How Binoculars are Measured

Binoculars are popular from long ago. The person who always thinks to spot something that his naked eye can’t capture, then binoculars come to their mind. Because they will have the view that he couldn’t see before. This thing is more popular among the travelers. They always keep binoculars to see around the nature closely. When a person starts to using binoculars they fall in love with the Mother Nature. So to do that one must need to know how binoculars are measured as it is widely the most popular tool for birding, hunting and to observing the nature’s elements too sharply. That’s why there are too many importance to know about the way binoculars are measured.

What Do the Numbers Mean?

In each binoculars there’s a pair of numbers written on it. Such as: 10x42. In “10x42” do mean that the first number (10) is indicating the power (Magnification range) and the later number (42) is addressing the diameter of the objective lens which is 42mm that the binocular has. The higher is the first number the more you can magnify any subject. There is a relation between those number and the experience seeing through a binoculars. There’s a thing called “Field of View”. The higher the magnification range becomes the narrower field of view becomes. You need to have the perfect balance between the magnification range and in the field of view. If you get too close with binoculars, then you have to be more careful with your hands as shaking hands will make your task harder to focus on a subject.

The detailed measurements of a Binocular

The Lens Size and the Magnification: as example a binocular with 10x42, 42 is the measurement of the diameter of objective lens and the diameter is measured in mm. The lens will gather more light if the diameter of the objective lens is larger. Gathering more light helps a person to see clearly. It is helpful in low light condition where you need lights to spot a subject. But that doesn’t mean, bigger objective lens will help you at every moment or in any type of situation. It must have to get the perfect balance between zooming and the lens size combined. If you have a binocular with too big objective lens then you have to operate it gently. Sometimes it will be hard to handle the big binocular with large objective lens. That’s why in larger objective lens, a tripod is always recommended. It will help you to operate the binocular.

The magnification range depends on people, like what they want to see or to observe. 10x Magnification range mean you will get to see the subject 10x closer than your naked eyes. Magnification will help you to get closer at the thing. But do remember at higher magnification you must have the greater control in binoculars. In fact the magnification range relies on people needs. If you are about to birding or to hunting or may be observing the nature around you then 8x to 10x magnification will be perfect for you. Magnifying things is easy but getting clear view of the subjects get harder with higher magnification. That’s why don’t panic with the magnification then start searching a one in the markets by questioning yourself why you need a binocular. It will be wise decision if you can differentiate the difference between higher magnification and your needs.

The Field of View:Field of view is a related term with the magnification range. The higher magnification range becomes the narrower field of view will become. Magnifying subjects will help you to see those closely but eventually you lose the details around the subject. But having a wide field of view is helpful for observing more things at once. There you need to find the perfect combination between magnification and the field of view. In simple words, if you want to view your around with more details then you should keep the magnification lower. On the other hand if you want to get closer at something then you will have to compromise the details around the subject where you are focusing at.

The Angle of View: The angle view goes similar with the field of view. This measurement is done in degrees. The binocular with higher angle of view gives the wider field of view as the both views are calculated in horizontal. Over 6 degrees is better for birding, hunting. But for some particular people for doing particular tasks, they do need the binoculars with wider angle of view.

The Exit Pupil Size: The exit pupil size number is another matter to be concerned about binoculars. Bigger exit pupil helps in low light condition. It helps you to view objectswhere you are focusing at. You can calculate the number by dividing the objective lens diameter by the magnification size. Like, a binoculars with 20x60 number, here you see that the exit pupil size is 3mm. One should buy a binocular with at least 4mm exit pupil size. 4mm is enough for most of the people.

Eye relief: Eye relief plays an important role forthose people who wear glasses. It means you can still see the exact field of view in a range of distance from the eyepiece. A problem is occurred sometimes when the eye relief distance is less than 10mm. For most of the people the distance is 8mm to 13 mm but 15mm is the perfect eye relief distance for the people who wear glasses.

Close Focus: close focus is the reading of a minimum distance where you can bring your object closes to that distance. If the pair of binoculars have the 14 ft. close focus then you can see things at that minimum distance.

There are also some measurement related to binocular such as COATINGS which ensure the amount of light the lens can gather. There are different kinds of coatings that relays on the overall quality of a binoculars.