Field of View

An essential characteristic of any set of binoculars is the field of view. This is either indicated in degrees or more commonly in a number such as 300 x 1000 ft. The field of view tells you the distance from left to right that you will be able to see when the binoculars are up to your eyes.  For marine binoculars it is especially important to get as wide a field of view as you can afford because looking out to sea there are few landmarks to help you zoom in on a given area. The larger the number per 1000 ft, or the bigger the angle, the less time you will spend panning the binoculars from side to side trying to locate the object you are looking for. It is also handy to have a wide field of view if you are tracking moving objects such as a bird flying in the distance or a speedboat racing in front of you.  A general rule of thumb is that a lower magnification will give you a wider field of view, so keep that in mind when shopping.

Power (Magnification)

The power or magnification factor is the degree to which the binoculars magnify what you are looking at. There is tradeoff between power, clarity and field of view. When comparing marine binoculars, keep in mind that with extra power you lose both clarity and field of view and with lower power, you see a brighter image and have a wider field of view. Many experts agree that a magnification of about 7 or 8 times is a good power objective.

Eye Relief

When you focus the binoculars you can adjust each lens separately, so if you wear a simple glasses prescription it can be easier to take your glasses off. However, many people who wear glasses prefer to keep them on while looking through binoculars. A longer eye relief will be helpful for those you want to use their marine binoculars while wearing prescription lenses.  15mm is a fairly standard eye relief distance. 22mm gives you a little extra play to hold the binoculars forward from your eyes and still experience a reasonable field of view.

Waterproofing

Marine enthusiasts agree that one of the primary features all marine electronics must have is a good waterproofing system. Marine binoculars are no exception. Look for ruggedized casing that can withstand being dropped in the water and also look for lenses that have protective coatings that prevent water from clinging to the lenses. There are several types of lens coating provided by manufacturers of marine binoculars, some are anti-glare or anti-reflection, so look specifically for coatings that repel water and moisture.

Once you understand the basic characteristics of a good pair of marine binoculars you can find good deals online at marine electronics outlets. Study the specifications to compare the differences between models, manufacturers and price ranges.

Every description for binoculars indicates two numbers (i.e.- 7×35). The first number indicates the binoculars Magnification. The number, in our examples case, represents that the object viewed will appear to be 7 times closer than it really is. The average user should aim to purchase binoculars that have between 7x and 9x Magnification. More is not always better hoever. As the Magnification increases, so does the susceptibility of the binocular to shaking. With this in mind it is generally advised that for binoculars over 10x that they be used on a tripod to eliminate the “shaking” issue.

The second number is the Aperture (or objective lens). The objective lens determines how bright the image in your binoculars will be. It accomplishes this by letting the outside light in. The number itself is the size of the diameter of the lens. As the number gets larger, the image will be brighter. Bigger is not always better however as the larger the Aperture, the heavier the binoculars. The average user should look to have an Aperture which is 5x the Magnification (i.e. – 7×35)

The coating of the lens is also of great importance. The coating reduces the amount of unfocused light which bounces around inside the binoculars. This is called fragmenting. There are four different types of lens coating. The least effective is Coating. The next effective is Multi Coated. The Fully Coated and Fully Multi Coated type round out the different options for lens coating (Fully Multi Coated is the best). As the coating increases in quality, the picture quality improves and your enjoyment will increase.

Another factor to pay attention to is the Field of View. The Field of View refers to the measurement of the viewing area which lies 1000 yards from where you are located. One thing to consider is that with most binoculars, the Magnification and the Field of View are inverse to each other. So if you have a binocular that has high Magnification, the Field of View will be lower.

These are some of the technical factors one must understand when considering a specific model of binocular.

Good luck and happy viewing!

It doesn’t matter what you believe about UFO’s or who you think makes them, or if you think they exist or don’t.

But you have to admit a lot of weird things have been happening lately.

I have one thing to say to those people who say “UFO’s don’t exist, 100% of them are hoaxes, there is no evidence or proof” or what have you.

START LOOKING UP!!! all you have to do is start looking UP and you’ll see them… i have found that most people who say they don’t exist don’t spend much time outside, especially at night, and never LOOK for them in the first place.

Like i said… it doesn’t matter WHO makes them. it may be our government, it may be aliens, who knows… who cares… but to deny they are there is ignorant and closed minded..

I wasn’t going to start this conversation in that way.

I have a pair of binoculars. they are Nikon 10×50. these binoculars are powerful enough to see 4 moons of Jupiter. I’ve always been into astronomy and constellations etc. I look up at the stars OFTEN at night. Honestly, i’m a smoker, and i never smoke in my house. I always go to my back yard to smoke, and while i’m out there, i take my binoculars and look at the sky. I’ve been looking at the positions of jupiter’s moons just about every night since mid July. It’s worth mentioning, i am an amateur. Recently, i discovered that i could see the Andromeda galaxy.

If you find Cassiopeia, (the one that kinda looks like a W) the arrow points directly to the andromeda galaxy, which you can see with the naked eye if it’s REALLY dark. within the city, you need binoculars.

