Hi.
So I am looking to buy some zoomable binoculars for my dad. (Is that what you call them?)
Obviously ones that are not set at a fixed distance as many seem to be these days. Years ago he (my dad) had a decent pair and there was a silver (made out of metal too) lever on the right side which enabled zooming in and out. He must have bought these back in the 1980s, but I cannot for the life of me remember the make. Anyway, almost 4 decades later I would have hoped that tech would have got better not worse, lol.
He was disappointed with some binoculars that I recently bought for him online (I am in the process of trying to send them back from afar). - UsoGood 12x50 magnification, 1000m field of view.
His complaint was that they were not as good as the old pair he used to have, and mainly the fact that there was no zoom in and out option only the usual focus wheel in the middle and on each eye lens.
Any buying help and recommendations greatly appreciated.
For advice about Birding, Identification,field guides, binoculars, scopes, tripods, etc - put 'Birding Tips' into the search box
Likewise, I've not seen zoom binoculars for decades, though they did seem to be a thing in the 80's and I had a pair myself.
I will add, I had forgotten about them, and to be honest, not so sure I would buy another pair. many modern binoculars from respectable manufacturers today are probably far superior to the technology around then, and will handle most scenarios well.
However, a quick web search did provide some interesting results, and worthy of chasing up.
There are budget brands with zoom capabilities available from reputable online retailing organisations, and there are a couple of very well known international manufacturers, who actually make zoom binoculars, though they are powered by batteries, which might not be such a bad thing. I had visited my local emporium when I saw them advertised in one of their regular emails tempting me to part with my money. I did have a look, my personal feelings were to save my money for something else, mirrorless cameras had come onto the market, so that was why i wan't tempted.
I have for some time been using a basic night vision binoculars, which are battery powered, to enable the infrared, and while very basic, they do have a three step zoom button. My feeling are the zoom does allow you to get closer, but it seems to distort the image, a lot. But that is night vision, not day vision.
My recommendation is to visit a reputable optic emporium if you want to spend on a decent pair of zoom binoculars first, at least you can try before you buy.
Mike
Flickr: Peak Rambler
Pete
Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can