Monocular vs binocular

[Fried Chicken Blowout]

I wasn't sure where to put this... But optics seemed to fit....

What advantage does a set of binoculars offer over just a monocular style magnified handheld optic? I have very poor/uncorrectable vision out of my right eye so I always close my right eye when use binoculars. As a result I would waste half of a set of binoculars... But unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any high quality or high magnification monoculars. Why is that? Can anyone point me to where I can get a good monocular?

Thanks, Jason

[Apricotshot]

You need to buy a set of binos that have adjustable diopters for each eye to correct for that. With monos I have always had eye fatigue creep up faster than bino.

[Fried Chicken Blowout]

It doesn't work. I get double vision looking through them no matter how they are adjusted. My buddy has a fancy set that I tried to set up.

[Apricotshot]

It doesn't work. I get double vision looking through them no matter how they are adjusted. My buddy has a fancy set that I tried to set up.

I'm interested if anybody else knows anything. Have you tried the monos as well?

[Fried Chicken Blowout]

I've got a cheap mono... It's some Big 5 junk. Normally I always shoot with both eyes open even with magnified optics since my left eye over powers the right. But if I try to use my right eye for anything it just gets in the way.

[ucrt]

.

For bino's, most people do not know how to adjust the spacing for their eyes and properly setting the diopter.

If you do these two things correctly and you still see "double", either the bino's are out of alignment (each side is looking in different directions) or your eyes are looking in different directions.

I have seen where people look "at" the bino instead of through them and have problems.

What do you think it is?

.

[Failure2Stop]

You can get a decent spotting/field/scout scope for the price of an ok set of binos.

[krm375]

From the Dead,

looking at the Vortex 8x36 small monocular R/T and the vortex 8x28 small binocular R/T to keep in a pouch on my gear, anyone have any info on them? Also looking at the Steiner T10x42 R for hunting. All of these have a Mil reticle in them just looking for some reviews. or other small options.

[Kain]

From the Dead,

looking at the Vortex 8x36 small monocular R/T and the vortex 8x28 small binocular R/T to keep in a pouch on my gear, anyone have any info on them? Also looking at the Steiner T10x42 R for hunting. All of these have a Mil reticle in them just looking for some reviews. or other small options.

I have a set of 8x30 stieners and have looked at the vortex monocular that you mentiined since i like the idea of a small lightweight monocular for a pack. Smaller lighter and all that. Anyway i personally found the stieners to have much better glass. Being both sharper and clearer. This has held true with all stiener optics i have used.

[krm375]

I have an older pair of Stiener Rocky 10x28 that work well and do have great glass for the size, but the vortex monocular and small binoculars have milling reticles and as far as I have seen no other small binoculars offer a reticle.

Here is the Vortex Binocular VIPER R/T, PDF
http://www.vortexoptics.com/uploads/web_manual_bin_viper-rt_28.pdf

Here is the Vortex Monocular SOLO R/T, PDF
http://www.vortexoptics.com/uploads/web_manual_mon_solo_36-rt_ret-focus.pdf

[Caduceus]

.

For bino's, most people do not know how to adjust the spacing for their eyes and properly setting the diopter.

If you do these two things correctly and you still see "double", either the bino's are out of alignment (each side is looking in different directions) or your eyes are looking in different directions.

I have seen where people look "at" the bino instead of through them and have problems.

What do you think it is?

.

Dont be too smug. Plenty of people with a lazy eye, aka strabismus, out there. So, yes, they may be looking in two different directions.

Not to mention, diopeter adjustments have limits too. Lots of folks are legally blind, or have a cataract, or retinal detachment, or macular degeneration, etc., that limit use of one eye.

[Hochsitz]

I never go camping without my Leupold 10-20 mini spotter. It's way lighter than binos, fits in a jacket pocket or small backpack pocket and has 20x when you need it. You have to find a tree or rock to place it against at that mag though. If I'm hunting and the primary goal is to find animals then a bino is the way to go.

[krm375]

http://www.vortexoptics.com/uploads/ret_mon_solo-rt.jpg

This is the reticle in both the vortex monocular, and small binocular.


I have an older pair of Stiener Rocky 10x28 that work well and do have great glass for the size, but the vortex monocular and small binoculars have milling reticles and as far as I have seen no other small binoculars offer a reticle.

Here is the Vortex Binocular VIPER R/T, PDF
http://www.vortexoptics.com/uploads/web_manual_bin_viper-rt_28.pdf

Here is the Vortex Monocular SOLO R/T, PDF
http://www.vortexoptics.com/uploads/web_manual_mon_solo_36-rt_ret-focus.pdf

[Bimmer]

What advantage does a set of binoculars offer over just a monocular style magnified handheld optic?

AFAIK, the advantage of binoculars is a bit of stereoscopic depth perception (and they're easier to hold on to).

The downside is that it's a expensive to get the two halves perfectly aligned (and keep them that way), and if they're out of alignment, then the image sucks. This is why (AFAIK), you rarely see binoculars that are more than 10x or 12x.



... But unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any high quality or high magnification monoculars.

Like somebody else said, look at handheld variable spotting scopes.

I bought my parents a 15-45x Bushnell, and it works well. At 15x it can be used as a handheld, and at 45x on a tripod it's powerful enough to spot wildlife...

[Boy Scout]

Reading along for some insight as well. I use a pair of Bushnell Permafocus 10x50 binoculars that I picked up from WalMart. They are a great pair of bino's for 100 yards and under, but trying to get details (looking for bad guy's tattoo's, facial hair, etc. for positive ID) on surveillance has been problematic lately. They are great in that as long as you look through them with corrected vision, everything you see is crystal clear, with no manual focusing, and they do absorb a decent amount of light at dusk/night.

I'm getting to where I'm sitting surveillance in a vehicle at 100 yards and past and am needing more magnification. I've been looking to pick up a spotting scope that I can mount to camera monopod for stability, which would in fact help out with distance and picking up the small details. Knowing that Barska and NCstar are bottom of the barrel, does anyone have insight into a lower tier brand (Bushnell, Simmons, Celestron, etc.) that I can pick for under $100? I'm thinking either 15-45x or 20-60x...

I know you get what you pay for, but the budget rules...