Anyway, i was looking at the andromeda galaxy, and in my field of view came 4 objects in a square formation. they had NO light radiating from them. within a second 1 more appeared, then another. they were moving a decent pace. They radiated NO light from themselves. They were triangular in shape. the only way i could see them was the light reflecting from them. the two that appeared formed themselves into the formation. the formation was FIXED and did not move.. stars passed between the objects I could not see them with the naked eye because they were too far away. Keep in mind, like i said, i can see 4 moons of Jupiter with these binoculars. I can literally read insignia on the side of airliners that fly over day or night, so to say i couldn’t see them with the naked eye is no surprise.

anyhow, they changed formation swiftly and precisely. they did not move like jets, they emmited no light, they didn’t waft around like high flying migrating birds to, and they were triangular in shape…

again.. i make no assumptions as to who created these… it could be anything…. but.. technically a UFO is something that is unidentified. it doesn’t mean aliens built them.. it just means it was unidentified. and. these were just that.

— in july, i was looking at the sky when i saw what i assumed was a satellite flying over. I called my girlfriend outside to look at it, and grabbed my trusty binoculars. In this case, it was glowing bright white like a meteorite entering the atmosphere, but not moving anywhere near as fast. once i put the binoculars on it, i realized it was much closer to the earth than i figured it would have been. it appeared about 3 to 5mm wide through them.. for perspective, jupiter is about 2mm wide through these lenses, and the moons of jupiter appear like faint stars that you can see with the naked eye.

I had time to pass the binoculars to her, when it suddenly took a hard 90 degree turn in mid course flew a little ways, STOPPED in mid air, blinked about 10 times rapidly – each time slower than the last, then completely disappeared…………

i’ve never seen an airplane do that, never seen a bird or a weather balloon do that, i know what flares look like. i used to live next to
Fort Hood.. which if you don’t know, is the largest army base in the world… i’ve seen jets, i’ve seen helicopters, i’ve seen flares, i’ve seen weather balloons, i’ve seen it all… including satellites, debris entering the atmosphere, pulsar stars emitting light, meteorites and asteroids, i KNOW the differences… and i know that none of these things move like what i’ve seen or behave like what i’ve seen.

Neither of these things were those..

The thing is, i’ve been seeing this kind of thing my entire life.. it doesn’t stop with just these two incidents. i’ve seen dozens of things like this throughout my life.

so……. i open a challenge… to those who have never seen anything like this, try this……..

Go out in your back yard every night for a month and spend 15 to 20 minutes just staring at the sky. You can get a pair of 10×50 binoculars if you want to make things a little more interesting..

just sit and stare at the sky at various times at night for an extended period of time, and i am at least 95% positive you WILL see something

Today it is an entirely different story, with camcorders being no bigger in some cases than a standard 35mm camera, and even some as small as a phone. Not only that, but these cameras now come at a price which is very affordable, and usually include a wide range of extra features, options and accessories.

However, this reduction in price and expansion in range means that today, the average consumer going out to find a camcorder is inundated with options, features and choices which can make the whole process quite bewildering.

Should you go for digital, or analogue? What about the media storage – should that be tape, and if so, which type, or disk, or even flash cards? What’s the difference between optical zoom and digital zoom, and do you really need night mode, auto fade and the other range of effects that seem to come as standard?

Before hitting the shops the best thing to do is some preliminary research to find out what options you have, and what suits not only your needs bu also your pocket. The cheapest option is not necessarily the most appropriate one for you, and at the same time, the most expensive cameras will not represent value for money for the average consumer, but are more aimed at the high end market.

The first and most immediate choice will probably be whether to go for analogue or digital. A lot of people aren’t even aware that analogue cameras are still made, and just assume that digital cameras will be better. This isn’t necessarily true. Many professional photographers still use film based cameras, rather than digital cameras because of the higher quality, and the same is true for video cameras. Digital camcorders compress the image quite significantly, allowing more to be stored. However, this compression results in a considerable loss of quality, and whilst this may be quite acceptable for the average family out on holiday, for a more professional film maker it will not be sufficient.

As far as the media you use to record the footage onto, this will vary depending on whether you’re going for digital or analogue. Tape provides a reliable, reusable and affordable media which will provide high quality, whereas media cards, flash cards and disks will be even cheaper, very reusable but may have less space for lengthy recordings depending on the size of the card you use.

There are a range of other features which you will see listed for cameras, such as optical and digital zoom. What’s the difference? Basically, optical zoom is achieved using the lenses, a little like a pair of binoculars, meaning that the quality of the image stays the same, it just becomes magnified. Digital zoom on the other hand takes the image and simply enlarges it. This adds no further detail to the image, but simply stretches it to a larger size, which can result in a loss of quality. For this reason, optical zoon is preferable, although digital zoom is cheaper. Again, it depends on what your needs are, and whether quality or price are the overriding factors.

There are also a number of magazine publications available, as well as websites, which offer reviews and recommendations, and before confronting keen sales people in the shops, you would be wise to read through some of these to make sure you are armed with a good understanding of what kind of customer you are, and the sort of camera you intend to buy.