The Binocular Blog - Afterthoughts & Accessories

This has probably been the longest blog series that I've completed and I acknowledge the role Corona has played it. While it has caused unbelievable numbers of human fatalities, it has also resurrected a comatose blog! I will be eternally grateful for that. I don't think I'll have the time for research and blogging like this, ever again, but I look forward to Corona saying farewell and life limping back to normal. I need more subjects for my blogs, so I have to start woodcrawling again soon, and not being totally obsessed with birds. 

It was actually a labour of love because I love all my binoculars, old and new. While researching, it gave me the opportunity to learn so much about binoculars. I hope you find it useful too. Internet is a vast storehouse of information and I've given a few links in the Introduction Post for this series (link here). You can refer the links I've provided for more information. When buying a binocular, ensure you compare brands and offers. Make an informed decision because it is an investment for a lifetime. 

There are a few things I couldn't slot in elsewhere so I will list them here. All binoculars come with some accessories in the box. Typically, they will provide a case, a neck strap, a cleaning cloth and the lens covers. There are other things you may consider adding as you go along. This is a partial list and in no way complete.

1. Neoprene neck straps with padding. If you intend hanging the binocular around your neck, it will be more comfortable with a padded neck strap.
2. Shoulder harness for heavier binoculars. If you are using a porro prism binocular or roof prism binoculars with 10x50 specifications or more, it is going to be heavy and will get very painful after a few hours around the neck. The harness will distribute the weight across your shoulders.

   

   Shoulder harness distributes weight on your shoulders

3. Harness with chest case. Sometimes it is better to have chest harness with a storage case hanging on your chest. This is very useful if you are walking over rough terrain as the binocular will not hang loose and flop about. The storage case will also protect it from unexpected knocks.

   

   Shoulder harness with case

4. Lens rain protection covers. All binoculars come with objective and eyepiece lens covers. It is a very frequently lost item if you are not careful. Many companies have tethered covers for objective lenses and eyelets on the eyepiece covers for threading onto your strap. If your binoculars don't have such ones, you can get after market ones.
5. Tripod adapter and tripod. Heavier binoculars come with a tripod socket hidden on their hinges. If you have shaky hands, you can get an adapter to mount the binocular on a tripod, like a camera. If you are trying digi-binning a tripod mount is a must. As for the tripod, any tripod you use with photography gear will suit the purpose.
6. 
   

   

   Tripod adapter

   
   

   

   Tripod socket

    

   Universal mount

   
   For those who are impatient to go through the entire blog series, I'm giving below direct links to all the posts. You can go directly to the page you are interested in, though I suggest you go through each post as all of them contain some information that will be useful when you consider purchasing a binocular for your self.
   
   
   
   1.       Introduction
   2.       Part – 1: Anatomy of a Binocular
   3.       Part – 2: Purpose and Portability
   4.       Part – 3: Magnification, Objective diameter & FOV
   5.       Part – 4: Eye Relief
   6.       Part – 5: Exit pupil & Interpupillary distance
   7.       Part – 6: Image brightness
   8.       Part – 7: Focusing fundamentals
   9.       Part – 8: Weather sealing
   10.   Part – 9: Purchase decision
   11.   Part – 10: Care & Storage