Binoculars

[jassr4848]

I have bought more than a few items from Woot a great place for deals saw this today Kruger Discovery 7x50mm Porro Prism Binoculars don’t know anything about this brand any good?
http://www.woot.com/plus/kruger-discovery-binoculars

[NiceAft]

I don't know anything about Kruger, but what I do know is that with binoculars, cameras, telescopes, etc., the glass is important. The quality of the lens makes a difference in the image, and a superior image is what you want from a binocular. Also, on a boat, you don't want a magnification greater than 7x.

Ray

[jassr4848]

Ok then good info, but why no greater then 7x?

[FinallySailing]

Ok then good info, but why no greater then 7x?

Bigger is not better. A larger magnification reduces image brightness and the viewable field but also accentuates movements too much. 7x50 will still give you a reasonably bright image with the little light available at night.

[Catigale]

Glass and coatings are the two big differentiators. If they are cheap, that's where the mfg cuts the corners.

I agree with 7x being the most at sea, although I use my 10x at sea with bracing.

A built in compass for taking bearings is a great feature btw.

West Marine sells their brand of 10x50 for about 100 USD on a good sale IIRC..

[RobertB]

These appear to be copies of other binoculars. The orange 7x50 look identical to the Fujicon autofocus I have.

[Catigale]

Nitrogen inside is probably good for preventing fogging...although I don't think I've ever seen a provision to replace it...

[Russ]

Ditto on the 7X50s being ideal for boating. I've tried stronger and they are too difficult to hold on a target. Also as mentioned above, the money comes with the quality of lens. Cheap is cheap and you will be disappointed if you don't buy a decent lens.

I have a pair of these
http://www.amazon.com/Bushnell-Perma-Fo ... ulars+7x50

They are reasonably priced and the auto-adjusting lens is great. I hate those binos that you have to constantly adjust the eyepiece.

If money is not a factor, these seem like a good pair.
http://www.amazon.com/Bushnell-137500-M ... ulars+7x50

[Crikey]

I had a good (expensive) pair (?) of binoculars that I dropped, and ruined the lens alignment. They were higher powered than they should have been, but still worked ok if you really tried hard at holding them properly. To my mind the only way to follow up on these, which I intend to do as soon as the boatbucks roll in, is to obtain a model with the visable locking compass built in. You can't add a better back-up navigation tool to your craft, when the electronics have gone down the tube, than one of these - and an up to date chart!
Never mind checking out the local bikinis!

Ross

[NiceAft]

One other thing you should keep in mind. You can drop these expensive toys in a variety of areas (see Crikeys post), including the drink. Make certain you have a flotation foam hooked on the neck strap.

Ray

[seahouse]

Hey Ross!

If they were expensive enough, and not bashed too hard, then the colimation can be set again by exposing screws, usually under some case cover or caps, and adjusting them to bring things back into alignment. Not simple, but I'm sure it's within your capabilities. Unless they got really smashed.

A friend I sail with has a pair in which the colimation is out (was an expensive gift for his US military service that must have been dropped or bashed somehow). He hadn't noticed it until I pointed it out. Just for fun, I passed them around to some guests one time when we were sailing. No one even noticed! (I asked after everyone had had a look). All of them were educated and intelligent, but I think a lot of people do expect a cock-eyed, wonky view (they don't properly adjust the width or the diopter to their own eyes) when they look through a pair of binocs.

His had the bearing compass readout in the viewfinder, the first I've used, and it is a great feature to have, particularly on a boat.

- Brian.

[Catigale]

Most people have a dominant eye and will end up using them as monculars if not adjusted right...and most people in Canada are too polite to mess the adjusts on a loaned binocular..

Article on this in April 1 2013 Journal of Geographical Sociological Optics....

[RobertB]

I chose these http://www.binoculars.com/binoculars/ma ... ompass.cfm

They have a back-lit compass, are waterproof, and they float
And the optics are pretty good too.
The only other thing I want but cannot afford are image stabilized ones

[Crikey]

I chose these http://www.binoculars.com/binoculars/ma ... ompass.cfm

They have a back-lit compass, are waterproof, and they float
And the optics are pretty good too.
The only other thing I want but cannot afford are image stabilized ones

Rob, those are pretty awesome! I had no idea the image stabilized models were sooo expensive but the range-finding - plus compass - model seems to fit the bill for my next model.

Cat, I always play with the other guy's diopter (must be because I'm an immigrant). It's surprising how many people don't know how to properly set this. I've had people say "what'd you do, to make it so clear!" Doh!

Brian, they were nice little Nikon things from Christmas, a number of years ago. I was told by Japan Camera in Toronto that the cost of a proper bench re-alignment would run more than the original price of the binoc's (which I'm not s'posed to know - by the way).

R.

[seahouse]

Cat!
I can tell you have a good eye on the future!

Nice choice RobertB!

Hey Crikey!-

Happy Thanksgiving! (And Happy Columbus Day to our US friends).

It’s easy of course, if you care to be considerate, to just note the diopter setting, and return it to that, or zero, when you’re done. Same with the inter-ocular distance. Or maybe we’re just rude Canadians!

I have several pairs, used almost daily in the summer, and they have a pencil mark opposite my setting (the admiral’s setting is zero) for quick use.

I agree- my post above was a polite way of saying that most people have no clue on how to use a pair of binoculars! I own another “Mac”, but it’s a “Mak” this time, as in 8" Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope, which I like to show the night sky with. I’ve found that it’s quite common for people to have difficulty positioning their eyes so they can see anything at all through the single eyepiece. It's something I don’t take for granted that anyone can do any more.

Hmmm. Nikon. Nice. They started lens coatings in periscopes – got a big boost when the Japanese military believed that superior optics and not radar was the way to longer-range detection and fire control during WWII, and as a result came out one of the world leaders in optics technology. Early Canons had Nikon lenses on them. But radar was the way to go.

Never done it myself, but you have nothing to lose by trying to colimate your binoculars yourself – they’re garbage now anyway, right? Might be worth trying- and, in the process, you might acquire a new skill to add to your repertoire.

Bi-nocs are better for bi-kinis! It’s why god gave us two eyes, I thought.

- Brian.