BirdForum is the net's largest birding community dedicated to wild birds and birding, and is absolutely FREE!

Register for an account to take part in lively discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Binastro" data-source="post: 2756871" data-attributes="member: 111403">.the apparent field of view is most important for astronomy whereas it seems that for birdwatching the real field of view is what counts.When I got my first Nagler eyepiece I think 7 mm I was blown away.Jupiter and its moons looked exactly the same at the edge of the field and the centre.The apparent field was described as 82° and sometimes from memory 84°.I think 82° is mentioned nowadays.Because my telescope had a fixed mount rather than a driven mount the apparent field of view is critically important because it doubles the time you can observe compared with say an orthocopic eyepiece.In addition you see very many more stars at the same magnification.And you're more likely to pick up a telescopic meteor or artificial satellite.However, personally I do not like the hundred degree eyepieces as you have to move your eye around to see the full field and I find it very disturbing to use.But many people love these 100° eyepieces and also the new 110° versions.There is also a 120° eyepiece and there was a similar 120° version I think in the 1950s for submarine periscope's.However, when it comes to finding the faintest star or getting the best resolution or planetary detail my three element 8mm RKE eyepiece soundly beats these very wide field multielement eyepieces.And maybe the Zeiss four element eyepieces may be better although they are very expensive.Similarly, I much prefer the 10 x 50 Minolta standard with a usable 7.65 or 7.8° field even though the coatings are not as good as with the modern 10 x 50.The gains from the large field out weigh the slightly fainter stars seen with modern coatings.I really wish that someone made a 10 x 50 or 12 x 50 similar binocular with modern coatings and an extra wide-angle field.I don't think this will happen as manufacturers don't want to make porroprism binoculars any more and they certainly don't want to make extra wide-angle.However, 69° fields old measure are available from Leica and Canon. Even though the Canon state that they are 67° but they measure wider.</blockquote>

Verification