Binoculars, Monoculars, Scopes

     Similar to the way your eyes have to adjust between looking at something at a foot away distance versus off on the horizon, binoculars can only focus to their ultimate ability in a certain field. No binocular can look at the moon clearly and watch a fast moving sport, and see what the neighbors are up to! Any binocular can do a reasonable job at all distances and sizes of field, but each is optimized for a certain viewing pattern.

     Picking the binocular that works best for you is much more than just picking the two numbers of the magnification - there are a number of factors, from the quality of the glass, to the manufacturer, to the eyepiece, to the field of view. The performance of an individual binocular depends on several factors among them the brightness, magnification power, prism quality and the coatings used in manufacture.