A customer asked me the other day if
image-stabilized binoculars really work. I was happy to answer, "Absolutely".
Image stabilized binoculars do a great job of curing the shakes when holding a binocular. In fact, most people are amazed at how well an image-stabilized binocular works the first time they use one. Using image stabilization is fun and easy. Just press a button and say good-bye to the shakes. Best of all, no tripod needed, even at higher magnifications. The secret of image stabilization in a binocular is not a gyroscope, as some believe, but instead a much more sophisticated marriage of electronic and mechanical components. Of course, all this hardware has to go on the
binocular, so an IS (image-stabilized) binocular is always bulkier and heavier than the same binocular without image-stabilization. Then, too, the image stabilization makes for a less durable binocular, but that's not an issue for most users. Some of my favorite IS binoculars include the superb optics of the
Canon 10x42L Doesn't get better than this one in terms of optics. Another great IS binocular is the always consistent quality
Nikon Stabileye 12x32. Bushnell is also very much in the image stabilized binocular game with the
Bushnell 10x35 Stableview. This brings image stabilization into the price range of many more users. That's something we all like to see.