Looking back on 2010, there were no big developments in the world of
binoculars, though some advanced binocular features, such as flat field optics and HD lenses continue to filter down to lower binocular price points. In other words, this has been a typical year in the binocular market and that is fine by me. I appreciate the fact that binoculars are relatively free of the “upgraditis” syndrome that plagues digital products, in general, and digital cameras in particular. Enough, already. Please. It’s nice to know that you can still
buy binoculars, today, and it will still be in the same playing field with new binoculars many years down the road. Only rarely does it make sense to wait for that new model to come out in the world of binoculars.
Binoculars are a good investment of your optics dollar.
For example, I have several binoculars in the twenty year old category that are still going strong. They lack some of the refinements in lens coatings and niceties such as armoring and waterproofing, but they remain optically sound and I have no hesitation using them as
birding binoculars or
astronomy binoculars. They are anything but obsolete.
Binoculars in 2011? There is always space for one more binocular in my optics cabinet, of course.