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Best Binoculars For Eye Glasses Wearers (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter sjackal
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Vespobuteo
Well-known member
what works depends on eye cup design, your glasses, yourself, FOV, AFOV, ocular design,
and ER specs are not to be trusted, since there are no standard for measuring, most seem to measure from glass and not the highest point of the eye cup, so an 18 mm ER spec bin can actually have less effective ER for eye glass wearers than a 16 mm spec bin, due to eye cup design
the only way to find out is trying the bins,
and ER specs are not to be trusted, since there are no standard for measuring, most seem to measure from glass and not the highest point of the eye cup, so an 18 mm ER spec bin can actually have less effective ER for eye glass wearers than a 16 mm spec bin, due to eye cup design
the only way to find out is trying the bins,
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I can get by with 14mm eye relief. Small-frame glasses.
15 is great, and 18 seems to cover almost everybody.
I always check the specifications at B&H photo & video,
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/
They seem to be good at keeping track of parameters like eye relief.
Most middle and high-priced binoculars have good eye relief, but you
need to check. It is either a function of the overall size if you have lower power
(7x50 Nikon Aculons stand out in the Aculon line) at a lower price,
or a step up in field quality (for example, the Nikon Action Extreme line).
It requres extra elements in the eyepiece or before it.
So, over ~$150, almost all binoculars will have good eye relief,
and between $50 and $100, some do and some don't.
Just mentioning the price factor, in case you had a lower limit.
You should check and know what you need, whatever the case.
I would start by trying to look up a model with 15mm relief that you
can find in a store. Many models, even high priced ones,
are around 15mm, but some people find that's not enough.
15 is great, and 18 seems to cover almost everybody.
I always check the specifications at B&H photo & video,
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/
They seem to be good at keeping track of parameters like eye relief.
Most middle and high-priced binoculars have good eye relief, but you
need to check. It is either a function of the overall size if you have lower power
(7x50 Nikon Aculons stand out in the Aculon line) at a lower price,
or a step up in field quality (for example, the Nikon Action Extreme line).
It requres extra elements in the eyepiece or before it.
So, over ~$150, almost all binoculars will have good eye relief,
and between $50 and $100, some do and some don't.
Just mentioning the price factor, in case you had a lower limit.
You should check and know what you need, whatever the case.
I would start by trying to look up a model with 15mm relief that you
can find in a store. Many models, even high priced ones,
are around 15mm, but some people find that's not enough.
The-Wanderer
Well-known member
First visit a optometrist or optician and ask them to measure the distance from the front of your eye to the front of the glass surface. For me the distance is 20mm: you will need to add 2mm or more to that because the glass of the bin is set back from the front edge of the cup. I have bought a 6x32 and a 6.5x32 bin recently. One had a specified ER of 19mm and the other of 22mm and I had to put 'O' rings around the shafts of both of these to avoid blackouts.
This is proof to me that eye relief specifications are not necessarily to be believed. I have a reverse porro pair of 10x bins that have a specified ER of 15mm. I think they are great, and I also think the loss of field of view is minimal; I checked this by comparing with and without my specs on.
You will find that many 'authorities' say to the effect that 16mm is enough for most specs wearers, but I think this is a myth. I am aware of no reliable statistical evidence for this, and doubt that there is any.
This is proof to me that eye relief specifications are not necessarily to be believed. I have a reverse porro pair of 10x bins that have a specified ER of 15mm. I think they are great, and I also think the loss of field of view is minimal; I checked this by comparing with and without my specs on.
You will find that many 'authorities' say to the effect that 16mm is enough for most specs wearers, but I think this is a myth. I am aware of no reliable statistical evidence for this, and doubt that there is any.
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Vespobuteo
Well-known member
some manufacturers seem to put the same ER spec on all models in a series, 8x, 10x etc.
but when you try (or measure it), it's quite obvious that so is not the case,
10x and smaller bins (32mm models) tend to have less effective ER than 8x/42mm
And though B&H might have an ER figure (manufacturer spec), it might be misleading, since measured effective ER is almost always less than the spec,
but when you try (or measure it), it's quite obvious that so is not the case,
10x and smaller bins (32mm models) tend to have less effective ER than 8x/42mm
And though B&H might have an ER figure (manufacturer spec), it might be misleading, since measured effective ER is almost always less than the spec,
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Thank you all so much for the informative posts.
One of the reasons I am asking is because I am thinking of a 8x bin and was hoping to buy nice while not have a lot of budget (around $400), I am not in a rush and it is something that I can wait for a long time, happy with what I have now, but would like to set a 'grail' piece to aim for. Reading around I got attracted by the Nikon 8X32 EII, but also read that eye relief isnt that great for glasses wearers. Should I consider the Monarch 7 8X42?
