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Mid-Priced Binoculars ReviewFor Bird Watcher's Digest, January, 2012by Michael and Diane Porter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15| 16| 17 | Michael and Diane Porter wrote the following review, which appears in the January, 2012, Bird Watcher's Digest. This is page 4 of the review. Testing focus knobs Focus mechanism. Your primary interaction with a binocular is focusing. It should be an intuitive, transparent experience.
The knob should turn absolutely smoothly throughout its whole range. There should be no hint of dragging or noise. The turning resistance should be enough to prevent unintentional movement and give good kinesthetic feedback, but not too stiff. In order to make fine adjustments, you should be able to initiate turning the knob without a jerk. People vary in how much turning resistance they prefer. Therefore we did not ding a binocular’s score unless we thought the focusing was clearly too stiff or too loose. The focus knob should have a non-slip surface, so that the fingertip gives a secure tactile feedback and tells your brain that you don’t have to push down hard for traction—just move your finger. A soft rubber surface with a pattern or ridges works well. NEXT: Testing fit-and-feel 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15| 16| 17 | |
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Birdwatching Dot ComPlease call us toll free 800-779-7256 for advice on choosing binoculars or other birding products. All text is copyright Birdwatching Dot Com unless otherwise specified. |
There should be little or no slack. One achieves the best focus by turning past the sharpest point and then back to it. Slack in the focus mechanism messes with this strategy. Also, if you detect sloppiness while turning the focus knob, it raises doubts about the binocular’s overall construction quality. 