Binoculars are a fairly large purchase. There are many brands with many models and many different features available. It’s easy to just go out and buy the most expensive pair that you can find, hoping that the purchase price reflects the quality of the binoculars. However, you wouldn’t do that with a car or other large purchase. The upshot is that you have to educate yourself about binoculars rating before choosing the model you will buy. Sorry, there are just no short cuts.
Focus On The Features
If you’re shopping for binoculars, you have an idea of why you want them: viewing live sports or live concerts, bird watching, camping, sight seeing, hunting or just for having a cool toy. The reason you want them determines the features you need. Viewing a live sports event may not require refocusing. Some binoculars have a fixed focus feature. That just means that there is no focus mechanism. Beware, bird watchers. You are the binoculars shoppers that need the focus mechanism. You will be using the binoculars to view objects that move quickly and for long distances.
Light is important for seeing. That should go without saying. Different binoculars allow more or less light into the lenses. This is determined by the optics. If you are planning to use your binoculars in low light situations such as star gazing, look for bright optics. The distance viewing also needs a big aperture. Look at the numbers on the back of the binoculars. You’ll see something like 18 x 50. The second number is an aperture of 50mm. That’s about the minimum you’ll need for a good astronomical pair of binoculars.
Hunters might like a pair of rangefinder binoculars. This binocular rating means that there is a laser that measures the distance between the binoculars and the object being viewed. Hikers might like them as well. Hikers may also prefer a light weight pair of binoculars. If you’re going to be wearing them around your neck while you’re walking a long distance, the weight can mean a great deal to you. If you want to look through the binoculars for long periods, a stabilizer will minimize any wobbling.
Individual needs also enter into your preferred binoculars rating. If you wear eyeglasses, you may need binoculars with an eye cup that will accommodate them. If your eyes are wider apart or closer together than average, a pair of binoculars that allow you to adjust the distance between the scopes will be more comfortable for you. To sum it up, read the binoculars rating articles, but remember that it’s your personal binoculars rating that matters most.