Have you ever wondered how big something is when you see it through a pair of binoculars? I mean, the image of the subject looks big enough, but how far away is it and how big is it in real life?
Knowing the field of view of your binoculars can help you figure the size of objects that you view with them. Or maybe distances in a panorama.
Field of view refers to how much of the scene you can see while viewing through the binoculars. Field of view values range from 250 to 425 feet at 1,000 yards. This means that binoculars will show you approximately one quarter to one third of a scene that is 1,000 yards away.
Knowing the field of view of your binoculars will help you estimate the size of objects in the distance. Let’s say that your binoculars has a field of view of 285 feet. An object that takes up a third of the scene is 285 feet divided by 3, or about 95 feet across.
So, the numbers mean that the larger the field of view the more of the scene that you can see in the binoculars. If you are looking for active little birds among the trees, a wider field of view may help you locate your prey as you’ll be able to see more of the scene at a given time. Binoculars with higher magnification will have a smaller field of view. Maybe that’s why a lot of bird watchers have 7x or 8x binoculars instead of 10x magnification. With a smaller magnification they will enjoy a wider field of view.
If all other features were equal, I don’t think that the field of view would be a deciding factor in purchasing binoculars. Chances are that you won’t find two binoculars that have all the same specs anyway. Some other feature like the eye relief, close focus, or whether the binoculars are waterproof would probably be the deciding factor.
Check out the tags in the right column to see more features of compact binoculars.
