience, what factors did you realize were the most important to you when it comes to binoculars and what factors did you discover weren’t as important as you once thought?
Most Important Factors for me:
Ease of Use -
I’ve had good performing binoculars that had blackout issues. While I learned how to use them and minimize the blackouts, I noticed that when I would give it to others to share the view, they would be bothered by the blackout. It bothered me that they couldn’t really enjoy the view with me. That’s when I realized Ease of Use was a huge factor for me - that anybody would be able to use the binos and not think twice about it.
Consistent Performance -
I didn’t know this was an important factor until recently - when I tried the Opticron Traveller 8x32. The sharpness was great but I noticed that if the light conditions weren’t optimal, the performance would drop. That made me realize that I wanted more consistent and flexible performance, which opened me up to the idea of upgrading to a 8x42 (despite the added weight).
FOV/sharpness -
I had The Nikon Prostaff 7s 8x30 and it had great ease of use, (despite it being a x30) but I was bothered by the tunnel field of view and the OK sharpness. For me, the binoculars have to reach a certain threshold in both, so that I’m focusing on the view rather than the lack of FOV/sharpness. My old Opticron Explorer 8x32 definitely hit this balance well. (my main issue was the ease of use, which is why I upgraded to the 8x42 Vortex Viper and am loving it)
Not Important Factors For Me:
Weight -
My first binoculars were a $50 8x42 pair from amazon and It did the job. But I noticed that I couldn’t use it well with one hand and thought if I got one that weighed less, it would solve the issue. So weight became one of my top priorities. But I quickly realized that no matter the weight - two hands will always provide a WAY more stable view than one hand ever could. And while less weight can be nice, we’re talking the difference between a handful of ounces, so it’s not a drastic difference. Needless to say - it became a non-factor for me. (Note: I’ve never tried pocket binos, but I suspect ease of use would be an issue for those)
So that’s what I’ve learned in my experience with binos so far, How about you all?
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