Ok so I am trying to buy a monocular for a possible safari trip in Africa or maybe just spying on the neighbors. So why a monocular? One of my eyes can't see far without glasses, so I decided a one lense thing for the good eye will do. So my problem is that I have been snooping around online shops and ebay for a cheap and yet reasonable good one and I just don't get the values on the scopes. 10x32, 5x40,10x32 and what not .. does the value say much about the viewing distance or just random values for the thicness of the lense or something? Any experts out here who can explain this to me? Do I need to buy a monocular with the highest value scope? Say 16x52 ?
hahaha and yeah, i know a monocular and a monocle are not the same thing, but i read through your whole post imaging that you really wanted a monocle and it was jokes.
Found the info. I'll share them. Q. How are binoculars labeled? A. The typical binocular is labeled with two numbers, for example 8x40, 7x35 and so on. A few binoculars use three numbers as in 10-20x50. These are zoom binoculars. Q. What does the first number in a binocular mean, such as the 8 in 8x40? A. The first number - the 8 in an 8x40 or 8 in an 8x25 - is the magnification. Magnification simply means how many times the image is enlarged over normal when you look through the binocular. Another way to think of magnification is how many times closer the subject appears to be in a binocular than it actually is. An 8x40mm, then, with 8x magnification, makes the subject appear to be eight times larger or, to look at it the other way, eight times closer than it really is. An 8x50, 8x40, 8x20 are all 8x binoculars and all magnify an identical 8x. In a zoom binocular, the first two numbers out of three, represent the zoom range. In a 7-15x40, for instance, you can change the magnification from 7x up to 15x. Choose this first number carefully - more is not always better and this is especially true of magnification. As magnification goes up, image brightness goes down, field of view (the amount of territory seen through the binocular) goes down and, just as importantly, image steadiness also goes down. In fact, image steadiness is the limiting factor on how much magnification can be used in a handheld binocular. This is because a binocular magnifies not only the image, but also every shake and tremble in your hands. In general, most people find that a 10x binocular is the highest magnification that can be comfortably steadied without a support. Anything higher than a first number of 10x requires additional support, usually in the form of a tripod. Q. What does the second number in a binocular mean, such as the 40 in 8x40? A. The second number in a binocular - the 40 in 8x40 or 25 in an 8x25 - is the diameter (width) of each front lens, measured in millimeters. This number directly affects performance. When magnification and quality is equal, the larger the second binocular number, the brighter the image as well as the sharper the image. An 8x40, then, will produce a brighter and sharper image than an 8x25, even though both enlarge the image an identical eight times. The larger front lenses in the 8x40 also produce wider beams of light (exit pupil) that leave the eyepieces. This makes it more comfortable to view with an 8x40 than an 8x25. On the other hand, the larger front lenses in the 8x40 binocular also make the 8x40 bigger and heavier than the 8x25 binocular. An 8x25 may not be optically as good as an 8x40, but its smaller size makes it a better traveling companion. Remember, a compact binocular will outperform any full size binocular left at home or in the car because it was too heavy to carry. By the way, the second number is not the field of view as many people mistakenly believe, nor does it affect the field of view. Source: http://www.opticsplanet.net/how-to-buy-binoculars.html
