A monocular is one of the most sought-after optic devices on the market. It’s simply a small telescope that you may hold with your hand. There are different types of monoculars out there and each one is designed to perform specific functions. Remember that the features of a monocular can significantly affect its overall performance and outlook.
This can also affect its compactness, size, design, weight, and material. The combination of the functional specifications and physical specifications separate the budget-friendly versions and the pricey versions. This post explains the top features to look out for in a monocular.
Magnification and lens diameter
When you decide to buy a monocular, you will find out that the casing has two numbers that come in the form of AXB. These two numbers represent the viewing specifications of the monocular. Therefore, the A stands for the magnification power of the monocular while the B represents the size of the objective lens.
Magnification is the measure of the largeness of the image on the monocular when you take a look through it. Many monoculars tend to have the magnification power that ranges from 5x to 15x. Ideally, the bigger the magnification power, the more details the device can catch.
When it comes to the objective lens, it’s diameter is the same size as the objective lens, and is expressed in millimeters. Therefore, in the above example, B stands for the objective lens size. This size is also related to the brightness of the formed image. In most cases, objective lenses that are utilized in monocular lenses are between 25mm and 42mm.
The combination of the lens size and the magnification power show the quality and the level of viewing power of the monocular. So a monocular with 9×40 shows that the optic device has a magnification power of 9x and the lens size of 40mm. Hence, a monocular with 7×25 can have a lower power than that with 9×35. Simply put, higher numbers indicate higher image formation quality.
Keep in mind that a monocular’s lens size can determine the size of the monocular. Therefore, optic devices with 10×30 and above are considered to be heavier and those with 10×27 and below are regarded as small. But a smaller monocular may not be that powerful compared to the larger ones. This can raise the price, so it’s a good idea to get affordable with high-quality viewing by choosing monocular that are above 10×30.
It’s also worth noting that monoculars that have high magnification are hard to handle. And, coming with larger lens sizes can make it challenging to manage it, especially if you are a newbie. Therefore, opt for higher viewing devices if you have great handling experience.
Field of view
The circular image’s size that you see from your monocular is what is called the field of view. Therefore, the higher the magnification power the narrower the field of view, leading to clearer images.
However, when you combine a high focus lens with high magnification, you can still make clear images even if you have a wide field of view. Remember that image clarity can be good if the magnification as well as the focal length of your objective lens are quite good.
The quality of lens you use can also affect the field of view. So higher quality lenses can create better field of view than cheap ones. This factor also improves the zoom quality of the lenses. Hence, if you decide to buy a monocular with a wide field of view, you must check the lens’ quality as well.
Coating options
Knowing the different types of lens coatings can also be part of learning of how you may purchase a monocular. To improve functionality of the monocular, they usually coat the lenses with a specific material. This coating on the lens can determine the clarity and brightness of the viewed image. Besides, it also reduces glare on the lens to make sure that it improves view.
Lenses come in four unique forms, and these are fully multi-coated, fully coated, multi coated, and coated. A fully multi-coated lens is the highest quality because it involves the use of a combination of anti-glare coatings. As a result, the detail is better, color and contrast of images. They can even include coatings that offer waterproof properties. Multi coated lenses provide almost the same properties as the fully multi-coated lenses for an affordable price.
Coated and fully coated lenses are usually simply single coating on the lens, so they don’t provide great image quality. But they can still offer good visible images and optic devices with these types of lens coatings are pretty affordable.
If you don’t mind investing on high image quality, perhaps a monocular that has fully multi-coated lenses can be your best option. But if you are on budget and still want to get quality image viewing, then you can go for the multi-coated lenses optic devices while newbies can start with coated and fully coated monocular. While they have less image quality, these optic devices can still perform the magnifying functions.
Focusing mechanism
To have the best viewing experience, it can help if you choose a monocular that provides a focusing mechanism. This feature can allow you to change viewing focus, level sharpness, and image clarity. Because the distances of every target object can vary while moving around, you need to get an adjustable focus mechanism.
It’s worth noting that you can find many variations of monocular focusing mechanisms. For example, you can find some models that have the focus mechanism featuring a ring around the objective lens or the body. Others come with a small ring that is quite close to the eyepiece.
There are even some other models that are fitted with some type of focusing lever attached to the body of the optic device. Further, there are even some others that provide sliding levers, focusing wheel, toggles, and buttons. And in some optic devices, there are two focusing rings. You absolutely need all these hunting materials in order to have a great outdoor hunting experience.
