These days, it is very hard to find a store that stocks a wide variety of
binoculars, so most of us end up buying a binocular online or through a catalog. So, how do you
buy a binocular online or through a catalog? It can be done, if you understand how to go about it and follow these basic guidelines. To begin, you can check some binocular features, sight unseen, when buying a binocular, but, for some features, you just have to make an educated guess.
For standard features like field of view, lens coatings, waterproofing, eye relief and so on it is easy - just check the spec table usually supplied for each binocular. Optical quality on a binocular is a bit tougher to gauge, since there is never a rating supplied for this all important feature, but you can make an educated guess by using price as a guideline. It costs more to grind, polish and align lenses to a higher optical standard, so, all else equal, the more you pay, the more optical (and the more mechanical) quality you get. However, it is never in a direct ratio. That
$600 binocular won't be twice as good as that $300 binocular, but it will be better in terms of performance and optics. The toughest thing to predict when buying a binocular, sight unseen, is handling. How will it fit, feel and balance in your hands? That is very subjective, of course, but if you have used a binocular that you liked in the past, you can look for something with the same general shape and dimensions. You can also use that last binocular number to tell if you are dealing with a compact or a giant binocular, since that last binocular number is the size of the front lens in millimeters. For more on the basics, see my article at
How to Buy a Binocular