How to choose binoculars?
When planning to buy a pair of binoculars, first of all, you should consider what its use will be. Only then will the optical equipment purchased by us have the most advantageous combination of features, which we take into account.
The most important features determining the operation of binoculars are zoomed in, scales, dimensions, brightness of the image, field of view and optical quality. In addition to all these attributes, of course, the price must not be forgotten.
The essential features of any pair of binoculars, most often used in descriptions in the form of 2 the numbers separated by the "x" mark are the magnification and the diameter of the lens in millimeters (the front lenses of the binoculars), otherwise known as an aperture, for example 20 × 60 which means, that the binoculars have a magnification of twenty times, and the lens diameter is 60 mm. Such binoculars are very popular in our country. At the same magnification, larger aperture produces brighter images. This is especially important in the case of optical astronomical equipment, mainly telescopes, but also during observation in unfavorable lighting conditions, in dusk and in limited light.
I should add, That the larger the lens diameter, the larger the size of the binoculars you buy will be, and the higher the magnification, the more unstable the image can be, and the natural trembling of the hands will make observations difficult. It is also worth paying attention to vwhat are the binoculars, precisely in order to minimize the above-mentioned trembling of the upper limbs of our body.
When buying binoculars, we can take into account its various purposes. Binoculars are very often used while traveling, some nice mountains here, there is a ship going there, I wonder what the dome of the cathedral looks like up close… It would be good if such binoculars were not very large, its weight was low and it would be waterproof and shockproof. A suitable pair of binoculars for such an application will be one of the magnification binoculars 8-10 i aperturze (see previous article) shaped within the limits 24-40 mm.
In turn, when it comes to observation of nature (e.g.: birds) it is worth taking an interest in binoculars with 8x magnification and relatively high aperture 35-40 mm. Not too great magnification allows you to eliminate the problems associated with hand tremors, besides, binoculars of this type can be easily placed in a backpack. A fairly large aperture will allow us to conveniently observe during dusk and in a dark forest. Sometimes we manage to get very close to the animal, then the ability to focus at a short distance comes in handy.
If we are interested the stars, planets, comets and other celestial bodies (in one word: Astronomy!) we should take care of as much as possible diameter of the binocular lens (from 50 mm upwards) Magnification applied well when it is in the range of 7-10x, possibly when we are happy owners of a binocular tripod, it may be bigger.
However, they are the best solution for this purpose astronomical telescopes along with a tripod. They are indeed large, heavy and more cumbersome to transport, but their large aperture (80 do 100mm) allows you to discover newer and newer corners of the night sky.