A great pair of high quality binoculars can set your wallet back a bit. It’s a good idea to know what you’re looking for when choosing binoculars ahead of time. This will ensure you find the best binoculars you’ll love and that will provide you with years of quality use. There are many things to consider, including magnification, image quality, your specific needs, and your budget. We’ll help you understand the best binoculars for the money a little better so that you can make an informed decision when choosing binoculars for yourself.
Binocular Magnification
Every pair of binoculars like this pair of Canon 10x Binoculars from Buydig.com comes with a numbered specification, like 10×20. The first number indicates the magnification strength, which in this instance is 10 times. The second number represents the lens size of 20 millimeters. Magnification itself can be tricky to get just right. You might think the bigger the number, the more awesome the binoculars, but that’s not necessarily true. The more you magnify your image, the more hyper-aware you’ll be of every tremor and flutter in your view. If you get a pair of 15x lenses, you’ll likely need a tripod to keep the image still enough to see clearly. If you need to be mobile with your binoculars, a tripod-dependent pair is probably not what you want. Keep in mind that your binocular field of view will shrink as the magnification strength grows. If you need to see a wide terrain, higher power binoculars aren’t necessarily the best choice.
Binocular Sizes
Binoculars range in size from pocket-friendly compact models to giant contraptions meant for star gazing. Binoculars are broken down into compact binoculars, midsize binoculars and full-size binocular categories, based on the size of the binocular objective lenses. If the binoculars are going inside your pack, then lightweight compact models with an objective lens size less than 30mm make sense. Midsize models have an objective lens size from 30mm to 40mm and can give you brighter images and be more comfortable to hold for long periods. That might change with larger full-size binoculars. Some people find these too heavy to hold for extended periods of time because their objective lens size is greater than 40mm.
Best Binoculars for Birding
Birds in treetops can be hard to spot without the right amount of light entering your lens. If you want the best bird watching binoculars, shoot for decent magnification and a higher lens size. A pair of 10×40 is near perfect for general birding binoculars, but if you’ll be observing in thicker foliage, you may need to nudge that up to 10×50. This will narrow your field of view, which is typically fine for observing small birds. If you need to view a wider area, or if you find the image too shaky, you can decrease your bird watching binoculars to 8x and still get a great image. The standard birding binocular is an 8×42 binocular like this Nikon Prostaff 3S from Buydig.com. Longer eye relief and a close focus are also great features to have on your bird watching binoculars.
Best Binoculars for Hunting
If you’re hiding out in a blind, you want hunting binoculars with the ability to spot game from long distances. You also want your hunting binoculars to be rugged binoculars and waterproof to endure the changing weather. You’ll need the capacity to track moving game easily. A great specification for hunting binoculars is 8×42. These Nikon hunting binoculars will give you sharp imaging, and will stand up to outdoor conditions. They’re compact and lightweight, give you excellent field of view, and you won’t get image shake when you’re trying to follow a buck on the move.
Best Binoculars for Astronomy
When searching for binoculars for stargazing, a large objective lens is going to help you gather more light. Increased magnification with the same aperture will darken the background. This allows the stars to really stand out. Lower magnification on your astronomy binoculars will give you a wider field of view. You might also want to consider a pair of astronomy binoculars that can be mounted on a tripod. Look for an objective lens that is 42mm or greater on your high power binoculars for stargazing. Magnification for handheld binoculars should be between 8x to 12x. Any larger and you’ll need a tripod or monopod.
After you purchase your high quality binoculars, be sure to clean them as needed and keep them tucked safely in their storage case when they’re not in use. This will ensure your amazing new binoculars will last you for many years.
Leave a Reply