Monoculars and spotting scopes

[Seaduck]

I have an eyesight condition for which the name eludes me but I'll try and explain.

I wear glasses, my left eye is short-sighted and my right long-sighted.

I can choose which eye I look through but I can't look through both at the same time something akin to ocular rivalry

I look at the world through one eye at a time and the other wanders off to the side, the one that wanders gives me some peripheral visual enhancement (I can see further over that shoulder )
For example when driving I look ahead with the left eye and the right one is aimed handily at the door mirror and blind spot, if I choose look a long way ahead I can automatically switch eyes. It does affect my depth perception but not as much as you'd think.

The result of this means I can't use binoculars.

Can anyone recommend a monocular or small telescope/spotting scope as a suitable alternative for navigation...

Neal

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Can you not close one eye or leave a lens cap on? I used to have a monocular years ago but can't remember what type it was. The optics were not very good and it was full of dust.

 

[Searush]

Can you not close one eye or leave a lens cap on? I used to have a monocular years ago but can't remember what type it was. The optics were not very good and it was full of dust.

TBH that would be my suggestion. Binoculars are popular & you can get reasonable ones quite easily & cheaply. Spotter scopes are usually high magnification (10x or much more) and so not suitable for boat use as you cannot hold them still. Telescopes are the same.

I know nothing about monoculars, but haven't seen many around so would expect the choice to be very limited.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

I know nothing about monoculars, but haven't seen many around so would expect the choice to be very limited.

The one I used as a sprog was one my dad bought from a camping shop. It was very light and good for carrying up Scottish hills to look for eagles, only it wasn't because the optics were pants. It was good for carrying though.

 

[geoid96]

The Celestron Oceana 8x42 Monocular looks as though it might meet your requirements.

 

[martyn78]

At the risk of sounding flippant.
Would it not be possible to cut a normal pair of binoculars in half, yes I agree the focus wheel would go but possibly the 2 'monoculars' would be capable of focus by simply shortening or lengthening the unit manually.
The upside is you would have a spare

 

[AngusMcDoon]

The Celestron Oceana 8x42 Monocular looks as though it might meet your requirements.

Do you think 8X may be a bit much for on board use?

 

[RichardS]

The Minox with compass at the bottom has been recommended on the forum previously.

http://www.sherwoods-photo.com/minox_macroscope/minox_macroscope_fs.htm

Richard

 

[geoid96]

Do you think 8X may be a bit much for on board use?

Possibly; but when things get bouncy and it becomes difficult to hold my 7x50 binoculars steady, I turn them on their side and look through a single lens. I think one benefit of the monocular is that it only needs a single hand to hold. The other can be used to hang on and assist in dampening out the motion.

 

[doug748]

Seaduck, I have a similar problem and get no great benefit from binoculars. I was very tempted to go for one of these:

http://www.opticron.co.uk/Pages/bga_mono.htm

They have a very good name for bright optics but not cheap. I had the chance of a pair of secondhand Nikon bins at half the price and went for them - a choice I still regret a little bit as a monocular is so easy to wear around the neck. 7 by 50 monoculars don't seeem to exist.

 

[prv]

At the risk of sounding flippant.
Would it not be possible to cut a normal pair of binoculars in half, yes I agree the focus wheel would go but possibly the 2 'monoculars' would be capable of focus by simply shortening or lengthening the unit manually.

My binoculars don't have a central focus wheel in the first place, just a very wide depth of field and an individual adjuster on each eyepiece if you need it. So they'd cut in half quite nicely

Pete

 

[Seaduck]

Thanks for the suggestions

I'll take a closer look those suggested (I like the Celestron Oceana 8x42 Monocular)

We have two pairs of binoculars onboard.
I would have considered cutting a pair in half but they're Dads not mine and I don't think he'd be happy about me taking a hacksaw to his vintage Carl Zeiss Dialyt 8x30b's (they're old but crystal clear... as far as I can tell anyway)

Neal

 

[Searush]

Do you think 8X may be a bit much for on board use?

Celestron are a good make are they not? Modern optics are much clearer than they used to be, & 8x is not significantly higher mag than 7x so I don't see a problem.

I have a pair of "pocket" 8x25 Opticron's that I some times have on the boat. Despite the small overall size & tiny object lens they are as clear as many "marine night glasses" at 7x50. The brightness is a big help in making out something that may be moving around your field of vision.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Celestron are a good make are they not? Modern optics are much clearer than they used to be, & 8x is not significantly higher mag than 7x so I don't see a problem.

I don't know. Tell me.

I was not expressing any opinion in a rhetorical way in my question, just interested.

 

[Topcat47]

I have one of the Praktika monoculars on board. It's fine in bright, clear conditions but I do have difficulty in overcast low light.

 

[johnalison]

I too have an eye problem dating from about 8 yrs ago that results in double vision and don't get stereo vision with or without binoculars. I don't know if it was years of using monocular microscopes but I have got used to suppressing one image and I believe this is normal for people with diplopia. If you can do this, then it makes sense to use ordinary binoculars, which are then available for others to use. I find the added steadiness of two-handed operation makes binoculars more useful to me than a monocular.

 

[Kukri]

Use the 6 x 30 telescope from your sextant.

 

[actionoptics]

half a bino

At the risk of sounding flippant.
Would it not be possible to cut a normal pair of binoculars in half, yes I agree the focus wheel would go but possibly the 2 'monoculars' would be capable of focus by simply shortening or lengthening the unit manually.
The upside is you would have a spare

Not flippant at all. Many marine 7x50 binoculars have individual eyepiece focus so cutting one in half to make two monoculars, works. If one side has a compass be careful to make sure that the battery box is the same side as the compass, then the back light will also work.

 

[actionoptics]

7x or 8x on a boat

Do you think 8X may be a bit much for on board use?

The extra magnification does not seem to make much difference. The classic small boat bino is 7x 50 so as to achieve an exit pupil diameter of 7mm which is as big as most people can use but with age, an 8x42 with a 5mm exit pupil works well and is lighter in weight than a 7x 50.
During the day, I have often used an 8x32 which is even lighter and handier.

 

[DaveS]

when things get bouncy and it becomes difficult to hold my 7x50 binoculars steady, I turn them on their side and look through a single lens...it only needs a single hand to hold. The other can be used to hang on and assist in dampening out the motion.

Every now and again I come across a statement expressing an idea which, in retrospect, is blindingly obvious but which, in advance, I hadn't thought of. This is one. Thank you very much! I'll give it a try.