One more thing to keep in mind about binoculars. Coatings are very very important. A pair of 7 or 8x30 binocs that are of high quality will transmit a good deal more light than a medium grade 7 or 8x50. I have, as I mentioned last night a pair of Zeiss 8x30's and a pair of Stiener 8x30's' which will let in as much light as an older pair of Leica 7x50s that I own that were made in the fifties. The older Leica's have incredible optics and a very large exit pupil but the coatings just aren't what they are now. When you consider buying a pair of binoculars keep in mind that just because a manufacturer says the lenses are coated doesn't mean that they all are coated. The high-end binocs have coatings on all surfaces of all the lenses. You'd be amazed at how well you can see in low light with the Zeiss 8x30's. Even my Leica 8x20's will let in more light than many of the larger mid-range binoculars though the small exit pupil make them a bit impractical for using from a moving platform. The other great advantage of good quality optics is that you can look through them for hours on end without eye fatigue. The next time you check out a pair of binoculars compare them to a really good pair. In addition to high light transmission you will also see a clear image all of the way out to the periphery of the lens. Again it makes a big difference in the long run. I agree with Steve Holtzman. Buy the best you can afford. A good pair will last you the rest of your life. John Winskill *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sat Jul 31 1999 - 01:17:21 PDT
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:30:11 PDT