Compact Binoculars
Selecting compact binoculars [http://hubpages.com/hub/Compact-Binoculars] is something that confuses a lot of people. As soon as you try to make a purchase you are going to be faced with numbers like 8x42 which you need to be clear on if you want to get the right pair. You going to have to consider any special features or any of the specialized types like compact binoculars or waterproof binoculars. If you know what you want to use the binoculars for the rest will fall into place quite nicely, so this is something you will need to think about before you start looking.
By far the two biggest things that you want to consider when you are buying compact binoculars [http://review-binoculars.blogspot.com/2010/10/compact-binoculars.html] are the magnification and the lens diameter. These are clearly labeled on all binoculars with a number like 7x35 or whatever. Magnification is determined by the first number and that is simply how many times closer an object will look. The second number will let you know the size of the lens in millimeters. The bigger the lens the larger your field of view will be.. Ideally you would like to buy binoculars where these numbers are as big as possible but many times that isn't always the best idea. It is difficult to pick up moving objects if you have a lot of magnification, so that might be a problem for a lot of uses. There is a great field of view if you have a big lens diameter but it comes at the price of binoculars that are large and heavy, not something you want in a lot of cases.
The next major factor when choosing binoculars is the brightness, the size of the exit pupil will determine this. If you divide the lens diameter by the magnification you will get the size of the exit pupil. The larger this number is the more light will make it to your eye. This is a good thing if you use your binoculars at night but it can be a problem if you are using them in bright sunshine. For night time use you are going to want an exit pupil of at least 7 mm. On the other hand if you plan to use them in bright sunshine 3 mm is probably sufficient, 5 mm is a good middle ground for a wide variety of uses.
Personal preference will for the most part be the most important consideration in most of the other factors that you will need to keep in mind so there are really no hard and fast rules. Some buyers think that something like the prism or how the binoculars are focused are major issues while some people could care less. You will want to think about any of the specialized types of binoculars that may need like digital binoculars or marine binoculars. Keeping how you want to use the binoculars in mind should help to make certain that you make the right selection for your needs.
By far the two biggest things that you want to consider when you are buying compact binoculars [http://review-binoculars.blogspot.com/2010/10/compact-binoculars.html] are the magnification and the lens diameter. These are clearly labeled on all binoculars with a number like 7x35 or whatever. Magnification is determined by the first number and that is simply how many times closer an object will look. The second number will let you know the size of the lens in millimeters. The bigger the lens the larger your field of view will be.. Ideally you would like to buy binoculars where these numbers are as big as possible but many times that isn't always the best idea. It is difficult to pick up moving objects if you have a lot of magnification, so that might be a problem for a lot of uses. There is a great field of view if you have a big lens diameter but it comes at the price of binoculars that are large and heavy, not something you want in a lot of cases.
The next major factor when choosing binoculars is the brightness, the size of the exit pupil will determine this. If you divide the lens diameter by the magnification you will get the size of the exit pupil. The larger this number is the more light will make it to your eye. This is a good thing if you use your binoculars at night but it can be a problem if you are using them in bright sunshine. For night time use you are going to want an exit pupil of at least 7 mm. On the other hand if you plan to use them in bright sunshine 3 mm is probably sufficient, 5 mm is a good middle ground for a wide variety of uses.
Personal preference will for the most part be the most important consideration in most of the other factors that you will need to keep in mind so there are really no hard and fast rules. Some buyers think that something like the prism or how the binoculars are focused are major issues while some people could care less. You will want to think about any of the specialized types of binoculars that may need like digital binoculars or marine binoculars. Keeping how you want to use the binoculars in mind should help to make certain that you make the right selection for your needs.
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