Binoculars aren't just for birding

I wear binoculars around my neck like a professional baseball player wears gold chains. I have them … and I use them … constantly, and not just for identifying birds. Nearly everyone has a pair of binoculars lying around. They may be old and maybe dusty and they may not focus well anymore, but they still can bring distant objects a bit closer. How close? Well, here's a rundown of some of the numbers found on a pair of binoculars. Every pair of binoculars has two numbers separated by an "x." The first number indicates the binocular's "power," or magnification. The old standard was seven-power. Eight power is the most common today, and 10-power tests your ability to keep your hands steady. That's because binoculars magnify everything, including the minor movements of your hands and arms. (They can even respond to your heartbeat!) Seven power makes things appear seven times closer. So, if something is 70 feet away, the image through seven-power binoculars will appear just 10 feet away. If something is seven miles away, then it will seem just one mile away. If something is seven light years away, then it will only appear to be a mere 5,865,696,000,000 miles away. The number after the "x" refers to the size in millimeters of the binocular's objective lens -- that's the big lens that is closest to the object that you are looking at. The larger this number is, the brighter the magnified image will be. But with size comes weight … and awkwardness. Fifty-millimeter objective lenses are probably the limit. Typical modern binoculars are often sized 8x40 or so. Mini binoculars might come in at 8x25, but they will produce dim images. Astronomical binoculars might be formatted up to 20x80, but they need to be attached to a tripod to be realistically usable. Today's binoculars have a myriad of other features, including lens coatings, field of view, eye relief, hydrogen purging and close focusing. Most of these are pretty technical and are best considered when you are looking to purchase a new pair of binoculars for a specific purpose. So, why should you take your binoculars with you? Here are a few ideas. BIRDING Of course! What is really strange about this one is that I do so much of my birding using sounds. Binoculars that deliver brightness and true color are best for birding. HUNTING Hunters use binoculars to best identify game species at a distance, so power is most important. Use of binoculars or spotting scopes on the shooting range is also useful. TRAVEL AND SIGHTSEEING When I worked at Cabela's, the staff behind the Optics Counter would often call me when a customer wanted to look at binoculars to take on an upcoming cruise. They would most often be interested in compact binoculars that could fit into a pocket. I would let them look through a pair of 8x25s, and then compare them to a pair of 7x35s or 8x40s. Ninety percent of the time, they chose the larger pair, especially when I explained how a neck strap could allow them to still hold a drink! STARGAZING Views of the moon and the near planets are surprisingly good through binoculars. Even an old pair will reveal the banding on Jupiter, the rings in Saturn and the "crescenting" of Venus. Here's a really cool secret though, you can see the sun with a cheap pair of binoculars and you don't even need to look through them. (AND YOU SHOULD NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN DIRECTLY -- THROUGH BINOCULARS OR JUST WITH YOUR EYES!) All you have to do is to allow the sun to directly pass through the binoculars and onto a smooth white surface. You can use the shadow of your hand and the binoculars to best align the image. Once focused, you will see a clear image of the sun and probably some sunspots, too. When the next solar eclipse comes around, try this! SURVEILLANCE Let's keep this one to the professionals, but sure, they use binoculars. ENTERTAINMENT EVENTS I take my binoculars to all sporting events and concerts. At first, people think I am weird or that my binoculars are really a secret flask for "medicinal" liquids. But at some point in the event, everyone will ask if they can take a peek through my bins. (One odd thing about this: if the action/performer is fairly distant, you will see the movements happen before the sounds reach you.) SIGN READING Stuck in a long line at the drive-thru? I read the menu board with my binoculars. Wonder what the store's hours are? I read them from the car. (I hate pulling on locked doors of a closed merchant.) Looking for a certain street up ahead. I'll take a moment at a red light to read the upcoming street signs. MAGNIFYING Here's a really cool trick. Everyone knows that looking through binoculars backwards makes everything look further away, but, if you get really close to something, a pair of binoculars will actually magnify the item. This is great when looking at bugs or flower parts, but it can also reveal a date on a coin or the fine print on a prescription. DIGISCOPING This is a really cool word, huh? Digiscoping is using your binoculars as a camera lens. The trick has always been keeping both items -- cell phone camera and binoculars -- aligned and steady, but new devices make this pretty easy today. I was just gifted with one of these devices and I can't stop using it. And the results are not horrible! The bottom line is you probably have a pair of binoculars in some closet or drawer. While they have been so helpful in collecting dust, you could really enjoy them if you would only take them with you. So, go find them, get them out and use them. And I am positive they will reveal to you a whole new world.