Do You Use Binoculars and What for? :D

[JAfromMn]

No

not any more.

I had a nice Bushnell pair but some smurfer stole them.

I should replace them.

they came in handy for watching wildlife and for inspecting crap at work.

[jzmtl]

I have a quality Bushnell pair that I'm afraid to use for that reason. 

[PTRSAK]

Tasco are good value. I have a pair similar to yours and they are about 15 years old. I rarely use them, but when you need them they are easy to use and light to carry. I think I bought them for 10 British pounds.

^^^that^^^  except for the British Pounds bit.  Mine were about $40 AUS  if I remember correctly.

Mine are 8x21mm. Handy little things, better than nothing but not by a long way. A pair of prism 8x30mm's would show far more detail, but be twice the size and probably three times the weight.

I should carry them more often.... into the EDC bag I think.

[nate j]

I use binoculars for looking in the windows of soror...I mean...birds!  I use them for watching birds.  Yea.   

Joking aside, I'm afraid I don't use or even own a pair of binoculars.

[RT1969]

I have a hand-me-down german 8x30 from when my uncle was a kid. This must be from the 60s or older (he couldn't remember when he bought them, and it was second hand). I plan on taking some pictures in the next days (I am already sorting some nice ones from monday) so I will add this to me to-photograph list. 
I use it only while hiking, on vacation, not often. 

As to the weight, size, quality etc. discussion, here is how I understand it:

The objective's area (that's where the radius squared comes from) limits, how much light passes into the binocular.
The quality (clarity) of the lense, prism and mirror materials decides, how much of this light is lost in the binocular. This defines, how bright the picture will be. It also changes the colour of the picture you see.
The power of the binocular is determined by the used lense system. This also determins the field of view. Low quality binoculars will have uneven discolorations , a deformed picture or an uneven brightness (especially at the edge of the field of view).
The ocular's area is importent in low light settings.
Some high-cost binoculars will have a stabilisator.

The power should be according for your use.
The higher the power,
the smaller the field of view
the worse the picture at lower lights
the harder to keep the binocular stable.

Some estimations: (I hope I don't smurf this up, take this all with a grain of salt  )
6x18 - 10x25: compact binoculars, daytime use
8x25 - 10x40: Allround use
7x30 - 7x50: maritime use
7x50 - 9x63: Hunting
More than 10x is difficult to impossible to use without a stativ.
Binoculars for night use have a wider okular (5-8mm) than daylight ones (2-5mm). 

In broad daylight most binoculars work decent. The lower the light and visibility (at sea, at dusk/dawn, at night) the more quality becomes a factor. And with quality the price rises as well. 

[N_N_R]

Some very helpful comments here (while I was sleeping *yawn*) and also. RT 1969, thanks for the "estimations", nice to see/read them. I think I've already clarified a few things for myself..

I think that my "choice" (well, I chose according to the price, lol) of that Tasco isn't that bad, then.. because out of the balcony I have some mountain hills and not much happening there. So, my .. distance is quite limited so to speak and when I use the binoculars, I often take them off so that I can have a better field of view and then again use them and "direct" them exactly to what I wanna see. So, if they were even more powerful, I guess, I'd be staring just at some bush and not seeing much around..

But if I want to have bigger distance some day, I should buy sth more powerful..

omG, I hope I won't get into yet another hobby. Because, guess what. I already want another pair. Just for a .. back-up, you know. *help*

 

[kkokkolis]

RT1969, what you say is right, except that what you describe as "ocular" is in fact the "exit pupil" that should match our "entrance pupil" which is 2-3mm in daylight and up to 5mm for 40 years old and 7mm for newer people at nighttime. So for people at 40s a 10x50 is good and younger might benefit from 7x50. 7x50 is also for marine people because the bigger exit pupil makes it easier to align our eyes to the image when the boat is rocking by the waves.
Ocular is another word for the eyepiece. The field of view, both apparent and true, has to do with eyepieces' design. Many binoculars, Japanese mostly, use Kellners or Orthoscopics with 40 degrees AFOV. Chinese designs use Erfles of 60-72 degrees that boost the field of view but with blurry image at the extremes (astigmatism) that's no big deal in daytime (our eye lens is astigmatic too at the edge) but a problem for tripod mounted astronomy binocs. That's why since I don't have Fujinons or Leica at the moment I prefer to use a good refractor with a Nagler or Ethos eyepiece than my cheap binoculars.
From my house I had the opportunity to look at the Red Arrows show and the aircraft carrier Enterprise during it's last trip. That was awesome.

[jzmtl]

Don't forget roof vs. porro.

[greenbear]

Now this picture reminds me..

Today I watched a very nice video explaining the basics of binoculars. As far as I got it, the size of the binoculars does not affect their power... So, bigger in physical size doesn't mean better in performance at all.

Then, my question is, why do they make big and heavy binoculars at all, since they can crap functionality in something smaller and easier to carry and keep? 

The diameter of each binocular tube defines the light gathering power SQUARED. So a 60mm binocular has 4 times the light gathering power of a 30mm binocular. You can see more details, dimmer objects, brighter images, more stars, more details with them, provided you can hold them steady with a tripod or an image stabilizing system such as those from Canon or Zeiss 

(Image removed from quote.)

Zeiss would be my top choice for binoculars if money was no object.  Maybe Leica. 

