Tell Me About Binoculars

[rk911]

Over the years we have acquired 5-pairs of binoculars. We didn't buy any of them but received one pair as a gift many years ago and the others were parts of estates left by my late brothers-in-law and mother-in-law. We don't need 5-pairs so we'd like to try and sell three of them and keep the other two. The question...which to sell and which to keep.

We have:
#1-Bushnell Ensign 7x50, 367ft@1000yds. No eye or lens caps but with a soft case.

#2-Two Tasco Sonoma 8x40, ZIP Focus (?), Wide Angle, 450ft@1000 yds, some eye and lens caps missing, soft cases.

#3-Tasco 7x35, ZIP Focus, 420ft@1000yds, some eye and lens caps missing, soft cases.

#4-Traq Model 3002, 7x35, Wide Angle 10-deg, 525ft@1000yds, Hard case

We don't do bird watching or anything of that sort but we have occasionally used some of these on vacation trips.

Which would the group recommend we keep and why? I've looked up the value of the binocs online and am seeing values from $20-$40. Does that sound about right? I think we've had the the Traq (#4) the longest...maybe 35-40 years.

Thanks.

 

[RobbieB]

I would go outside and test each on a far away scene with some fine detail and pick the 2 best.

For example I use some hills about 7 to 10 miles away. These hills have wind turbines on top and a good pair will allow me to see them. I have others that will not.

 

[rk911]

I would go outside and test each on a far away scene with some fine detail and pick the 2 best.

For example I use some hills about 7 to 10 miles away. These hills have wind turbines on top and a good pair will allow me to see them. I have others that will not.

sorry...i know nada when it comes to binocs. so all of these are, more or less, of the same quality? i expect there are consumer grade and professional grade. pretty sure the Traq pair was the gift we received decades ago so it's likely consumer grade but as the others were part of my in-law's estate's I can't be sure if they're consumer or pro. My assumption, based on the values I found online, is that they're consumer grade as well.

your idea has merit so we will perform that. thanks

 

[Lewis Clark]

If you plan to travel with them, consider which ones you would be willing to carry around and which would be too cumbersome.

 

[audreyh1]

Huge blow that dough for us on binoculars. We are avid birders/wildlife watchers and have been for decades. We own Swarovski. Too expensive for the casual user, but what a joy they are!

 

[rk911]

If you plan to travel with them, consider which ones you would be willing to carry around and which would be too cumbersome.

that's not a consideration as they're all roughly the same physical size.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

The thing to consider is field of view vs. magnification. For many years 7x35 was the standard. You can compromise from there -- to me, 7x50 would be more stable viewing. I have a Chinese 20x60 binocular that was great for watching fairly static subjects, but a monopod would have been helpful.

The Tasco 8x40 might be on the edge regarding freehand use vs. some kind of support to keep the image steady. I used a fencepost with my 20x60s to view some flamingoes in the Everglades. They were pretty static. The second number (field of view) will tell you how much you'll have to move your binoculars to keep your image in view. Fifty is great, but it's all relative to the degree of magnification. I have some 10x50 Bushnells that aren't bad.

 

[OldShooter]

#1-Bushnell Ensign 7x50, 367ft@1000yds. No eye or lens caps but with a soft case.

I would ditch those for sure. A 7x50 is sometimes called "night glasses" because the exit pupil is ~7mm -- quite large. The problem for us oldsters is that our pupils no longer dilate enough to take advantage of this exit pupil and the 50mm objective makes the binos heavy.

#2-Two Tasco Sonoma 8x40, ZIP Focus (?), Wide Angle, 450ft@1000 yds, some eye and lens caps missing, soft cases.

#3-Tasco 7x35, ZIP Focus, 420ft@1000yds, some eye and lens caps missing, soft cases.

#4-Traq Model 3002, 7x35, Wide Angle 10-deg, 525ft@1000yds, Hard case

My guess is that for your use these four are going to be very similar. (I didn't find much on the Traq.) The 7x35s will be a bit more compact and lighter than the 8x40s and I doubt you'll notice the difference in magnification or light gathering. So I would tend towards keeping the Tasco 7x35s. BUT -- an ounce of data trumps a pound of theory. Take them out, a couple at a time, and see which you like the best. Look for sharpness especially at the edge of the images, smooth and easy focus, easy adjustment of tube spacing to match your eyes, and easy diopter adjustment (probably on one tube only.)

HTH

 

[OldShooter]

The thing to consider is field of view vs. magnification. For many years 7x35 was the standard. You can compromise from there -- to me, 7x50 would be more stable viewing. I have a Chinese 20x60 binocular that was great for watching fairly static subjects, but a monopod would have been helpful.

The Tasco 8x40 might be on the edge regarding freehand use vs. some kind of support to keep the image steady. I used a fencepost with my 20x60s to view some flamingoes in the Everglades. They were pretty static. The second number (field of view) will tell you how much you'll have to move your binoculars to keep your image in view. Fifty is great, but it's all relative to the degree of magnification. I have some 10x50 Bushnells that aren't bad.

