Binocular dilemma

DavidJ said:
Reading this posting everyone seems to know what "fixed focus" is except me. Surely if you can't focus it is blurred at either close range or distant. I assume fixed focus still has the individual eyepiece focii.
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It's a bit of a misnomer. Basically most seem to have indivudual eye focussing which, couplesd with a wide depth of focus means that you don't need to fiddle with the focus.

Fine on a boat where generally you are looking at distance. Not so good if the distance varies greatly like horse racing or bird spotting.

I think the fact that they are relatively low power with a large object lense means that the depth of view is pretty good.
 
I bought a pair of Steiner Navigators 7x50 from the local Cash Convertors for £280 - a bargain considering they were mint. The optics are something to be believed - stunningly clear, and the binocs themselves are built like the proverbial brick out house. The compass, which I initially thought a gimic, is superb.

I expect that unless something bad happens to them (or me!), this will be the last pair of binoculars I will ever buy!
 
jokerboat said:
It's a bit of a misnomer. Basically most seem to have indivudual eye focussing which, couplesd with a wide depth of focus means that you don't need to fiddle with the focus.

Fine on a boat where generally you are looking at distance. Not so good if the distance varies greatly like horse racing or bird spotting.

I think the fact that they are relatively low power with a large object lense means that the depth of view is pretty good.
Click to expand...

Thanks jokerboat, I'm now up to speed with the rest of you.
 
I have a pair of Fujinon 7x50 WPC-XL

here;
http://fujinonbinos.com/fujinon_mariner_binoculars.pdf

I cant praise these enough... They have withstood 10 years on board... never been well taken care of... banged around, mishandled... etc.... Optically they are not as good as my Opticron DBA Oasis 10x40's ... but very good indeed, far superior to most others that I have seen. They are still excellent after 10 years of abuse.
 
7x50 binocular

The Bynolyt binoculars used by the RNLI are NOT fixed focus.
I've just repaired one for the Clashot Lifeboat which they dropped.
The individual eyepieces can be focused but if you set them
to give a clear image at a little over half way to the horizon
you will find that objects much nearer and much farther will
also be pretty clear so you don't need to keep re-focusing.
Fixed focus binoculars are good if you have 20/20 vision or
if you leave your spectacles on. I have a difference between
my left & right eyes so I either have to wear my specs or put
up with one side focusing quite a bit shorter than the other.
For coastal navigation, a built-in compass can be a lot more
accurate than a hand-held.
Someone asked if 7x50 is the ideal for marine use.
Generally speaking the answer is yes as the disc of light
coming out at the back into your eyes is as big as
your pupils will ever open but as we get older, our pupils do
not open to 7mm ( 7 into 50 goes 7 ) so an 8x42 is smaller,
lighter weight and gives just as bright an image when our
eyes open to 6mm ( 8 into 42 goes 6 )
Anyone who wants to chat about bino's is more than welcome
to call the workshop. www.actionoptics.co.uk
 
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