At the proper eye relief, you should see one image that fills your view without much darkness surrounding it. Wearing eyeglasses can change the point at which your eyes meet the image. Have you been living with that awhile? I did. My old binoculars did not adjust well to my increasing need to wear eyeglasses.
I quickly acquired the habit of whipping my glasses off whenever I used my binoculars. Some day on a boat trip, I will whip my glasses off and fumble them into the sea. Too dim. The old 10x50s might be fine sitting on the windowsill next to the bird feeder, but they weigh like a brick around your neck on a long day in the field.
Some folks get excited about binoculars with special features. At the risk of offending manufacturers, I loathe binoculars that zoom. They are heavy, the image is darker than necessary, and the image under higher magnification tends to be blurry and unsteady. As such, it is important to make sure the lens coating is not damaged.
Careful use with single-user handling will ensure that a binocular lens coating is not damaged and lasts longer than expected. Although careful use is warranted, on average binoculars last years. Quality binoculars if taken good care, and maintained in perfect condition, never go outdated. The best way to ensure binoculars last a lifetime is to follow a routine of cleaning.
There are a variety of binocular lens cleaning kits and accessories that can be put to good use, alongside useful tips to ensure binoculars last long. A binocular comes with a neck strap attached and is kept inside a protective case. Always keep the neck strap attached to the binocular. The binocular hanging from the neck keeps it safe from falling off, a major cause of the mishap. Even steady hands can lose grip. When not using, best to keep binoculars inside the protective case.
So, it is important to take good care of the neck strap and case. Nowadays some binoculars come with fold-down eyecups. New posts. Search forums. Log in. Install the app. BirdForum is the net's largest birding community dedicated to wild birds and birding, and is absolutely FREE! Register for an account to take part in lively discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more. JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser. Lifespan of binoculars, and ways to make them last. Thread starter coopershawk Start date May 6, Assuming you have a quality made binocular and don't mistreat it outside of normal use, is there any reason to believe a pair of binoculars won't last forever?
For example, will coatings naturally deteriorate over time? Will grease used for the focus wheel go bad? Will hinges or eyecups go loose naturally? Is there a limit to the number of times the focus wheel can go back and forth? What are some ways to ensure that your binoculars last longer than you do? Troubador Moderator Staff member. Click to expand Loud Green Man Well-known member. A bino bra will go a long way to keeping them away from the Service Department.
You make a good point about focusing wheel longevity. Steve C Well-known member. Use vs abuse. Usage is fine. Just keep them out of extremes as Lee noted above.
They cannot be re-applied. I am telling you this because the lens coatings are the most delicate part of your binoculars. They are easy to damage with careless cleaning.
If your binocular lenses get smudged or dirty, do not clean them with any of the following articles: your tie or handkerchief, the tail of your shirt, paper towels, facial tissue, toilet tissue, newspaper, T-shirts, saliva, Windex, Glass Plus, or ammonia. All the paper products mentioned above contain wood fibers which will scratch your coatings. Tissues and paper towels may also contain lanolin which will make a terrible mess on your lenses.
Windex, Glass Plus, and other household cleaners contain ammonia which will absolutely dissolve your coatings. NEVER use detergent on lenses. Clean your lenses only with the soft cloth that came with your binoculars or with a good lens cleaning cloth purchased in a camera store. I also like the paper lens cleaning towels sold by Lens Crafters. As for lens cleaning liquids, only use lens cleaners which are isopropyl alcohol based. Make sure the label says that the product is safe for coated lenses.
Several optics companies such as Zeiss put out lens cleaners under their name. If you want to blow dust off your lenses, hold the binoculars up over your head and then blow on them. Gravity should keep you from spitting or dribbling on the lenses.
To clean your lenses, first brush or blow away the loose dirt with a soft camel hair brush or compressed air. Then lightly spray the lens cloth never spray the binoculars with cleaning solution and gently clean the lenses.
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