If you are reading this article, we can assume you already know what a monocular is, but for those of you who do not, we will give you a brief description. A monocular is a small instrument that uses lenses to magnify the image you are looking at. It is a small telescope that you can hold in your hand as you would do with binoculars, but it is a lot tinier.
We have all heard about binocular scopes, telescopes, monocular scopes, but what is your scope? What do you aim to do with your monocular pocket scope? It is an important thing to consider when buying one.
Features to examine
Depending on what you want to use it for, it is essential to know what you have to take into account when you are looking for the right one for you. Magnification capacity, optical coating, lens size, and eye relief are some of the features you have to pay attention to.
Magnification capacity can vary, but most pocket monoculars have a 5x to 10x magnification. Taking into consideration the fact that the higher the magnification, the narrower the field of view is, it is essential to know exactly what you will be using it for.
The quality of the optical coating is important because the higher the quality, the clearer the image will be because more light will enter through the lens. Lens sizes vary between 20 and 40 millimeters. When reading the product specifications, you will see two numbers, for example, 6×20. The first one indicates the magnification power and the second one the size of your lens – the image is magnified 6 times and the diameter of the lens is 20mm.
When you use a monocular pocket scope, you have to take into account the distance between the eye and the monocular while using it. This is called eye relief. It won’t make a difference for many of you, but for someone who wears eyeglasses, it can be an important feature. It has to have at least 15mm of eye relief.
Top-rated product features
Some models can replace a telescope because the lenses have a comparable magnification power. You may also like a helical focus dial and that goes with a padded case that is custom-designed.
A 15mm eye relief and a design that prevents fogging are also highly sought-after. Some people look for a magnification that can be modified between 9x to 27x and a great design that makes it similar to a pair of binoculars.
If you are a bird watcher or a hunter, you might want to look for an 8x or 10x magnification power that enables you to see as far as two-hundred-foot distances. It fits well into your pocket, it is even better.
Another model has a 42mm lens and a 10x magnification power. It is a waterproof monocular and is fog-proof and shockproof. The lenses are multi-coated, which gives you a very clear image if that is what you are looking for.
It is a good choice if you want to use it for long periods because it has an ergonomic design that won’t give you strains if you hold it in your hand for more than you were planning to.
If you don’t like to be restricted to one kind of magnification, you have plenty of models to choose from. However, if you are looking for inexpensive monoculars and you don’t need high magnification, again you have options. And last, but not least, if you are not looking to use it for long distances, you also have some alternatives.
Whatever you need, and whatever you might need to use the monocular for, you can find a monocular scope for every budget.
