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Binoculars

By Peter Ryan
As an experienced birdwatcher, I am frequently asked ‘What binoculars should I buy?’ The answer depends to some extent on what you want binoculars for, and perhaps more importantly, how much you want to spend. There are many types of binoculars, with prices ranging from R200 to more than R20 000. Here are some general guidelines on what to look for when selecting a pair.

Most people use binoculars for some form of nature viewing, but they are also useful for sporting events, the theatre and concerts. The ideal binoculars should have excellent optics, be small, compact and lightweight, and be robust enough to withstand life’s little knocks. There are two basic designs: roof prism binoculars have the eyepieces in line with the objective lenses (where the light comes in), whereas porro prism models have the objective lenses stepped out (the old-style, clunky binoculars) or inwards (compact porro prisms, which offer better handling but place limits on the size of the objective lenses).

The performance of binoculars can be rated by various statistics, but the two primary measures are the magnification (how much bigger an object looks than with the naked eye) and the diameter of the objective lens (which determines the field of view as well as the amount of light captured, which is important for image quality). A pair rated 8x32 has 8 times magnification and 32 mm objective lenses. You might think that the more magnification the better, but most binoculars are 8–10 times magnification, because if you go higher than this you need to use a tripod as it is difficult to hold the binoculars steady. And as magnification increases, you need to capture more light to have a good image, requiring larger objective lenses – this also makes the binoculars larger and heavier.

We tested 21 models from seven manufacturers. This is only a small fraction of the available brands. Of the review models, five cost less than R1 000, three from R1 000–R2 000, five from R2 000–R3 000, four from R3 000–R4 000, two from R4 000–R5 000, and two more than R10 000. This great range reflects the diversity of types of binoculars. Most of the cheap pairs were either compact binoculars (with objective lenses less than 30 mm across) or porro prism binoculars, whereas the more robust roof prism models tend to be more expensive.