One of the reasons I am asking is because I am thinking of a 8x bin and was hoping to buy nice while not have a lot of budget (around $400), I am not in a rush and it is something that I can wait for a long time, happy with what I have now, but would like to set a 'grail' piece to aim for. Reading around I got attracted by the Nikon 8X32 EII, but also read that eye relief isnt that great for glasses wearers. Should I consider the Monarch 7 8X42?
The Monarch 7 ATB 8x42 has ER of 17.1mm which is 2mm longer than the 8x30 Monarch 7 ATB and 4mm longer than the 8x30 EII Porro prism.
If you can't try them out to see if they will work with your glasses you should get the one with the longest eye relief. Just make sure to order it from a dealer who will let you return it if it doesn't work for you. You can order it direct from Nikon also. There probably is a Nikon dealer in Singapore.
Here is the Nikon link to the Monarch 7 ATB 8x42 for the USA for information:
http://www.nikonsportoptics.com/en/....html#tab-ProductDetail-ProductTabs-TechSpecs
Nikon Asia will have a different website I believe.
Bob
If you can't try them out to see if they will work with your glasses you should get the one with the longest eye relief. Just make sure to order it from a dealer who will let you return it if it doesn't work for you. You can order it direct from Nikon also. There probably is a Nikon dealer in Singapore.
Here is the Nikon link to the Monarch 7 ATB 8x42 for the USA for information:
http://www.nikonsportoptics.com/en/....html#tab-ProductDetail-ProductTabs-TechSpecs
Nikon Asia will have a different website I believe.
Bob
The-Wanderer
Well-known member
Squamish5
Assuming that you are an eyeglass wearer, why would you pull out the eyecups nearly all the way? Sorry but I don't understand.
Assuming that you are an eyeglass wearer, why would you pull out the eyecups nearly all the way? Sorry but I don't understand.
I understand.
It's the 'forced eye relief' position related to the 'blackout' issue.
Sometimes the relief is...accomodative ...you put your eye somewhere
inside the range. Other times, it's dictatorial....close in, the field blacks out.
First, if you have glasses, you can always use them with that kind of eyepiece.
That usually ends the issue. If that doesn't work, there is the extra-spacer
trick, extending the eyecup with a piece of innertube.
The Meopta Meostars do that, but they have a huge
eyecup range with 3 positions, so I'm happy with and without glasses.
Very considerate.
The-Wanderer
Well-known member
Optic-Nut
I still do not understand. If you go back to my thread #6 you will see that I use 'O' rings to set the cups a small distance away from the fully in position intended for spectacle wearers, of whom I am one, when the eye relief is too much. Further out increases the tunnel affect and reduces FOV.
The thread was specifically for eyeglass wearers.
Maybe it is different for long sighted users: I am short sighted.
I still do not understand. If you go back to my thread #6 you will see that I use 'O' rings to set the cups a small distance away from the fully in position intended for spectacle wearers, of whom I am one, when the eye relief is too much. Further out increases the tunnel affect and reduces FOV.
The thread was specifically for eyeglass wearers.
Maybe it is different for long sighted users: I am short sighted.
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perterra
Well-known member
sjackal,
My eyeglasses are of a style that requires a large amount of eye-relief. If you are not comfortable spending money on the Zeiss Conquest HD, look into the Vortex Viper HD, Zen-Ray Prime/Theron Questa, and Zen-Ray ED3/ED4. These are all very good optically and provide great eye relief. The Viper HD has the best build and mechanics, but a narrow field of view. You could also look at used Conquest HDs which sometimes show up for the same price as a new Viper HD.
Justin
My eyeglasses are of a style that requires a large amount of eye-relief. If you are not comfortable spending money on the Zeiss Conquest HD, look into the Vortex Viper HD, Zen-Ray Prime/Theron Questa, and Zen-Ray ED3/ED4. These are all very good optically and provide great eye relief. The Viper HD has the best build and mechanics, but a narrow field of view. You could also look at used Conquest HDs which sometimes show up for the same price as a new Viper HD.
Justin
elkcub
Silicon Valley, California
You are quite right. The amount of eye relief needed is significantly dependent on your eyeglass prescription, which necessarily becomes part of the optical chain. How could it be otherwise? Basically nearsighted people require less eye relief than farsighted.
I've discussed this on BF here and elsewhere, but for some reason it generates very little interest.
Ed
Source: The Eye and Visual Optical Instruments, 1997, by George Smith and David Atchison.
The-Wanderer
Well-known member
Elkcub,
I hope I am learning. Being short sighted, are the lenses prescribed for me posiive or negative?
I hope I am learning. Being short sighted, are the lenses prescribed for me posiive or negative?