The Swarovski 8x32 (the new-ish model) are probably the best in the world just now - retail at £1415 GBP, so not cheap though.

[dks]

some pictures.
it was 8.59 pounds.

I do have some other, bigger etc. but these are the ones I use, on the odd occasion.

[N_N_R]

@dks, this is exactly like the box mine came in

I dare say I like the rubbery thing's shape on mine better, though, lol

But my case seems cheaper and rubbish... yours with the brand on it is cool

[jzmtl]

some pictures.
it was 8.59 pounds.

I do have some other, bigger etc. but these are the ones I use, on the odd occasion.

Ohh, I have one of those, first bino I've ever bought, think I paid $20 at Walmart.

Still have it in the drawer, image quality is so awful it's not even funny compare to my Nikon travelite.

Duno what to do with it, seems kinda wasteful to chuck it.

[Crow]

some pictures.
it was 8.59 pounds.

I do have some other, bigger etc. but these are the ones I use, on the odd occasion.

Ohh, I have one of those, first bino I've ever bought, think I paid $20 at Walmart.

Still have it in the drawer, image quality is so awful it's not even funny compare to my Nikon travelite.

Duno what to do with it, seems kinda wasteful to chuck it.

Giveaway

[jzmtl]

some pictures.
it was 8.59 pounds.

I do have some other, bigger etc. but these are the ones I use, on the odd occasion.

Ohh, I have one of those, first bino I've ever bought, think I paid $20 at Walmart.

Still have it in the drawer, image quality is so awful it's not even funny compare to my Nikon travelite.

Duno what to do with it, seems kinda wasteful to chuck it.

Giveaway

Heh, trust me it really is awful, like "maybe I'll keep it for parts, but I don't know if I'll ever need parts that crappy" bad.

[Crow]

some pictures.
it was 8.59 pounds.

I do have some other, bigger etc. but these are the ones I use, on the odd occasion.

Ohh, I have one of those, first bino I've ever bought, think I paid $20 at Walmart.

Still have it in the drawer, image quality is so awful it's not even funny compare to my Nikon travelite.

Duno what to do with it, seems kinda wasteful to chuck it.

Giveaway

Heh, trust me it really is awful, like "maybe I'll keep it for parts, but I don't know if I'll ever need parts that crappy" bad.

  True. I am hoarder myself. Even how bad something is, i dont have heart to throw it away. Rather give it away. Or use it until it breaks...

[N_N_R]

Btw, the left part / tube / something of my binoculars shows everything somewhat paler... while the right part renders the true colours better.

[sawman]

I have a little expandable set of nocs I use to view wildlife (birds, foxes, etc).

[Chako]

I have a few hanging around here. I think I have 3 inexpensive smaller models, and a few older 1970 Japanese manufactured ones hanging around somewhere that belonged to my parents. Come to think of it, I am uncertain where they are. I haven't' seen them in over 15 years? They must be in a box somewhere.

My problem with binoculars, If I am going out to look at wildlife, I tend to have one of my Canon DSLRs with a Sigme 50-500mm lens attached to it. I much prefer that combo over a pair of binoculars any day.

[Gareth]

I've got a few pairs kicking around, plus a couple of monoculars.  TBH I very rarely use any of them.  Biggest and best I have are an older pair of 10x50s by "Lizars".  I'm guessing these were from Black and Lizars (a Scottish optic's company) though as I was left these by an old uncle I'm not sure.

[Grathr]

I use binoculars now and then at home and for hunting. My house is on top of a small hill, so I have a pretty good view. I use them mostly to look at birds and animals mostly. I recently got myself a pair of Helios Rapide binoculars that are great for hunting and crazy good value for money. I compared them to binoculars that cost 10 times as much at the expo where I bought them, and the expensive ones where only marginally better. 


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[tosh]

The main difference between cheap and expensive binoculars is basically down to the elements, coatings, alignment etc etc.

Any bins, will give a great view on a bright day - the expensive ones really come into their own at dusk  twilight. Being able to see details in the shadows when the sun goes down really does test binoculars to the limit in my view.

As for the big lens and DSLR combo, again bright days no worries. But zoomed out, the aperture normally reduces by a couple of stops, plus the view is mono, i.e not stereo which in my view makes a massive difference as that is what gives the viewer that almost 3D image.

I love binoculars

When I do take the leicas out, people will nearly always ask to view a scene and they are always just blown away by the sheer clarity of the image.
Try a pair  you really won't want to put them down!!

[Chako]

All negated by the capability of taking the photo. 

[tosh]

All negated by the capability of taking the photo. 

Quite true ,unless you happen to own  a pair of SD Binoculars ....ahem!!
 

[Chako]

Ah very true that! 

[Styerman]

I have a set of 8x40 rubber armoured Stiners . My grail Binocs would be Lietz Trinovoids .

I mostly use mine on hikes down by the river / birdwatching .

Chris

[jacktrades]

i use the eschenbach adventure 10x25, portable enough, and quite good from what i can tell.

[kkokkolis]

Since this thread, I got crazy and bought a Canon 18x50 IS AW and a Zeiss Terra ED.
No money for MT and SAKs for the next couple of years.

[N_N_R]

Since this thread, I got crazy and bought a Canon 18x50 IS AW and a Zeiss Terra ED.
No money for MT and SAKs for the next couple of years.

 

 , though