Binoculars - with or without built-in compass

[dannc]

Originally Posted by NaClyDog

Not seeing any Nikon 7x50 binos with image stabilization. Would you have a model number?

My binoculars were made before image stabilization.

One day, we will get a new binoculars with image stabilization, but for now, we will have to use the old technology. Image stabilization is the way to go if one has the budget.

With stabilization one might/should be able to us a magnification above 7.

Later,
Dan

[dcstrng]

What CaptTom said...

I've had a pair of non-descript 7X50s for several decades (don't think they are "marine" but I don't throw them about and they stay in their case unless I'm actually using them), and although I have a hand-bearing compass, there are times (usually lowlight sights near dawn/dusk) where having the compass in the optic would be nice.

[requiem]

I ended up with up a pair of the Nikon OceanPro 7x50, with the global compass but no stabilization. I thought the price was good, but would like to compare them to a stabilized view at some point. Certainly for distant objects it's much easier to work with than a hand compass, particularly when something is just a dot or smudge on the horizon.

UV damage? Hopefully people aren't leaving them out in the sun! For proper care and use I think the recommendations in this video (~3:38 to 6:00) are still current. The rest may be interesting either from historical interest (red/green bearings) or practical (scanning methods).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0yL0ddfgWc

[evm1024]

I think that you need 3 sets of binocs.

We have a high end pair without compass (Fuji FMTR-SX) that is used when we really need to see something through the haze. And for a little sky viewing.

Then we have the everyday use binocs which are most useful with a compass for the reasons noted. We have a West marine pair (that does not have a compass). With research you may find that some of these are made by high end companies for WM.

Lastly you have the el-cheapos that you let guests use. Something that you will not even pause over when they bounce off the boat and into the water.

[admiralslater]

Go for the compass . I have 30 year old Bushnells with compass and love them . The compas is one degree and beautifully damped . I sure would like stablization though.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by NaClyDog

I've been looking at getting some actual "marine" binoculars and the most interesting model I've found comes with or without "built-in compass".

Is that a gimmicky thing or something that is truly useful to have for a bluewater / liveaboard cruiser?

It's really a broader question than "is the compass useful" but rather a question of what kind of binocs you're going to get and how you're going to use them.

Traditionally, marine binoculars are 7x50 porro prism binocs, and for good reason, since these have the best ease of use on a moving vessel of any widely available binocs (aside from those with image stabilization), and because they also have the best performance at night. I have a pair of Fujinon Polaris binocs in this size and have nothing but good things to say about their performance, though I imagine that Steiner and others are just as good. They're waterproof and rugged and have a lifetime warranty. As an aside, they have a compass.

The problems are that they're big, heavy, and expensive. Those problems are serious.

As a result, I also have a pair of Fujinon KF 8x32 roof prism binocs. They're compact, light, waterproof, and cost around $100. But the exit pupil is small so you have to hold them up to your eyes just right, which makes them slow to use, and the field of view is narrow and they're not very good at night. As far as I know there aren't any binocs in this size range that come with a compass.

Anyway, ultimately, if you're looking at anything other than a good pair of 7x50s porro prism binocs, you might want to rethink that, not because of the compass but because 7x50s porro prism binocs are the best binocs for the marine use. (There are some excellent roof prism binocs in 7x from Leica and a few others but they are twice the price and not as good at night due to light losses in the prism)

As a final aside, I'm also experimenting with a monocular as a small, light, and less expensive alternative to the 7x50s.

Having the compass in the binoculars means that you don't also need to have a hand-bearing compass at hand when navigating. The compass in the binocs is a little more accurate. I have both and have compared them. I can reliably get within a degree or two with the binocs and maybe twice that with a hand compass with a mirror. It is rare that the extra accuracy is of any practical use though.

Bottom line, I would say that the compass itself is useful but not an absolute requirement -- but if you're looking at binocs that don't come in a compass version, you're probably looking at the wrong binocs.

