What is the Recommended Field of View for Binoculars?

 

 

When you plan to buy a binocular the first thing you should be looking for is the magnification. This is normally what most people do.

If you are a hunter or a traveller your primary focus becomes things like binocular’s being waterproof, fog proof or shockproof.

If you are a bird watcher your main focus is on two aspects, such as magnification and field of view. So, everything depends on the purpose of use.

But some people still ask very common question: What is the recommended field of view for binoculars?

I will try explain how to choose binoculars and which field of view is the best.

All binoculars have a different field of view. But the general rule for optical instruments is that the more powerful magnification the narrower field of view.

This rule can’t be changed. Technically it’s impossible to achieve both powerful magnification and a wide field of view.

That’s why it’s up to you to decide what should be your primary focus: magnification or field of view.

Let’s now see which field of view is recommended depending on the purpose of use of a binocular.

 

Hunting

If you are a hunter you need a binocular that combines two main features: power and field of view.

Hunters watch moving targets which means they need a binocular with a wide field of view. With such binoculars it is easy to spot the target.

For this purpose binoculars with magnification 8x would be an excellent choice. Almost all binoculars with magnification 8x have a wide field of view.

Below you can see examples of 8x binoculars.

Field of View (357 feet @ 1000yds) – 6.8 degrees

Field of View (367 feet @ 1000yds) – 7 degrees

Field of View (393 feet @ 1000yds) – 7.5 degrees

Field of View (420 Ft/1000 Yds) – 8 degrees

All these configurations are acceptable. Of course, the wider field of view the better. But it still depends on the purpose of use.

Like I said, if you watch moving targets when hunting you better choose a binocular with 8 degrees field of view.

Such a binocular will be a little more expensive than one with 6.8 degrees field of view.

If you want more powerful binocular with magnification power 10x then field of view will be narrower, around 6 degrees.

Below you can see some binoculars with magnification 8x and 10x suitable for hunting.

 

 

     Bresser C-Series 8×25

• – Waterproof
• – Magnification power 8x
• – High quality optics BAK-4
• – Customer satisfaction: Yes
• – Price: $67.49

 

 

 

 

     Bresser Everest 8×42 ED Glass

• – Wide field of view (8.1 degrees)
• – Waterproof
• – Magnification power 8x
• – High quality optics BAK-4
• – Customer satisfaction: Yes
• – Price: $379.99

 

 

 

 

 

    Alpen Shasta Ridge 10×42

• · Waterproof
• · BAK4 Optics
• · Long Eye Relief
• · Fully Multi-Coated
• · Metallic Coated
• · PXA Phase Coating
• · Price $199,95

 

 

 

 

 

  Carson 3D Series Waterproof Binoculars with ED Glass, 10×42, Mossy Oak

– Wide field of view (Field of View: 314 feet at 1,000 yards, 6 degrees angle of view)
– Waterproof/Fogproof
– Magnification power 10x
– High quality optics BAK-4 with ED Glass
– 100% customer satisfaction
– Price: $493

 

 

Traveling, Hiking

For traveling and hiking purposes recommended magnification is 10x or 12x. It’s not a rule. You can choose 8x too.

Recommended magnification is 10x or 12x because some objects may be far from you and to observe them you need more powerful binocular.

Field of view is narrower but it’s still good and delivers a comfortable experience.

For hiking and traveling recommended field of view is around 5 degrees which is an average standard for binoculars with magnification 10x or 12x.

Because you are not going to observe moving objects like hunters.

Your primary focus will be on distant objects for which magnification power is more important field of view.

 

 

 

Bird watching

For bird watching I believe recommended magnification is 8x, 10x or 12x. For moving targets recommended magnification is 8x.

For steady targets magnification 10x or 12x is the best. But 12x has a little narrow field of view, around 4.7 or 5 degrees but it’s acceptable.

I have such a binocular and it’s pretty good.

As I said above, for magnification 8x, a standard field of view is around 7 or 8 degrees.

For 10x, field of view is around 6 degrees.

 

 

Sporting events

For sporting events at stadiums the distance between you and objects is long enough. For this purpose the recommended magnification would be 8x or 10x.

These two types of binoculars have a good magnification power and pretty good wide field of view, between 6 – 8 degrees field of view.

But for this purpose power and wide field of view is not enough. You need compact binoculars that you can find in this ultimate list of compact binoculars.

Choosing compact binoculars is important because you are going to have long viewing sessions with binoculars.

 

 

Theatre, concert hall

For a comfortable using binoculars at the theatre or concert halls recommended binocular magnification is 3x or 4x because the distance is short and you don’t need super powerful binoculars.

All you need is a reasonable magnification power and compact binocular. You don’t even need BAK-4 prism.

BK-7 prism will do great for you and the price will be cheap. Such binoculars have a wide field of view.

Field of view: 6 degrees / 327yds/1000 ft

Field of View: 7 degrees / 122m/1000m

 

 

Marine trips

For marine trips some may need binoculars with a digital compass for navigation and reticle for measuring distances.

I can recommend two binoculars with magnification power 7x that you can see below.

But compass for navigation and reticle for measuring distances is not the only thing you need for marine trips.

 

       Bresser Nautic 7×50 WD compass binoculars

• BAK-4 prism Waterproof
• Fog-proof
• Illuminated digital compass
• Rubber armouring
• Tripod mountable
• Price: $225

 

 

 

 

 

      Bresser Topas 7×50 WP compass binoculars

• BAK-4 prism Waterproof Fog-proof
• Shockproof Illuminated digital compass
• Rubber armouring
• Tripod mountable
• Price: $134

 

 

 

Sometimes you may need more powerful binoculars with magnification 10x, 12x, 15x or even 20x.

When it comes to 10x the field of view is around 6 degrees.

When it comes to 12x, field of view is around 4.7 degrees. When it comes to 15x, 16x field of view is around 4.2 degrees / 220yds/1000 ft.

For magnification 20x, field of view is around 3.3 degrees / 199yds/1000 ft. Remember, when the power increases field of view becomes narrower.

If you need a powerful binocular with a reasonably wide field of view magnification 15x is the ideal choice which has around a field of view around 4.2 degrees.

 

 

 

Astronomical observation

For astronomical observations power is more important than field of view and recommended optical instrument is magnification 20x, 25x.

Such binoculars have field of view between 2.7 – 3.2 degrees.

Magnification 20x – Field of view: 3.2/3.7 degrees/195yds/1000ft ft

Magnification 25x – Field of view: 2.7 degrees/141yds/1000ft

For more powerful binoculars for observing starts and planets recommended binoculars can be found here .