Thanks to all for the recommendations, particularly the suggestions
about eye relief. I found a dealer (Scope City) that's not too far from
me that stocks a wide range of binoculars, including the brands
mentioned in various posts. I plan to give them a visit soon to check
out the various options in the price range I'm thinking about.
Mark
-----Original Message-----
From: Edmiston, Mike [mailto:edmiston@BLUFFTON.EDU]
Sent: Wednesday, February 12, 2003 2:18 PM
To: PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu
Subject: Re: Binocular Recommendation?
When I measure the distance from my eye to the front of my glasses, I
get approximately 20 mm. Therefore, if I use my glasses and binocula=
rs
with less than 20 mm eye relief I will not see the whole field. I
suspect this is fairly typical, but some people will have a mm or two
more or less than this.
I suspect few eyeglass wearers will see the whole field with 11-mm
eye-relief binoculars. Most eye-glass wearers will see most of the
field with 19-mm eye relief.
Also note that the eye-relief is measured to the lens, not to the rub=
ber
cup. So eyeglass wearers want to buy binoculars that have a rubber c=
up
that can be turned down so the binocular eyepiece lenses can be held
real close to the glasses. Most modern high-quality binoculars are t=
his
way, but I have seen some where the rim around the eyepiece is rigid =
and
separates the eye and eyepiece by an additional 2-4 mm.
Also note that the biggest reason to leave your glasses on (aside fro=
m
convenience) is if you have bad astigmatism. If you are simply
nearsighted or far sighted, just take your glasses off and refocus.
Usually the right eyepiece is adjustable to accommodate eyes that nee=
d
different correction. I need something like minus-3 in my left eye a=
nd
minus-5 in my right. So I can take my glasses off, set the right
eyepiece to minus-2, and then use the central focus control.
Unfortunately I also have fairly bad astigmatism. I often have a
difficult time deciding if I see better through binoculars with my
glasses on or off. If my astigmatism were not so bad, I would probab=
ly
always take my glasses off.=20
Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D.
Professor of Chemistry and Physics
Bluffton College
Bluffton, OH 45817
(419)-358-3270
edmiston@bluffton.edu
What sort of minimum eye relief is required for viewing with your
glasses on? I checked the site, would 19mm probably be OK? What abo=
ut
11mm? (I'm guessing *not*)