[rslifkin]

The weight factor is one reason I keep the cheaper Fuji Mariner 7x50s as my primary pair to grab. They're big (like any 7x50), but they're not all that heavy, so they're easier to grab quickly to take a glance at something. There are times a set of high magnification stabilized binoculars would be nice, but I wouldn't replace the 7x50s with them, they'd be a second pair. The low light performance of 7x50s is good enough that at dusk, things will often appear brighter through the binoculars than without them.

[a64pilot]

First use I had with the Steiner 7x50 was Scout track training in the OH-58 helicopter. US Army uses those bino’s for ground and air scouts.
It’s really hard to look through Binoculars in a helicopter without getting air sick though.

However the AH-64’s TADSS is 126 power gyro stabilized so we never flew with the scouts, modern technology has its uses.

Used to be if money was no object, Zeiss glass was the worlds best, By money being no object I’m talking SR-71 or satellite spy camera lenses etc. billion dollar optics

However Zeiss has lost some of their lead and the Japanese have excellent glass, and Steiner I’m relatively certain manufacturers their own lenses, but I wonder if it’s not Zeiss glass?
Zeiss has pretty much been the best there is for 200 years, yes about as long as the United States have existed, Zeiss has made the best optics there are.

But Steiner I believe are more ruggedized and Marine tolerant?

Point I guess I’m making is there really honestly is a difference between optics with exceptional glass and lesser ones. Glass means both the lenses, prism’s and the actual raw glass itself.

[a64pilot]

Seems Steiner uses Japanese and or German glass, but not Zeiss.
I assume Zeiss won’t supply it?
https://www.bestbinocularsreviews.co...-steiner-2-03/

[CaptTom]

Bulkier? Not at all!

The only way you can tell mine have a compass, without looking through them, is to note the little translucent window on the top which lets the light in to illuminate the compass. I only know that's what it is because if I wear a hat with a brim, I end up shading it and the compass goes dark.

[goeasy123]

Some good comments here. It looks like if you don't already take bearings as a matter of course then a built-in compass is not going to be much advantage.


Is there a binocular that has image stabilization and a proper night vision capability? Those two functions would be useful.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Jammer

. . . As a result, I also have a pair of Fujinon KF 8x32 roof prism binocs. They're compact, light, . . .

I think that's sensible. For the very same reasons I have a pair of 8x20 Leica Trinovids, which fit in a pocket, and are quite ok in daylight (not at night).


I also like to have some binos on me when I go on shore, and something like this is great as you can carry without noticing.

[JPA Cate]

We've always relied on a series of HBCs. We have never owned binos with a built in compass.

I'd love to have good quality binos with a built-in compass. I think it would be quicker for me to get the bearing that way, raather than messing around with waking up the flux gate HBC. Yes, we take a lot of bearings. It's part of piloting.

Incidentally, HBCs, like the ship's compass, are affected by where you are: so our northern hemisphere one actually hangs up in the southern hemisphere, doesn't float freely. You will probably want 3, with balance for northern hemisphere, equatorial, and southern.

I really like our Fujinons for light gathering capability. However, the image-stabilized old Canons are light weight, and easy to use one handed, and they get used more often than the Fujinons, because of the latter's weight.
Ann

[radsailor]

I have 25+ year old fujinon binocs that were top of the line when I bought them. They are still incredibly sharp, but if I were buying now, I would go for image stabilization and compass as I like to do coastal nav.

[waterman46]

Any skipper of a boat should know how to plot an LOP on a chart using visual references.

Taking a magnetic bearing on another vessel, checking for it being constant or changing, is a basic basic collision avoidance skill and is absolutely necessary either in or (especially) out of sight of land.

I have used hand bearing compasses a lot, but then we got a pair of binoc's with the compass built in.

I find it useful, but not really better than a hand compass. At sea you are being tossed around and it's hard to maintain the heavier binoculars on your sighting. Also I have to hold the thing just so, before I can see the object and the compass at the same time. And since any binoculars has a limited field of view compared to the naked eye, in jumpy conditions you tend to lose the object to be sighted.

If my hand compass tritium light had not burned out, I think I would just use the hand compass instead of the binoc's.