The Binocular Advisor
Page 3
by Michael and Diane Porter
  Answers to questions from real people with real questions about how to choose a binocular.
Situation: I want economical binoculars that will work really well with my glasses. Most
binoculars make me feel like I'm looking through a pair of soda
straws.
Advice: You need binoculars with what's called long eye relief. It
depends on the design of the eyepiece. It costs more to make a binocular with longer eye relief, so most low-cost binoculars are skimpy on eye relief.
Another thing is that if you're comparing different
versions of the same model from the same manufacturer, you'll usually
find longer eye relief in 8-power binoculars than in 10-power.
 An excellent
choice is the Eagle Optics Ranger SRT 8x42. This is a good, moderate priced binocular. It's waterproof. It focuses
as close as 5 feet. And it has excellent optics. The 8x42 has better eye relief than the 10x42 or the 8x32 version, so if you wear glasses, you'll want to consider the 8x42.
Situation: Is there a smaller, mid-sized binocular that works well with glasses? For a reasonable price, I mean?
 Advice: The Celestron Noble 8x32 had the best eye relief of all the moderately-priced, mid-sized binoculars we tested. And it has rather good optical quality.
The field of view at 1000 yards is only 393 feet. (OK, the 420 foot field of view in the Zeiss Victory FL 8x32 is way more generous, but the Zeiss costs a lot more.)
Text and photos copyright 2007 by Michael and Diane Porter.
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