Sorry. The second number is the size of the objective lens, which tells you about light gathering only. Re magnification, 7x and 8x are pretty close but the bigger the number the shakier the bino feels. We re OK with 8x but 10x is too much for us. No surprise your 20x needs support!

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Sorry. The second number is the size of the objective lens, which tells you about light gathering only. Re magnification, 7x and 8x are pretty close but the bigger the number the shakier the bino feels. We re OK with 8x but 10x is too much for us. No surprise your 20x needs support!

Sorry, I have always thought of the second number as field of view. If that's wrong I am in error. Still, I think the bigger second number would be a good indicator of how stable the image is. Is that wrong?

 

[OldShooter]

Sorry, I have always thought of the second number as field of view. If that's wrong I am in error. Still, I think the bigger second number would be a good indicator of how stable the image is. Is that wrong?

The objective lens diameter is strictly about light gathering. Dividing the lens diameter by the magnification gives you the exit pupil size. A bigger exit pupil like on a 7x50 is great as long as the pupil in your eyeball is a similar or larger size. Then all the light gets to your retina. If your eye pupil can't use all that light, then what you have is unproductive extra weight.

On the other side we have some ultracompact Zeiss 10x20s. They are difficult to use even in bright daylight because the exit pupil is so small that it is difficult to get both tubes spaced correctly to line up with the eyeball pupils (which are also small due to the bright light). One of my more stupid purchase decisions, made before I understood a little of this stuff.

I don't really understand field of view technically. It appears to be a feature more of the optical design than of the major bino parameters. I also suspect that manufacturers are prone to lie about it because it is difficult for an end-user to test the claims. Google will undoubtedly tell more but I am too lazy ....

 

[rk911]

So, the '7' in the 7x35 is magnification and the '35' is field of view? When I use a telephoto lens on my dSLR the "longer" the lens the more difficulty in maintaining a steady view. you mention that '8' is on the edge of not needing a monopole. do these numbers correspond to a specific distance range or maximum or are they just numbers on a scale? if just numbers how much different is a 7 from an 8 or a 10 from a 20? is a 20 capable of twice as much magnification?

for our general use purpose, I think not needing to steady the binocs on a monopole or tripod is a plus, but it would be nice to have that option. The two Tasco's have a tripod connection whereas the others don't. The Bushnell pair has something that I thought would be a tripod connection but when I removed the cover it looks like something else (see the attached photo). Is that just a different type of tripod connection?

 

[rk911]

I would ditch those for sure. A 7x50 is sometimes called "night glasses" because the exit pupil is ~7mm -- quite large. The problem for us oldsters is that our pupils no longer dilate enough to take advantage of this exit pupil and the 50mm objective makes the binos heavy.

My guess is that for your use these four are going to be very similar. (I didn't find much on the Traq.) The 7x35s will be a bit more compact and lighter than the 8x40s and I doubt you'll notice the difference in magnification or light gathering. So I would tend towards keeping the Tasco 7x35s. BUT -- an ounce of data trumps a pound of theory. Take them out, a couple at a time, and see which you like the best. Look for sharpness especially at the edge of the images, smooth and easy focus, easy adjustment of tube spacing to match your eyes, and easy diopter adjustment (probably on one tube only.)

HTH

it does, thanks. I was leaning to keep the Bushnell for it's ease of focus and one of the Tasco's for the tripod connection. But I need to re-think this.

 

[rk911]

The objective lens diameter is strictly about light gathering. Dividing the lens diameter by the magnification gives you the exit pupil size. A bigger exit pupil like on a 7x50 is great as long as the pupil in your eyeball is a similar or larger size. Then all the light gets to your retina. If your eye pupil can't use all that light, then what you have is unproductive extra weight.

On the other side we have some ultracompact Zeiss 10x20s. They are difficult to use even in bright daylight because the exit pupil is so small that it is difficult to get both tubes spaced correctly to line up with the eyeball pupils (which are also small due to the bright light). One of my more stupid purchase decisions, made before I understood a little of this stuff.

I don't really understand field of view technically. It appears to be a feature more of the optical design than of the major bino parameters. I also suspect that manufacturers are prone to lie about it because it is difficult for an end-user to test the claims. Google will undoubtedly tell more but I am too lazy ....

what does "exit pupil" mean?

 

[braumeister]

I would go outside and test each on a far away scene with some fine detail and pick the 2 best.

This is really excellent advice. You're the best judge of how good the image quality is, and real world testing like this is the only way to find out.

For myself, I'm like audreyh1. Had to dig really deep to blow the dough a number of years ago, but my Swarovski 10x42s are in a class by themselves. DW has a pair of Nikons that are almost as good.

