Eye relief issue? (1 Viewer)

Hi, I am new on this forum. Thanks to the administrators for accepting me and I hope to enjoy many visits and will attempt to contribute when I can. First, I have a problem....After much studying of binocular reviews, I took delivery today of a pair of nikon m7 (ii) 8x30 bins. Now I love the sharpness and the clarity and brightness but I have a problem. In order to take in the full wide field I need to retract the eyeguards all the way in.....when I do this I need to hold the bins away from my eyes in order to see the field stop. Is this a disadvantage of the generous eye relief? I love a wide field but I don't get the benefit of it if I have to pull up the eyeguards so I feel cheated!! (I don't wear glasses when viewing). Should I return them and buy some with a shorter eye relief? Is there a solution?

I really love them apart from this issue, despite there being noticeable false colour when viewing say a rooftop against a bright sky background..

Thanks for any advice..

Dave

Dave,

Yes I believe that more of the potential eye relief (with eyeguards fully in) would be more suitable if you did wear glasses, so you probably do need to have them pulled out a bit.

Do you consider the 'field stop' to be the black margin around the maximum field which can be seen?

If so, and if the right place happens to be somewhere between fully 'in' and one one of the clicking positions, many people use rubber O ring/s of the right cross section and diameter (eBay?) to keep the eyepieces there.

I find that the fov is widest with eyecups pushed all the way in but I get blackouts all over the view until I back off my eyes from the eyepieces....then I can take in the entire fov...but it's not exactly ideal having to do this! At the 3rd clickstop, no blackout issues and nice field stop but a much smaller fov!! I'm not sure what the answer is....

davekelley said:

I find that the fov is widest with eyecups pushed all the way in but I get blackouts all over the view until I back off my eyes from the eyepieces....then I can take in the entire fov...but it's not exactly ideal having to do this! At the 3rd clickstop, no blackout issues and nice field stop but a much smaller fov!! I'm not sure what the answer is....

Click to expand...

When I first started getting into binocular astronomy, I would search a huge patch of sky for Andromeda. One becoming experienced in the craft, I had only to throw the instrument to my face ... and there it was ... every time. I haven’t been a regular in years, but I can still do it.

Now, your eye placement is critical; often frustrating because of “blackouts.” With experience, there is a very good chance you will come to love the extra eye relief. It’s not a given, but a strong possibility. :cat:

Bill

I have a cheap pair of nikon 8x42 and i can easily find Andromeda in those, eyes pressed into the eyecups I can see the whole fov. I could find Andromeda with these bins as well but I just find with these bins I don't get the full field because I have to pull out the eyecups and that restricts the fov! I can't get the benefit of the amazing fov.

As Bill said the problem could be down to getting used to the need for much more precise eye placement.

It is bound to be more tricky at first with 8x30 (3.75mm exit pupil to which to adjust the position of the eyes) than with 8x42 (5.25mm exit pupil)

i.e. I think the 8x30 has a 28% (edit: not 40%) smaller exit pupil than the 8x42

Hi Dave,
Are you really losing the field of view or just comparing circles.

The FOV of the M7 8x30 is advertised as 8.3 degrees, I think, and Nikon are usually accurate.

The bottom two stars of the bowl of Ursa Major are 7.9 degrees apart, and they should comfortably be within the binocular field at the same time.

However, if Ursa Major is high in the sky, it is important to have ones head at the correct angle, so a lounger is needed.
If viewing standing, and tilting ones head, field size can be reduced.

I also find that many modern binoculars have much too long eye relief, and I use models with less eye relief.
I don't wear glasses with binoculars.
But one may be able to adapt to using long eye relief binoculars.

B.

P.S.
It can be that one eye has a different prescription to the other and this presents problems also.
Or the anatomy of ones face is not the same for both eyes.

I would persist for a while to see if a good position can be found.

10x30 binoculars often have shorter eye relief than 8x30 because of shorter focal length eyepieces.

Perhaps a Canon 10x30 IS MkII would suit.

Hi Dave,

Have you experimented with where you place the eye cups in relation to your eyes when you use them?

I have a Monarch 7 8x30. I use it with the eye cups fully extended and braced up against my brow ridges just under my eyebrows. I can see the entire FOV this way but I can't roll my eyes side to side without getting blackouts. Instead I move by head when I follow a bird. Other people can use this binocular with the oculars placed further back in their eye sockets without getting black outs. It is an individual "thing" where you place your eyes.

You may want to try the new Swarovski CL Companion 8x30 B. It has an eye box in its oculars like one finds in Rifle Scopes. The scopes have, so to speak, "moveable," eye relief and can accommodate your eye relief over a short distance so you can see the full FOV close to the eye piece or further back from it.

Bob

ceasar said:

Hi Dave,

Have you experimented with where you place the eye cups in relation to your eyes when you use them?

I have a Monarch 7 8x30. I use it with the eye cups fully extended and braced up against my brow ridges just under my eyebrows. I can see the entire FOV this way but I can't roll my eyes side to side without getting blackouts. Instead I move by head when I follow a bird. Other people can use this binocular with the oculars placed further back in their eye sockets without getting black outs. It is an individual "thing" where you place your eyes.

You may want to try the new Swarovski CL Companion 8x30 B. It has an eye box in its oculars like one finds in Rifle Scopes. The scopes have, so to speak, "moveable," eye relief and can accommodate your eye relief over a short distance so you can see the full FOV close to the eye piece or further back from it.

Bob

Click to expand...

Yes I have to extend the eyecups 2 or 3 stops and hold them against by brows so I cannot press my eyes into the cups which is the way I enjoy to use binoculars! I can see the entire fov but I'm not sure if it is going to irritate me or if I will get used to it. Is it exit pupil or eye relief that is the problem? Is there another small lightweight binocular with this sort of widefield that I could buy that wouldn't give this issue? The brightness and clarity is brilliant and I love that. I get a bit of false colour looking at say a roofline or an airel against a bright sky background which I didn't expect with ed glass but I suspect my eyes do that anyway even without any binoculars.
Dave.

Hi Dave, sorry to hear you're having issues with your new binoculars. A similar model that you could try is the Opticron Traveller BGA ED 8x32. It's about £20 more expensive and a little heavier (450g vs 435g) and bigger, but with the 32mm objectives may just be that little bit easier for eye placement and getting the view you want. It still has a very wide field of view and having looked through both I preferred it. If you're prepared to spend more then Bob's suggestion of the Swarovski CL Companion 8x30 is a good one. There's also the Nikon 8x30 HGL, which is optically superb, but not without eye-position issues itself. There's lots of choice out there. To me it sounds like you're not getting on with the M7 8x30s so you might as well send them back and put the money towards a pair that suit you rather than struggling on with them. I tried a second hand pair of Opticron Verano 8x32 HD in a shop at the weekend (I knew it was a bad idea to go in) and the view was so relaxed I've ordered a pair. The binoculars are now discontinued (but you can find online) and they're quite heavey at 609g for an 8x32 and as big as some 8x42s, but I figured maybe that's what it takes for a really comfy view. The small 8x30s are very convenient, but they're inherently fiddly for eye placement (not so with the CL companions), so if you can manage the weight and ease of view is more important perhaps try some different slightly larger binoculars.

thanks for that advice. I have heard lots of good but also bad about those opticrons...I am giving these nikons a few more days and a bit of time.....I'm not sure I could get anything better optically because they are brilliant...and I can not and would not ever spend more than about £350-400 on a pair of bins so swaros are not an option!