Binocular

The word binocular simply means “two eyes”, and refers to the fact that we can use both eyes with binoculars and get a full, three dimensional view of the object being looked at, rather than the flatter, more narrow view provided by a telescope. A telescope requires the use of one eye, and the other eye must be kept closed or covered up to prevent confusion.

The telescope was invented around the beginning of the 17th century, and almost immediately people began to experiment with looking at things through two tubes fitted with lenses instead of one. However, these early binoculars were awkward to handle, and it was difficult to keep the tubes parallel to each other. This resulted in the viewer getting a double image. The first working binoculars were made in 1825 by J.P. Lemiere. But they were still too long to be handled easily. Around 1900 Ernst Abbe used prisms in a set of binoculars. The prisms reflected the incoming light twice, which meant the binoculars could be made shorter.

How do binoculars work? Suppose you are standing on the shore looking at a sailboat far out on the water. You’d like a closer look, so you reach for your binoculars. Light reflecting off the sailboat enters the front of the binoculars and passes through the large lenses, also called the reflective lenses. This forms a reversed and inverted image. However, before the image reaches your eyes through the eyepiece lenses, it is corrected by prisms. How big the object appears depends upon the magnification power of the binoculars being used. A set of opera glasses will certainly not have the magnification range of a set of high power binoculars. And the giant binoculars used to study the stars are not the sort you can hang around your neck.

It is not easy to say what are the best binoculars, because people use binoculars for many different reasons. Children’s binoculars have to be versatile, because kids use them to look at everything from butterflies on flowers to planes flying overhead. Hunting binoculars must be more rugged than the binoculars someone takes to the racetrack. You can expect that a pair of observation binoculars will get a lot of use in the field, whether the owner is a birder or someone who likes to watch planes coming and going at the airport. On the other hand, a collector of antique binoculars might be reluctant to take those prized possessions out of the house.

You can adjust close focus binoculars to get you a little closer to that rare bird, but autofocus binoculars will do the job for you. When people make binocular comparisons, there will be a lot of difference of opinion. One person prefers Minox binoculars, while someone else swears by Spion binoculars. If you are purchasing binoculars for the first time, it would be a good idea to tell the dealer what you’ll be using them for, so he or she can direct you to the pair that will suit you best. This site should be of help to you, too, as it looks at the many types of binoculars available – brand name as well as specialty type – and the accessories that go with them. Browse through it, and in all likelihood you will find the right set of binoculars for your activities.