What Is Binoculars And How To Choose The Best One?

Binoculars are devices for seeing distant objects more clearly. This equipment can support various activities, such as watching concerts, watching birds in the forest, and more. Therefore, there are various types of binoculars with different shapes, weights, and fields of view. If you are confused about finding binoculars, this article is for you. We will introduce the points that you need to pay attention to before buying binoculars.

How to choose binoculars?

If you are a beginner, choosing most powerful binoculars is quite difficult with the features they contain. There are several things you need to consider before buying binoculars, such as magnification, lens diameter, and others. Carefully read the following points of how to choose and find the product that suits your needs.

Check the magnification of the lens on binoculars

The high magnification of the binocular lens does not guarantee that the object can be seen clearly. This is because the higher the magnification, the narrower the field of view. Not only that, the object you see becomes more and more unstable.

For the type of binoculars that are held by hand, we recommend choosing binoculars with a lens magnification of less than ten times. For binoculars with a magnification of more than eleven times, a tripod is needed so that the object being observed is more stable.

The magnification of these binoculars is adjusted according to your purpose, type of activity and location. If you are using binoculars at a museum with a visibility that is not too extensive, magnification 2 - 4 times already sufficient. For those of you who use binoculars to enjoy opera and small-scale concerts, choose binoculars with a magnification of 3–6 times.

Then, binoculars with a magnification of 4–6 times are suitable for viewing theater performances and observing objects in the vast museum. If you want to see a large-scale show, such as doing outdoor activities or bird watching, select a magnification of 6–10 times.

Check the size of the objective lens diameter and exit pupil

Binoculars are used for a variety of activities and conditions. That way, the light conditions where you use the binoculars also vary. The objective lens and the exit pupil correspond to the light captured by the binoculars so you can observe clearly.

Objective lens, captures light for high resolution

In order to be able to see distant objects clearly, binoculars with good lens sharpness are needed. Thus, you need to check the effective diameter of the objective lens which is on the outside of the binoculars. The larger the diameter of the lens, the higher the ability to capture light. The resulting resolution will be high as well.

We recommend choosing binoculars with an effective diameter of an objective lens measuring about 20 mm. This is because the larger the diameter of the lens, the larger the size of the binoculars. The weight also becomes heavier. So, you have to choose between binoculars that are light and practical or binoculars that have a high degree of sharpness but are heavy.

The large objective lens diameter is recommended for those of you who want to observe objects that are very far away. One of them is doing stargazing. We recommend binoculars with an objective lens diameter of 40–50 mm with a magnification of 6–10 times.

Check the field of view (FOV) on the binoculars

Don't forget to check the field of view (FOV) on the binoculars. This field of view is divided into two, namely the actual field of view (real FOV) and clear field of view (apparent FOV).

Real FOV is the area that is visible when you use the binoculars without moving them. Binoculars generally have lenses with a real FOV of 5°–8°. However, if you want to see moving objects more accurately, it is recommended to choose a real FOV of 7° or more.

Then, apparent FOV is the angle of the area that is magnified when you look through binoculars. The greater the apparent FOV, the wider the field of view, even if you increase the lens magnification . Apparent FOV is calculated from the real FOV multiplied by the lens magnification. For example, if your binoculars have a real FOV of 7°, if you zoom in eight times it will give you an apparent FOV of 56°.

Choose binoculars that are light and comfortable to use
The weight of the binoculars will affect its use. Wearing heavy binoculars for a long time will make your hands feel tired faster. Choose lightweight binoculars if you want to use them for various activities that require a long duration.