Jumelles pas cher

Binoculars can be used for a wide variety of activities. Whether it's bird watching, hiking, hunting or stargazing, you'll find binoculars perfectly suited to your needs. Better yet, you won't have to sacrifice quality or functionality if you're working on a budget. Today's binoculars are as varied as the activities you can use them for, so where do you start? What should you look for when choosing your binoculars? And what are the best budget binoculars in 2024?

What can binoculars be used for?

The question is not so much “why use binoculars?” than “why not use binoculars?”. Essentially, binoculars allow you to see distant objects closer and in much greater detail than you could with the naked eye alone. As such, they can be considered essential for a wide range of activities, including:

• Astronomy
• Bird watching
• Concerts
• Hiking
• Hunting
• Sailing
• Whale watching

While it is true that some binoculars are better suited to certain activities, it is entirely possible to find binoculars that will be theideal accessory to take with you, whatever the activity and budget.

You may also think that binoculars can be big, bulky and heavy and you probably don't like the idea of ​​carrying them around your neck or over your shoulder. You definitely don't want to suffer from arm fatigue if you want to observe something for an extended period of time.

Fortunately, modern binoculars are often designed to be compact and portable, making for a good, versatile solution that can be taken and used almost anywhere. So are there any good quality general purpose binoculars you can buy on a budget? Or should you instead expect to have to invest more money?

How to choose the best binoculars

When it comes to choosing the best budget binoculars, it is good to think about what you will primarily use the binoculars for. A larger aperture may be better suited to nighttime or low-light activities (e.g., astronomy), while a lower magnification may be better suited to navigation.

Once you understand what your needs are, it is easier to understand the different factors that may influence your decision. Most activities require you to keep the following factors in mind:

• The magnification
• Aperture and weight
• The environment

When it comes to magnification and aperture, if you've ever bought or used binoculars, you probably know that these two numbers are always specified up front. For example, you may see 10x50 binoculars, which means the magnification is 10x and the aperture is 50mm.

Let's take a closer look at what this means, and how each of these factors plays a role in your business.

The magnification

Magnification, of course, is an indicator of how big or close an object looks through the binoculars. A magnification of 10x will show your target as if it were 10x larger, or, to put it another way, as if it were 10x closer.

You could be forgiven for thinking that magnification is king - after all, isn't the point of binoculars to look at something far away as if it were up close? However, sometimes less is more, and that may be the case here.

There are several reasons for this:

1. Higher magnification may reduce the field of view, so you will see less of the surroundings. If you're hiking and looking to enjoy the scenery, you'll see less with higher magnification.
2. As higher magnification limits your field of view, it may be more difficult to locate and track your target. For starters, it's a little harder to find your target because the higher magnification forces you to aim more precisely. Likewise, stargazers may have difficulty locating an object with 20x binoculars, as the smaller field of view can make it more difficult to star hop to your target. Finally, if you're looking at a moving target that suddenly moves out of frame, higher magnification can make tracking and pinpointing more difficult.
3. Everyone's hands and arms are naturally shaking in one way or another. Normally you don't notice it, but when you hold binoculars to your eyes, the movement becomes more apparent because these small movements are amplified by the binoculars. The higher the magnification, the more the view shakes. Likewise, the heavier the binoculars, the more prone your arms will be to muscle fatigue, which will also lead to tremors. If you are on a lake or ocean, the situation is made even worse by the rocking of the boat.

In general, binoculars have magnifications ranging from 6x to 25x, magnifications of 10x and less being the most popular. You'll see that 12x, 15x, and 20x magnifications are also available, but unless you have a specific reason to require higher magnification, most people find 10x magnification to be more than adequate.

For example, astronomers may need 15x or 20x because many night sky sites are small and benefit from magnification. If you are a hiker and looking for scenic views, or if you intend to use your binoculars on a boat, a lower magnification, between 6x and 8x, will be better.

(Also, avoid binoculars with a zoom, as they often produce a lower quality image).

Aperture and weight

Although the magnification is important, it would be much less meaningful without the aperture. The aperture of binoculars indicates the size of the objective lenses that face the target (rather than the eyepieces you are looking through) and is measured in millimeters.

As mentioned previously, as an example, 10x50 binoculars have a magnification of 10x and an aperture of 50mm.

Why is this important? Theaperture determines how much light the binoculars can gather, which can be important in low light scenarios. Hunters and nocturnal stargazers need this light-gathering ability; it makes it easier for hunters to track their target in the dark, and for astronomers to more easily locate a dim target in the night sky.

In daytime use, it can also affect the brightness of the image, which can be important to birders and hunters checking for marks on their target.

Binoculars come in a range of apertures, from compact 20mm binoculars to giant 100mm binoculars. However, as you might expect, there is a trade-off: the larger the aperture, the heavier and more expensive the binoculars.

If you're attending a concert or looking for binoculars for hiking, a smaller aperture, between 20 and 40mm, should be fine, while hunters, birders, and astronomers will prefer an aperture of around 40 or 50mm.

For example, if you are an astronomer, you probably want to observe the Pleiades star cluster. If you had two binoculars - a 10x50 and a 20x25 - the cluster would appear twice as large in the 20x, but you would actually see more stars with the 10x50. Indeed, the 50 mm aperture allows more light to be collected, which allows you to see the less bright stars.

Larger apertures, between 60 and 100mm, should be used with a tripod, because their weight can make their use uncomfortable for more than a few seconds. This is why large apertures are better suited to situations where you stay on site for several hours.

The environment

When we think about binoculars and the environment, we mostly think about weather conditions and protecting your binoculars from bumps and drops.

For example, if you are going to go out when it rains, you need to make sure your binoculars are water resistant, and you can also consider fog-proof binoculars. Likewise, if you are often near water (river, lake or ocean), you should opt for waterproof binoculars.

Unfortunately, not all binoculars are built to these standards, and you will find that models on the lower end of the price scale may lack these features.

If you are worried about hitting or dropping your binoculars, you should also look for shockproof binoculars, but the best ones are often specialty items that can be expensive. Most popular models on the market feature a rubber frame, which should protect the binoculars from accidental hits, but may not be enough to prevent damage if the binoculars are dropped on a hard floor.

Frequently asked questions: