Choose your binoculars wisely

As you know, binoculars are necessary to see objects as if they were close. So magnification, or zoom, is one of the most important metrics to consider when it comes to binoculars. And here, more is not always better.

When examining binoculars, the first thing your eye will probably notice are the numbers – number x number. The first number indicates precisely the zoom, i.e. how many times closer the object appears when looking through the binoculars. For example, with 8×42 binoculars, this means that everything you are looking at appears eight times closer than with the naked eye.

For most activities, 8x zoom is more than enough – including for hunting, bird watching, and just observing. An important factor to consider when it comes to zoom is how stable the hand holding the binoculars is. The higher the magnification power, the more difficult it is to stabilise the view in the binoculars.

Binoculars and lenses

While the zoom is the first of the two significant numbers, the lens size is the second. If you see the numbers 8×42 mm on the binoculars, it means that the lens diameter is 42 mm. The larger the lens, the more light enters the binoculars. For most outdoor activities, 42 mm is considered to be the ideal size.

Binoculars’ field of view and exit pupil

The size of the field of view shows how wide the view through the binoculars is. For example, if you look at an object that is 1,000 meters away, the width of the view you see is 105 meters.

If you hold the binoculars towards a light source and at least 30 cm from your eyes, you will see a white dot in the center of each lens. This point is often called the exit pupil and refers to the actual point of light that is transmitted to the eyes through the binoculars. The size of this light beam is a direct result of the two factors mentioned above: zoom and lens size.

The importance of exit pupil diameter is directly related to the function of our eyes. In normal lighting conditions, the pupil of the eye is usually open by about 2 mm. In the dark, however, the pupil opens to let in more light, and its diameter can reach 7 mm. If the diameter of the exit pupil of the binoculars is smaller than the pupil of the eye, the image seen through them appears darker than with the naked eye.

The average user who uses binoculars primarily during the day will have no problems with almost any binoculars on the market because the exit pupil is large enough to work effectively in full light.

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