Binoculars - 8 x 25 or 8 x 42? What to bring?

I'm not in the market for new binoculars. Have two pair and wondering if I should bring either on my upcoming Windsurf cruise to BVI. Interested in seeing islands and possibly fish from our ship.

In the past I tried using these 8 x 25 (smaller) and 8 x 42 (larger/heavier)....I don't have a steady hand and didn't find either of these to be of much use unfortunately.

Wondering if I'm doing something wrong? I wear progressive eyeglasses and have tried looking thru the binoculars with and without them (my prescription is pretty light and a have a slight astigmatism)

Wondering if I should just give up on the binocular idea unless I want to spend a large amount of $$$ on another, better pair.

Advice appreciated.

Depending on the intended viewing the smaller pair should be sufficient since they are both the same magnification (8). The other number is basically the size of the objective lens (the big one in front) and larger means more light is gathered in dim situations. Astronomy folks favor very large objective lenses. But for daylight in the tropics 25 should be OK. But as we get older the pupils don't dilate as much so after age 60 or so more light can be a good thing

A bigger factor for places like Alaska would the field of view or how wide the view is at a distance. Handy for scanning for whales or bears on shore - or fish I suppose.

We have a couple of pair of cheaper binoculars that we use on the ship, mostly to look at other ships we may pass. I'm not sure if we've ever taken them to any port though.

One big problem is that people don't know how to properly use binoculars, especially the initial setup. Which leads to poor results and "damned things - why bother" thoughts.

I have no idea if you are an experienced user or not, so forgive if I make the wrong assumption. In any case, for you and anyone else, here is a link to a post I made earlier on binocular use.

LINK HERE

Maybe it will be useful.

The final thought is....just what are you trying to accomplish with your binocular use?

They said they want to look at passing islands and perhaps, fish. I can tell you, trying to find something relatively small as even a whale is difficult with binoculars, especially on a moving ship! The stronger the magnification, the greater any motion will be perceived! Also, if you keep them IN your cabin, when you take them to the balcony, they will fog up big time...and take about 15-20 mins. to adjust to the heat/humidity. I always leave mine ON the balcony during the day, so I don't have to deal with the fogging issue!

We use ours for checking out the passing ships and landmasses in the distance...that's about it!

[ QUOTE=tbmrt;51402660]I'm not in the market for new binoculars. Have two pair and wondering if I should bring either on my upcoming Windsurf cruise to BVI. Interested in seeing islands and possibly fish from our ship.

In the past I tried using these 8 x 25 (smaller) and 8 x 42 (larger/heavier)....I don't have a steady hand and didn't find either of these to be of much use unfortunately.

Wondering if I'm doing something wrong? I wear progressive eyeglasses and have tried looking thru the binoculars with and without them (my prescription is pretty light and a have a slight astigmatism)

Wondering if I should just give up on the binocular idea unless I want to spend a large amount of $$$ on another, better pair.

Advice appreciated.

most yacht sailors use 7x50

I have a pair of military grade Steiner binoculars that I've had for many years. I purchased them primarily as a navigation aide (I'm a sailor) because they have a built in compass and range finding capability.

I sometimes bring them with me when on a cruise ship but the only time I actually used them [as a passenger and not as a skipper] was on an Alaskan cruise. For a cruise in the Caribbean - I'd leave them at home.

One big problem is that people don't know how to properly use binoculars, especially the initial setup. Which leads to poor results and "damned things - why bother" thoughts.

 

I have no idea if you are an experienced user or not, so forgive if I make the wrong assumption. In any case, for you and anyone else, here is a link to a post I made earlier on binocular use.

 

LINK HERE

 

Maybe it will be useful.

 

The final thought is....just what are you trying to accomplish with your binocular use?

The directions linked to are spot on. Another point is that you need to decide if you're going to use the binoculars with your glasses or without. The settings will be different.

Another point, my binoculars are pressed to my brow bone when I use them. If I hold them against my eyes, all I see are my eye lids. If I don't hold them against my browbone, it's hard to hold them steady.

Seing these are your personal property, this is a decision you brst make on yorr own. ;0

I have tried all sorts of binoculars, 7x50, 8x25, 8x40 etc plus a 10x20 monocular. I don't bother taking them now as I found my camera has a good zoom lens, is autofocus and has an electronic viewfinder. Much easier to use than a binocular. If you want more resolution just click and zoom the screen :)

They said they want to look at passing islands and perhaps, fish. I can tell you, trying to find something relatively small as even a whale is difficult with binoculars, especially on a moving ship! The stronger the magnification, the greater any motion will be perceived! Also, if you keep them IN your cabin, when you take them to the balcony, they will fog up big time...and take about 15-20 mins. to adjust to the heat/humidity. I always leave mine ON the balcony during the day, so I don't have to deal with the fogging issue!

 

We use ours for checking out the passing ships and landmasses in the distance...that's about it!

One way to avoid the lenses fogging up is to use the hair dryer to gently warm up the lenses. This also works for your camera.

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I didn't bother to take binoculars to the Caribbean, but I'm planning to take every pair we own to Alaska. ;) I'm not sure if fogging up when we take them outside will be an issue there, but keeping them outside strikes me as a smart idea anyway. Maybe I'll put a small suitcase out there to keep them in, protect them from being dropped or rolling off the balcony.

The condensation issue comes when a cool/cold object come in contact with warmer, humid air. In winter in the north, when you come inside from being in the cold, your glasses fog over because the house air is warmer than the glasses (which were chilled being outside). It's the reverse on a Canal cruise - the glasses are in the air conditioned room, which makes them cooler than the hot, moist aid outside.

Same with the condensation that occurs with a cold drink in a warm climate - the condensation on the glass is due to the temperature imbalance.

There is little need to worry about this for an Alaskan cruise.

Remember, it's when a cool object is placed in a warm environment that condensation may occur, with it being more likely the greater the temperature difference and when the environment is humid.

I have found from the ship or on the land, that the Vortex Optics Diamondback

8X42 roof prism binoculars are extremely good. Fair price & nice optics. Try them at any large big box sporting goods store. Purchased mine at Pro Bass during a sale. I wear glasses & I am 65 years old. The 10 X 42 I could not hold steady enough to enjoy the binoculars. Used in both in the Caribbean & Alaska.

You have many choices, this is just my opinion...

If you have trouble holding them steady, you can get image stabilized binocs. Not cheap but they do work.

DON

> I'm not in the market for new binoculars

From the thread-starting post. So suggestions of what to buy are irrelevant.

Anything over 7X becomes increasingly difficult to hold steady by hand.

> I'm not in the market for new binoculars

 

From the thread-starting post. So suggestions of what to buy are irrelevant.

Huh?