Recommendations for good binoculars for smallish IPD (1 Viewer)

[philwaring]

Hi All,

I've been happily using binoculars for many years but I think I've been missing out the whole time. I have a relatively small (but not crazy) IPD of around 58mm. I've owned Leica Ultravid HD 8x42 and more recently Swaro NL 10x32. I spent quite a while trying out various Zeiss SF and Swaro NL options at the time I bought the NLs but it's hard to remember specifics a year later.

My issue seems to stem from my smallish IPD and the big eye-cups of the stuff I own. With the 10x32 NL I get the stunning central view but I can't look directly anywhere near the edge. I can maybe look about halfway from the middle to the edge before I get blackouts. I've been unable to solve this by moving my eyes further back (or forwards) and I think I'm perhaps not in the sweet spot for my IPD. I can't close the binoculars down further as the eye cups then start hitting my nose and pushing my eyes further away. Same issue with the ultravids.

My wife has a pair of Swaro CL 8x30 and they're much more compact and though I have some issues with the eye relief I do find that I can look around more of the view. These go a bit too far the other way though in terms of small eye cups and I much prefer using my NLs.

Up until spending more time reading this forum (Classic mistake) I didn't mind too much. I would enjoy the central view and assumed that's the view everyone got. I'd like to try some good quality binoculars with slightly smaller eye cups to see if there's a happy middle-ground where I get to look around the full view without having to give up too much of the stellar quality I get right now. The Zeiss SFL 8x30 / 10x30 are on my hit list but not much else. I'll be visiting a shop with loads of options and with lots of wildlife to test them on and I'd like to have some idea of what I should try. I'm especially interested in the views of anyone who has had the same issue.

I'm primarily interested in something like a waterproof 8x30/10x30 or an 8x40/10x40. For most of what I do I think 10s are ideal but I'm definitely willing to go for 8s if I find some that suddenly make viewing really easy and I can roam around the whole view.

Thanks,
Phil

 

[Maljunulo]

Maybe its not the IPD, maybe your eyes are too close to the eyepiece lenses.

Try backing off a few mm or so, that cured the problem in my SF.

 

[philwaring]

Maybe its not the IPD, maybe your eyes are too close to the eyepiece lenses.

Try backing off a few mm or so, that cured the problem in my SF.

I've done this to the best extent I can and it still doesn't fix the issue. If I move any further out I get no improvement and a lot of vignetting. I need to do the same with the Companion CLs but with my others I think I'm at the best distance but the result still isn't there in terms of being able to look around the view. If I measure the separation of the eye cups then it's more like 60mm on my NL when I've had them in a comfortable position. If I try to close them together any further then they just get pushed up by the bridge of my nose and then I can't align both of them.

 

[winginit]

I've done this to the best extent I can and it still doesn't fix the issue. If I move any further out I get no improvement and a lot of vignetting. I need to do the same with the Companion CLs but with my others I think I'm at the best distance but the result still isn't there in terms of being able to look around the view. If I measure the separation of the eye cups then it's more like 60mm on my NL when I've had them in a comfortable position. If I try to close them together any further then they just get pushed up by the bridge of my nose and then I can't align both of them.

Perhaps if you explain the problem to the optics shop they can help you find a proper fit?

 

[William Lewis]

I use a mixture of ipd adjustment and eye cup extension to get the best view, pupils centred at the correct eye relief distance.

If you narrow the ipd so the eye cups rest on your brow and nose further from you eye than you might usually have them you can twist down the eye cups by a notch or 2 so the eye relief is correct. As your nose narrows away from your eyes this may mean you can get to a smaller ipd, even with the large eye cups but still have the exit pupil positioned correctly.

I use this successfully with my SLC 8x56 with it's almost too long eye relief so I don't have to use the over extended eye cup position that resides a couple of degrees back from the usual fully extended position. Works for me, no black outs and a reliable view.

Will

 

[Charlie Yardbird]

I'd kill for an IPD that wide. I'm 53-54mm wide.
I find that using wide angle classic porros helps me percieve a single image instead of two partial images.

For current production, the Zeiss Conquest HD is stated as 54mm minimum IPD