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Will someone please tell me how to pick out a pair of binoculars?
I need it explained in simple, easy-to-understand language.
Perhaps explain the differences as to roof prism, porro prism, wide angle, degree of angle, what the X's stand for, as I don't know how to look for a small waterproof pair which brings things way up close to use on a ship or for birdwatching.
Perhaps a certain brand and type can be suggested? I believe Bushnell are suppose to be very good but are they pricey because of the name? I see a lot of Nikons and wonder if they may be the best buy? (I am leary of Olympus because they have so many remanufactured products out there).
Any and all suggestions and info will be much appreciated. Thank you.
Also, please explain the field of view, angle of view and if some can be attached onto a tripod without an adapter.
And, should I look for fogfree lenses only?
Would ATB (allterrain) ones be best because they are more durable?
First roof vs porro. Roof prism binos are those binos with two parallel tubes, they're straight out, very compact, very sleek. Porros, are the classic bino shape, there's an offset between the rear(occular) lens and the front (objective) lens. Here's the rule of thumb, for binos under $150, stick with porro. Porros are easier to make, hence for cheaper binos they usually have better quality glass. Above $150 then it's all roof territory, because they're more waterproof and well people just like them better cause they look prettier.
The field of view of a bino determines how much area you can cover. Usually given in something like 400' at 1000 yards. This is important if you use it for birding or when you need to scan an area for something. If you already know where your object is and just need a better look, it's not that big of a deal. For birding you want to find binos with the biggest field of view.
There are a few other things you need to look for. These are the things generally listed on the box.
1. First, lens coating. There are 3 levels of coating, from best to worst they are, Fully Multi Coated, Multi Coated, and Fully Coated. Sometimes only marked as FMC, MC or FC.
2. Prism type, BK-7 or BAK4, BAK4 are generally better than BK-7
3. For magnification, stay with binos under 10x, anything above will require some type of image stabilization or be mounted on a tripod.
4. For roofs, look for binos with phase correction, sometimes noted as PC-3.
For use on a ship though you might want one that has image stabilization, those are expensive.
Bushnell are well priced, they have some crappy binos and some very good ones. I own a pair of Bushnell Legend in 8x26, awesome pair for the price.
Nikon make great binos, but they do have some crappy one out there also. I don't much care for their action series, but their travelite series are great.
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