Binoculars

I have an old (pre electronics) and heaviliy used Steiner Commander and a cheapo Aldi 7x30. The Steiner wins in every aspect. Last winter I have sent it to Steiner for check and service. It came back and looked brand new. The cost was about £ 50.
 
Fendant said:
I have an old (pre electronics) and heaviliy used Steiner Commander and a cheapo Aldi 7x30. The Steiner wins in every aspect. Last winter I have sent it to Steiner for check and service. It came back and looked brand new. The cost was about £ 50.
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Oh, I wonder if you could let me know how you got them back to Steiner etc. I have a pair that would be worth improving like that. Many thanks.
 
Pedancy alert.

I noticed in that website referred to by others that they refer to a binocular in the singular.
Then thought about it. Yes, that seems right.
We don't have a pair of binoculars, its a pair of monoculars. Or a binocular.
Without two eyepieces and sets of lenses, it isn't binocular it monocular.

I'm attempting to correct decades of calling my pair of monoculars a pair of binoculars, and call them a binocular.
 
I have a Pentax 7x50 which are excellent, no compass though, kept at home and usually only used when on our summer cruise. A crew member dropped them a couple of years ago and knocked them out of alignment but I sent them away and they were sorted for a very modest cost.
Also a pair of Russian 7x50's which I bought from a market stall in Moscow soon after glastnost, again very good optics but heavy and getting really tatty all round, kept on the boat. I've used a pair of Steiners on a friends boat and although v good I can think of more use for that sort of money - like an anchor winch!
 
No one else seems to value - or at least mention - the one attribute about my binoculars that I find invaluable and why I use them most. As a really ancient mariner, and in common with most ageing eyes, mine have lost their ability to adapt well to dim light so my maximum pupil size is down to around 5mm or even less. At dusk, my 7x50 binoculars suddenly reveal many objects not visible without them; buoys and channel marker posts suddenly spring into view that before, in the gloom, had been invisible.

Aperture is so important because it determines the light gathering ability of binoculars. My ex-USN objective lens with an aperture diameter of 50mm divided by the magnification of 7 gives an exit pupil value of just over 7, which gathers and delivers much more light than my ageing, naked eye alone and certainly more than binoculars with more magnification and/or smaller objective apertures.

I would really feel handicapped without a decent pair of 7x50 binoculars when closing a coast/refuge/harbour/anchorage but especially at dusk or at night.
 
MM5AHO said:
Pedancy alert.

I noticed in that website referred to by others that they refer to a binocular in the singular.
Then thought about it. Yes, that seems right.
We don't have a pair of binoculars, its a pair of monoculars. Or a binocular.
Without two eyepieces and sets of lenses, it isn't binocular it monocular.

I'm attempting to correct decades of calling my pair of monoculars a pair of binoculars, and call them a binocular.
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No, wrong. Binoculars (plural) is the correct term. The root word is ocular- eye. So a single eyeglass is a monocular, also the specific monocle. So an eyeglass matched fro two eyes is a pair of oculars or binoculars.

Trousers go back to ancient China apparently, but the concept of a pair of trousers comes from the 16th century pantaloons which actually were two seperate garments worn on each leg, which is why we still refer to a pair of pants (whether the Americanised 'pants as trousers, or English underwear). Googling it makes quite interesting reading if you really have nothing better to do!
 
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I bought a pair of 7x50 fixed focus nitrogen filled bins from Monk Optics about nearly 40 years ago and they are still the best I have ever used. You don’t need nightscopes with these. Can't remember the make and they are 2,000 miles away at the moment, but you could ask Monk what they have. I would avoid in-built compass or cross hairs as unnecessary additions.
 
Barnac1e said:
No one else seems to value - or at least mention - the one attribute about my binoculars that I find invaluable and why I use them most. As a really ancient mariner, and in common with most ageing eyes, mine have lost their ability to adapt well to dim light so my maximum pupil size is down to around 5mm or even less. At dusk, my 7x50 binoculars suddenly reveal many objects not visible without them; buoys and channel marker posts suddenly spring into view that before, in the gloom, had been invisible.


I would really feel handicapped without a decent pair of 7x50 binoculars when closing a coast/refuge/harbour/anchorage but especially at dusk or at night.
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I use Canon 10x30 with image stabilisation on the boat. My concern had been that the aperture would have been too small in poor light.

Although I haven't been able to compare this to a pair of 7x50s in poor light, I have been pleased with their effectiveness in such conditions. It may be that the image stabilisation enables me to make better sense of what I am seeing, as the light that is gathered is less than the wider aperture binocular.
 
GrahamD said:
I use Canon 10x30 with image stabilisation on the boat. My concern had been that the aperture would have been too small in poor light.

Although I haven't been able to compare this to a pair of 7x50s in poor light, I have been pleased with their effectiveness in such conditions. It may be that the image stabilisation enables me to make better sense of what I am seeing, as the light that is gathered is less than the wider aperture binocular.
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98% of binocular use is in full daylight, so the light-gathering power is not especially important. The last time I used my ancient but good 7x50s in preference to my Canon IS 10x40s was when approaching the inadequately lit Dovetief channel just before the end of twilight, when they really came into their own. Having a pair of 7x50s on board is indispensible on the average yacht for the odd occasion, but others may well be better in daytime use.
 
GrahamD said:
I use Canon 10x30 with image stabilisation on the boat. My concern had been that the aperture would have been too small in poor light.

Although I haven't been able to compare this to a pair of 7x50s in poor light, I have been pleased with their effectiveness in such conditions. It may be that the image stabilisation enables me to make better sense of what I am seeing, as the light that is gathered is less than the wider aperture binocular.
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I do have a certain lust for image stabilisation but with two pairs of 7x50s on board (the superb ex-USN ones and very serviceable Greenkats as mentioned by another poster) find justification difficult with so many other non-essential requirements.

johnalison said:
98% of binocular use is in full daylight, so the light-gathering power is not especially important. The last time I used my ancient but good 7x50s in preference to my Canon IS 10x40s was when approaching the inadequately lit Dovetief channel just before the end of twilight, when they really came into their own. Having a pair of 7x50s on board is indispensible on the average yacht for the odd occasion, but others may well be better in daytime use.
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Horses for courses, I suppose, it all depends on one's sailing area. My marina lies 5nm within an Italian lagoon complex, which I also explore widely, and I often find myself feeling my way in poor light and facing a labyrinth of twisting channels marked by a confusing maze of bricola posts. On a falling tide (yes, we get a 1m difference), one can become severely embarrassed taking a wrong turn. As you so correctly note, the 7x50s are indispensable.

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I'm quite happy with my plastimo fixed focus 7 x 50s which I've had since I started sailing. Variable focus types are best avoided IMH. My pal has some Steiner commanders with built in compass which are very good optically but I'd worry about them getting knocked.
 
ghostlymoron said:
I'm quite happy with my plastimo fixed focus 7 x 50s which I've had since I started sailing. Variable focus types are best avoided IMH. My pal has some Steiner commanders with built in compass which are very good optically but I'd worry about them getting knocked.
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I've avoided chipping in here, but absolutely +1 on the Plastimos that cost me less than £30 about 12 years ago...
 
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