12x50 Binoculars question

Hello,
I recently needed a pair of binoculars for hiking, skyview and found a store
that only had the Bushnell 12x50 and an Olympus 12x50.
I bought the Bushnell because of the wider field of view yet later on when I
was on the mountain I've observed that this binocular shows some purple
fringing mostly where light meets shadow or sometimes even a different
color.

I didn't want to spend a lot of money from the start on a good pair of
binoculars since these are my first pair. My question is, if I'll upgrade
later to another pair of 12x50 and probably chose a more expensive pair,
will this purple fringing be less noticeable or is this something normal?
That's about the only 'problem' I see with this particular pair.

George

I was thinking of getting the 12.5x50 Pentax SP's and I am sure there would be
alot less false color than a cheap pair of 12x50's.

Joe

In article ,
"George" wrote:

Hello,
I recently needed a pair of binoculars for hiking, skyview and found a store
that only had the Bushnell 12x50 and an Olympus 12x50.
I bought the Bushnell because of the wider field of view yet later on when I
was on the mountain I've observed that this binocular shows some purple
fringing mostly where light meets shadow or sometimes even a different
color.

I didn't want to spend a lot of money from the start on a good pair of
binoculars since these are my first pair. My question is, if I'll upgrade
later to another pair of 12x50 and probably chose a more expensive pair,
will this purple fringing be less noticeable or is this something normal?
That's about the only 'problem' I see with this particular pair.

George



The purple fringing is caused by chromatic aberration. A 12x50 lens
usually doesn't have objectionable fringing, but you may have a lower
tolerance for it (some people hardly notice it) or else the binoculars
may have worse fringing than usual.

If it is the former (low tolerance for fringing) you will probably only
be happy with low dispersion lenses in your binoculars, and that will
be a significantly higher cost. You will also want to make sure the
lenses are fully multi-coated.

FWIW, a magnification of 12 is usually considered difficult to handhold
for any length of time. Most people buying binoculars for the uses you
listed end up with a magnification of 7 - 10. I have a pair of 10x50s
that I consider too bulky for hiking (especially up to the top of a
14,000 ft. mountain). So I have a pair of 8x32 that I use for hiking.

I have heard a number of people describe 8x42 binoculars as the best
compromise of magnification, light gathering and ease of use.

-sdg

Get a monopod ($20), found out, it's an exelent way to hold binoculars,
even if it's a low power one. Don't have to hold your hands up and not
get tired. Problem is,small aparture binos dont have screw hole for it.

Julius


Sean Golden wrote:

In article ,
"George" wrote:


Hello,
I recently needed a pair of binoculars for hiking, skyview and found a store
that only had the Bushnell 12x50 and an Olympus 12x50.
I bought the Bushnell because of the wider field of view yet later on when I
was on the mountain I've observed that this binocular shows some purple
fringing mostly where light meets shadow or sometimes even a different
color.

I didn't want to spend a lot of money from the start on a good pair of
binoculars since these are my first pair. My question is, if I'll upgrade
later to another pair of 12x50 and probably chose a more expensive pair,
will this purple fringing be less noticeable or is this something normal?
That's about the only 'problem' I see with this particular pair.

George




The purple fringing is caused by chromatic aberration. A 12x50 lens
usually doesn't have objectionable fringing, but you may have a lower
tolerance for it (some people hardly notice it) or else the binoculars
may have worse fringing than usual.

If it is the former (low tolerance for fringing) you will probably only
be happy with low dispersion lenses in your binoculars, and that will
be a significantly higher cost. You will also want to make sure the
lenses are fully multi-coated.

FWIW, a magnification of 12 is usually considered difficult to handhold
for any length of time. Most people buying binoculars for the uses you
listed end up with a magnification of 7 - 10. I have a pair of 10x50s
that I consider too bulky for hiking (especially up to the top of a
14,000 ft. mountain). So I have a pair of 8x32 that I use for hiking.

I have heard a number of people describe 8x42 binoculars as the best
compromise of magnification, light gathering and ease of use.

-sdg

I have a pair of Minolta 12 x 50 and there is no fringing
Nice, well-made binos

On Sun, 02 May 2004 19:48:31 GMT, Szaki wrote:

Get a monopod ($20), found out, it's an exelent way to hold binoculars,
even if it's a low power one. Don't have to hold your hands up and not
get tired. Problem is,small aparture binos dont have screw hole for it.

Julius


Sean Golden wrote:

In article ,
"George" wrote:


Hello,
I recently needed a pair of binoculars for hiking, skyview and found a store
that only had the Bushnell 12x50 and an Olympus 12x50.
I bought the Bushnell because of the wider field of view yet later on when I
was on the mountain I've observed that this binocular shows some purple
fringing mostly where light meets shadow or sometimes even a different
color.

I didn't want to spend a lot of money from the start on a good pair of
binoculars since these are my first pair. My question is, if I'll upgrade
later to another pair of 12x50 and probably chose a more expensive pair,
will this purple fringing be less noticeable or is this something normal?
That's about the only 'problem' I see with this particular pair.

George




The purple fringing is caused by chromatic aberration. A 12x50 lens
usually doesn't have objectionable fringing, but you may have a lower
tolerance for it (some people hardly notice it) or else the binoculars
may have worse fringing than usual.

If it is the former (low tolerance for fringing) you will probably only
be happy with low dispersion lenses in your binoculars, and that will
be a significantly higher cost. You will also want to make sure the
lenses are fully multi-coated.

FWIW, a magnification of 12 is usually considered difficult to handhold
for any length of time. Most people buying binoculars for the uses you
listed end up with a magnification of 7 - 10. I have a pair of 10x50s
that I consider too bulky for hiking (especially up to the top of a
14,000 ft. mountain). So I have a pair of 8x32 that I use for hiking.

I have heard a number of people describe 8x42 binoculars as the best
compromise of magnification, light gathering and ease of use.

-sdg