Why use objective covers? (1 Viewer)

tenex · May 2, 2018

Forgive an elementary question... what are objective covers good for? They seem to have become standard in recent years but I don't see why. If a bino is in the case for transit it doesn't need them; if it's around my neck they'd just get in the way. What do you use them to protect against, or do you just prefer them to a case?

paddy7 · May 2, 2018

1. So you don't have to use the case while in transit - just covers at both ends wrapped in a teatowel or flannel
2. In the case of an snub-nose porro such as the Nikon Eii 8x30 (and using Bushwackers) to extend the grippable length
3. if you get some little cyclone going through while birding in sandy areas

They're not always necessary - and not often necessary; but when they are, they're necessary!

Tringa45 · May 2, 2018

Only use them in the winter months. I cover up the optical surfaces before coming in from the cold to prevent condensation. After this evaporates the optics are sometimes less than pristine.

John

Rathaus · May 2, 2018

Objective covers are hideous clumsy things, so I don’t use them. If I did use them I would be very wary of trapping humidity/moisture under them.

black crow · May 2, 2018

I use them because it's in the contract.8-P

perterra · May 3, 2018

The ones in my truck are rarely put in the case. They either live in the pouch behind the passenger seat or just lay on the passenger seat.

Canip · May 3, 2018

tenex (post #1),
I have always imagined I would be happy to have objective caps mounted when crawling with my bino around my neck though never ending thick thorny shrubs and sandy ground to get a glimpse of that unicorn my neighbor said he saw there the other day ... but then I thought to myself the neighbor may have been lying, so I never crawled ...
I don’t mount objective caps on my binoculars, I find them a nuisance when handling the bino. Cases are in use only for extended travel.

Troubador · May 3, 2018

I never use them. In scrub I have the rainguard on the eyecups and hold the binos with the objectives towards my body. If the scrub is really bad or if scrambling over boulders I put the binos inside my jacket.

I can imagine objective covers being necessary in desert habitats. On Scottish sand dunes I do the same as in scrub. Basically I hate stuff dangling off my binos or straps, they always get in the way of my hands or tangle with my camera gear.

Lee

Kevin Conville · May 3, 2018

"Why use objective covers?"

I don't use them. Never have. I've almost never used ocular covers either. Only in real rain. To me they're antithetical to what binoculars are suppose to be: handy.

The coatings on modern bins (Leicas at least) are harder than glass. I've never scratched a lens on anything and sometimes don't even use a case when transporting.

Fortunately, these days they're easily removed and put in a cabinet to be looked for at the time you want to sell the bin.

As an aside, I also dislike neoprene straps. They're hot and they chafe.
Oh, and zip up cases are a joke. What do you do with the strap? I'd gladly pay $100. less for any new bin and they can keep all that stuff.

Troubador · May 3, 2018

Kevin Conville said:
Oh, and zip up cases are a joke. What do you do with the strap? I'd gladly pay $100. less for any new bin and they can keep all that stuff.

See pic of Zeiss SF case just before the zip is finally closed. The neckstrap (just visible in the pic) is wrapped around the bino and the whole shebang, complete with rainguard sitting on the eyecups screwed down (I wear spectacles) fits inside and zips up, no problem.

Lee

iveljay · May 3, 2018

Lots of arable land around here with soil that forms a fine abrasive dust that sticks to everything in warm breezy weather. While you can brush it off its better to minimise the need. Its quick enough to flip a pair of tethered covers. Also crawling through undergrowth, there are enough sharp things digging in me, let alone my objectives.

In winter its just rain and snow so objective covers aren't so important. A few years ago I accidentally left a pair of roofs out overnight in a thunderstorm, a quick mop down and they were none the worst as a result.

So its horses for courses, abrasive dust, sharp undergrowth and seawater I protect against, the waterproof roofs cope with uncovered objectives for everything else. Eyepiece covers are more important as sticky perspiration is a pain to remove in the field! If nothing else, a layer of sweat definitely changes optical properties.

Cases are for motor/horse/dog racing and should be rigid tan leather to keep your sandwiches cool- remember the days....

No single set of answers, just whatever works for you, but I probably would risk my lenses for a unicorn sighting.

Tringa45 · May 3, 2018

Rathaus said:
Objective covers are hideous clumsy things, so I don’t use them. If I did use them I would be very wary of trapping humidity/moisture under them.

I think that sub 5°C temperatures in Oz are fairly seldom, so I accept that you have no need for them, but the thought that trapping less than 10 ml of clean dry air beneath them could cause some damage is rather far-fetched, to say the least!

John

black crow · May 3, 2018

My friend while eating lunch with her binos on a harness stabbed the objective lens with a knife that she had sitting on her lap. Caps would have helped in that rare instance .

Troubador · May 3, 2018

black crow said:
My friend while eating lunch with her binos on a harness stabbed the objective lens with a knife that she had sitting on her lap. Caps would have helped in that rare instance .[/QUOTE

Presumably this was a picnic lunch out in the wilds and not in the Ritz Carlton in San Francisco.

To avoid embarrassments like this and including other calamities to binos such as the careless slopping of mayonaise or salad cream or coffee, not to mention dribbles from fruit and crumbs from biscuits, we take our binos off our necks for picnics and place them safely to one side (avoiding any sheep or goose poo of course). Being a gentleman I will refrain from asking how your lady friend held a knife, blade point upwards, while it was 'in her lap'.

BC have you ever thought of writing screenplays for movies?

Lee :-O

paddy7 · May 3, 2018

Rain guards in particular have long been known in these parts as 'crumb catchers'

black crow · May 3, 2018

Troubador said:
black crow said:

My friend while eating lunch with her binos on a harness stabbed the objective lens with a knife that she had sitting on her lap. Caps would have helped in that rare instance .[/QUOTE

Presumably this was a picnic lunch out in the wilds and not in the Ritz Carlton in San Francisco.

To avoid embarrassments like this and including other calamities to binos such as the careless slopping of mayonaise or salad cream or coffee, not to mention dribbles from fruit and crumbs from biscuits, we take our binos off our necks for picnics and place them safely to one side (avoiding any sheep or goose poo of course). Being a gentleman I will refrain from asking how your lady friend held a knife, blade point upwards, while it was 'in her lap'.

BC have you ever thought of writing screenplays for movies?

Lee :-O

Click to expand...

I often eat snacks when hiking. I use rain guards (doesn't rain here in the summer) and objective guards (smacking into a belt buckle of some thing on my belt) just so I don't have to bother removing my harness.

The pair she pierced were Zen Ray 9x36 that I had sold her long ago. She's rich and so is very careless with her belongings. She just buys more without a thought. Not much like me who is very careful with things. I've stated this before but if I told all the stories about my friend everyone here would think I was making it all up. Breaking her wrist while using the Zeiss for the first time when taking them afield without a neck strap or harness is ludicrous for you or me but business as usual for her and a minor incident in carelessness.

Troubador · May 3, 2018

black crow said:
Troubador said:

I often eat snacks when hiking. I use rain guards (doesn't rain here in the summer) and objective guards (smacking into a belt buckle of some thing on my belt) just so I don't have to bother removing my harness.

The pair she pierced were Zen Ray 9x36 that I had sold her long ago. She's rich and so is very careless with her belongings. She just buys more without a thought. Not much like me who is very careful with things. I've stated this before but if I told all the stories about my friend everyone here would think I was making it all up. Breaking her wrist while using the Zeiss for the first time when taking them afield without a neck strap or harness is ludicrous for you or me but business as usual for her and a minor incident in carelessness.

Click to expand...

BC
Yes you did mention she was wearing a harness which makes taking off binos a bit of a faff especially when you need to don the thing again. We don't use harnesses ourselves even though they could be helpful because we use backpacks with chest and waist straps and often have cameras on neck straps too as well as binos. We can only tolerate a small number of straps and neck straps and lanyards before they get tangled and curses unsue.
Your friend sounds fun and not a little unpredictable.

Lee

dries1 · May 3, 2018

We can only tolerate a small number of straps and neck straps and lanyards before they get tangled and curses unsue.

Lee, now that is funny.

Andy W.

Kevin Conville · May 3, 2018

Troubador said:
See pic of Zeiss SF case just before the zip is finally closed. The neckstrap (just visible in the pic) is wrapped around the bino and the whole shebang, complete with rainguard sitting on the eyecups screwed down (I wear spectacles) fits inside and zips up, no problem.

Lee

So Zeiss made the case large enough for all that stuff to go inside. The answer is a large case.

This large case has a strap? Now you have two straps?
I also see that Zeiss' case is semi rigid (molded). This makes it the same size whether it is empty or not. A large, semi rigid case, with a strap.

I greatly prefer a buckle-type soft case, even if the zip case will hold all the goodies.
The one on the left is made by Vortex and was purchased to house my Trinovids. The one on the right is made by Leupold and was purchased to house my Endeavors.

tenex · May 3, 2018

Thanks for all the responses. It's good to hear how or when others might find objective covers useful. Swarovski is even building them into the ELs now. I hardly ever see anyone wearing binos with covers flopping off them, but now I won't have to inquire!

Iveljay, "a layer of sweat definitely changes optical properties"... that's surely an understudied subject. I'm envisioning the graphs now...

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