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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Malcolm Stewart" data-source="post: 3457344" data-attributes="member: 6851">I'm 78 and have been buying good but not top end binoculars for many years, and quite simply can't see the subtleties mentioned frequently in this forum. So, when I had my eyes tested a few years ago, I asked whether I had cataracts.  To my surprise, the optician drew up another instrument that he'd never used on me before (slit-lamp microscope), and his answer was "Yes", but not bad enough for it to be worth having them removed - and I'm still legal for a driving licence.I'm astigmatic, and have worn bifocals since I was 40.  I do find the close-distance lens area quite troublesome when using binoculars, and I've recently tried using them without my specs - quite a revelation in ease of use, wider field and much less criticality wrt exit pupil etc.  When wearing specs, I was using the twist-up eyepieces in the down position, but perhaps my eye-sockets are deeper than the 15-20mm allowance.</blockquote>