Whether you are a hunter, bird watcher, astronomer, or other user of binoculars, the tips in this article can help you choose the best quality binoculars for your purposes. Following are three major quality factors you should examine before buying a pair of binoculars.
First of all, you’ll need to choose the magnification power of your binoculars. The most common magnifications range from 7-12. More is not necessarily better, though. The higher the magnification power of your binoculars, the more noticeable the shaking of your hands becomes. For most uses, 8x is a good magnification to choose. If you go over 10x, you should consider getting a tripod.
Second, you’ll need to choose the objective diameter for your binoculars. All other things being equal, the larger the objective diameter, the brighter the image you see through the binoculars. For most uses, look for a objective diameter that is five times the magnification power. So if you have a pair of binoculars with 8x magnification, they should have an objective diameter of 40. A pair of binoculars with these specs is generally called 8×40. If you plan on using your binoculars in low light...