Thursday, September 20, 2007

Binocular Review - Which Ones Do I Choose?



Binocular Review by Joe "Woods Goods and Stuff"

The Features - Which Ones Do I Choose?

Unlike binoculars only used for birding, a hunter will want some range finder binoculars. While it isn’t necessary to know the distance between you and a bird that you might be watching if birding, the hunter may need to adjust the scope based upon the range between themselves and the bird or game. Binoculars with a range finder feature are preferred by most hunters and are the most important feature to consider after the optics. It works by sending out a laser beam to a bird or whatever the target may be. That beam is bounced off the bird and then sent back to the range finder binoculars which have a chip in them to help calculate distance. This feature is especially useful for hunters of quail and other game birds as the guns used in this type of hunting do not have scopes on them.

Another feature that any hunting binoculars review would most likely recommend for hunting is night vision and the enhancements it brings to the optical capabilities of the hunter. The optics behind night vision have more to do with electronics than lenses. While night vision binoculars will magnify the image just like normal binoculars, the person does not look at the bird or game itself. Instead, night vision binoculars produce an electronically enhanced bird that is displayed on a phosphorous screen. Although you are not looking directly at the bird or target, night vision binoculars do indeed help hunters navigate through the dark which is when a lot of deer hunting occurs.

The optics required for hunting are similar to those needed for bird watching as both require large lenses to help make the image as bright as possible. However, the features needed by hunters on their binoculars vary greatly from those used by a bird watcher. Range finding and night vision are both optical enhancing options that are useful to many hunters because of the low light conditions in which most hunts occur. Online merchants provide hunters with expert advice and superior selection and pricing making them a superior choice to most traditional retail outlets.

Binocular Review by Joe "Woods Goods and Stuff"