Monocular Help

[Erro Telcontar]

Hi all,

I'm thinking of buying a medium range monocular for general usage i.e. spying birds and other wildlife etc but haven't a clue what the specs on monocular/bynoculars are?? what's 15x30 8x25 etc mean is real terms, how can i work out whether one set is more powerful than another??

Cheers

Erro

[Barn Owl]

The first number is the magnification,the second number is the diameter of the lens furthest away from you.

The higher the magnification,the darker the image you see will be.It will be very difficult to keep the image 'stable' due to hand shake.

The best magnifications are 6x,7x or 8x.
An objective lens (the furthest away lens) of 30 is suffice.


You will appreciate and see more through a smaller, bright magnification.

[ged]

There are lots of Websites devoted to explaining the various features of binoculars, monoculars and telescopes. It sounds to me like you need to take your time, check out some of the specialist Websites and try a few alternatives before you spend your money. Any good retailer will be only too happy to let you look through a few of their products, and there are many field days organized around the country where you can try things out on more than just the passing traffic. Don't be rushed into buying something buy a salesman, get a good feel for what you want before you buy. Your ideas about what you want might change drastically after you've used a few different products. Although some products will always be very expensive it's a buyer's market, there's always a sale on somewhere.

For general use I much prefer binoculars, most people will say the same. Of course for the same optical features, binoculars are bigger, heavier and more expensive than monoculars. I use a monocular when I'm out on the bike simply because it's smaller and lighter. Your eyes help each other when you're using binoculars so you see things better.

Don't be seduced by 'power'. Big magnification (anything much more than 10 times) basically means you either need a tripod, which is a pain, or you need image stabilization, which is (a) very expensive and (b) needs batteries. Higher magnification reduces the brightness of the image, so viewing in poor light can be an issue unless you have very big (expensive, heavy, perhaps more easily damaged) optics.

As a first purchase I would suggest something in the range 7x30 to 8x40, perhaps x50 if you don't mind the extra weight and bulk of larger lenses. Think about waterproofing if you'll be viewing in bad weather.

There have been a few threads here on BCUK which might be worth searching for. Use one of the big search engines, the forum search facilities are pretty useless.

[Erro Telcontar]

Thanks peeps, your comments have given me exactly what i needed. I'll be popping to the shops anyday now :-)

cheers

Erro

[Perrari]

As Ged said I also prefer binoculars, I have a pair of Pentax 8x24 compact binoculars which are light weight & ideal for wildlife watching. I paid about £80 for them about 22 years ago, but managed to get an identical used pair for my father on ebay for around £20 about 18 months ago.They weigh 300 grams. I think if you buy a good brand you will get good optics.
But trying them out first is good advice. If you have an RSPB center near you selling binoculars, that would be a good place to try some out, as they are usually very helpful. It will also give you something better to look at rather than shoppers on a high street. And give you a better idea about magnification/ light for your intended use.

[CAL]

Hi Erro,

Depending on where you live in Sheff it may be worth visiting the Stockport Binocular and Telescope Centre (They did have a small unit just outside Wath Upon Dearne). I went there when I was looking at Monoculars and they were very helpful. I ended up buying an Opticron Trialfinder II and have been very happy with it. Its small size means I've usually got it with me whether I'm in the hills or in a different city.

[RichardIT]

I recently ordered the Opticron Trailfinder II 10x25 Monocular (after some deliberation, esp. price and weight); not arrived yet

http://www.opticron.co.uk/Pages/trailfinder_ii_mono.htm

[santaman2000]

Well as others have already said the 1st number is the magnification and the 2nd number is the size (in millimeters) of the objective lens (farthest) What they haven't said is what importance that 2nd number has. The larger it is, the more light to left) thet it gathers. Thus a bigger objective lens (with the same magnification) will have a sharper, brighter picture; especially at dusk. Another thing to consider is the "field of view." That's the distance (from right to left) that you will have in your view at 1000 yards.

[cbr6fs]

No doubt that binoculars are better for times when your likely to be spending a long time viewing through them, for me though and the amount of times i use them i just can't justify the weight and size of even pocket sized binoculars for the odd glimpse through them.

So i bought some Docter's 8x21 Monoculars.










They are absolutely fantastic.
Mega small and light weight, but they still offer a good clear image.

Great buy IMO.



Cheers
Mark

[scottishpinz]

I have one of these, hard to track down in UK but solid and fairly good optics http://www.npzoptics.com/catalog/day_optics/um8-2/
Great for the "is that a peregrine" moments!

[dwardo]

I recently ordered the Opticron Trailfinder II 10x25 Monocular (after some deliberation, esp. price and weight); not arrived yet

http://www.opticron.co.uk/Pages/trailfinder_ii_mono.htm

Had one of these for about 9 months now and they get the thumbs up from me.

[RichardIT]

^That's nice to hear

[ged]

Well as others have already said the 1st number is the magnification and the 2nd number is the size (in millimeters) of the objective lens (farthest) What they haven't said is what importance that 2nd number has. The larger it is, the more light to left) thet it gathers. Thus a bigger objective lens (with the same magnification) will have a sharper, brighter picture; especially at dusk. Another thing to consider is the "field of view." That's the distance (from right to left) that you will have in your view at 1000 yards.

Well I think post number 3 did mention low light performance.

Strictly speaking it's the 'exit pupil' which matters, especially in low light:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit_pupil

Unfortunately when people get our advanced ages (Santaman and myself, that is) the entrance pupil (those poor old eyes) is a limiting factor -- so the choice of optics could well be affected by your eyesight.

Good call on the field of view, important when looking for things, and watching wildlife which might be moving or move suddenly.

[Erro Telcontar]

That's some great input folks, i may just pop into the above mentioned store to try some out. i feel much better informed now though, thanks all