 

[OldShooter]

So, the '7' in the 7x35 is magnification and the '35' is field of view? When I use a telephoto lens on my dSLR the "longer" the lens the more difficulty in maintaining a steady view. you mention that '8' is on the edge of not needing a monopole. do these numbers correspond to a specific distance range or maximum or are they just numbers on a scale? if just numbers how much different is a 7 from an 8 or a 10 from a 20? is a 20 capable of twice as much magnification?

Close. The "7" is the magnification as is the 8, the 10, and the 20. So yes, "20" is like shooting a longer lens and will be shakier. Very shaky, actually.

The Bushnell pair has something that I thought would be a tripod connection but when I removed the cover it looks like something else (see the attached photo). Is that just a different type of tripod connection?

My guess is that it's just the head of the clamp screw that holds the joint between the two tubes together. (That joint allows you to set the tube spacing to line up with the spacing of the pupils in your eyes. On our regular travel binos I have actually added a couple of white paint dots. When I crank the binos to line up the dots, the spacing is right for me. No fiddling. Higher end binos often have numeric scales, so I know if my spacing is x millimeters I can just set the number. No need for dots.)

what does "exit pupil" mean?

Sorry. Think of it as the diameter of the beam of light leaving the binos and going into your eye. Your eye only gets the light that comes through the eye's pupil, though, so if the incoming light beam is larger that extra light is wasted. Hence my point about night glasses not being too useful for us old folks whose pupils don't dilate so much any more.

FWIW I agree completely that you should select based on the binos that work the best for you. Practice always trumps theory.

 

[Sunset]

Testing them all would be great.
I had an old set of binoculars at the cabin, took them out a to look at stuff and noticed it seemed fuzzy. Sure enough inside there was a fog/mold on the lens, I could see looking into with a flashlight via the big end.
So I bought a new pair based on recommendations here.
I leave the old ones at the cabin for the next set of thieves to steal it.

 

[street]

I have a set hung around my neck just about every time in the outdoors. I'm not someone that can teach you much about binoculars but for me I want the most powerful set that I don't need a tripod to use them. I have worn a few sets out and I use 12x50 and have used a few different companies.
I want and need to see long distances here in the west. I have no problem with keeping them steady and don't have ill effects using a powerful set.

We had a topic on this sometime back here on ER. If I'm not mistaken the OP at that time went and bought a 12x50 and was very happy with the results and he didn't have any issues with the power being high.

I would strongly advise you to go try different powers and see what works for. In my case I need power and distants in my terrian and for what I use them for.

Good luck.

 

[OldShooter]

... I use 12x50 and have used a few different companies. I want and need to see long distances here in the west. I have no problem with keeping them steady ...

You're a better man than me ! My go-to binos are 8x and that is about my limit for steady/unsupported viewing. These, actually: https://www.amazon.com/Leupold-Katmai-Compact-Binocular-56420/dp/B001HN5GPI

 

[RobbieB]

The beauty of 7x50's with their large exit pupil even in daylight and even if your eyes don't open that large because you are geriatric is that large exit pupil makes the interocular adjustment very easy. Especially in daylight when pupils are small.

That's why they are the most popular marine binoc's. Sometimes you have to see something real important really fast and 7x50's rock at this.

 

[audreyh1]

This is really excellent advice. You're the best judge of how good the image quality is, and real world testing like this is the only way to find out.

For myself, I'm like audreyh1. Had to dig really deep to blow the dough a number of years ago, but my Swarovski 10x42s are in a class by themselves. DW has a pair of Nikons that are almost as good.

I have to admit that DH and I are now owners of two pairs of Swarovskis each. We’ve each had the 8.5x42 bins which has been an absolutely outstanding birdwatching optics we’ve enjoyed for decades. More recently we’ve each bought a lighter, more compact 8x32 bins which we prefer for traveling.

 

[street]

You're a better man than me ! My go-to binos are 8x and that is about my limit for steady/unsupported viewing. These, actually: https://www.amazon.com/Leupold-Katmai-Compact-Binocular-56420/dp/B001HN5GPI

I never have had any issues with holding steady or getting sick using this power. After using this power for so many years I have a hard time using someone else's lesser power. For me it isn't good enough. I'm not belittling the folks that use their power they like but lesser isn't for me and doesn't do the job I need.

 

[audreyh1]

For us - noticeable shake above 8.5x. It’s really noticeable watching small things like birds. Your arms get tired.

Also wider field of view helps when birdwatching.

Just something to consider.

 

[RobbieB]

Me too. Handheld, 7-8 max. Ten is too much. Objective diameter, I like 42-50mm except for "car" and pocket packers. I do have a couple of 8x25 pocket packs.

Because sometimes you want to reach in the glove box to see something on the road.

 

[Ronstar]

I would go outside and test each on a far away scene with some fine detail and pick the 2 best......

OP - I would do the same.

I think my days of holding binoculars steady are long gone. I use Vortex Crossfire 10x42 with a little stabilization assistance.