Image stabilisation for spotting scopes - at last!

A new release from Kite Optics offers the hand held portability of binoculars along with high power viewing of a spotting scope

As many  would know, binoculars are an ideal and convenient way to bring things in the distance up close and in more detail. 

They've been around in various forms for quite a while, but binoculars in their current guise they were probably invented early in the 19th century (as you can imagine, there's a bit of a debate who exactly did that!) and their use quickly spread across nature lovers, those on the water and throughout the military where they replaced the classic "spy glass".

There's a few things binoculars offer compared to a single hand held small telescope, often called a "monocular". First of all, our brain forms images in our mind based on the information it receives from our two eyes. This means you'll see a more detailed and wider view.* 

We also need information from both eyes for us to form a better 3D depth perception. 

Finally, holding on to both sides of binoculars can help steady them and reduce shaking either caused by the surrounds or hand movements. 

 There's now a vast number of binoculars for general purpose viewing, as well as speciality models - plus they vary in price. BINTEL has binoculars for under $100 to almost $10,000!

With all binoculars you'll notice a size on them. It expressed as something like 8x42, or 10x32 etc. The first number is the magnification and the second is the dimeter of each of the front lenses in mm. It's the magnification or how much larger they make what you're looking at appear that we want to concentrate on. 

As binoculars are for bringing things in the distance close, it's natural to think the higher the magnification, the better the binoculars must. This isn't always the case!

As magnifications increase, the width of the views side to side decreases. Any movements or shake of your hands are also magnified. There's no right or wrong binos for you and there's certainly no one size which is the only one you'd use for say whale watching or taking to the cricket. What does happen is that as you increase the magnification they become harder to hold still until you reach the point where very tiring and tricky to use for long periods of time.  This usually happens at around 16x magnification and beyond. 

Binocular manufacturers have started to employ electronic image stabilising technology to help hold higher magnification binos still while you observe through them. This works surprisingly well and have proven very popular with BINTEL customers over the years.

Even with this technology there's a limit to the magnification that can be used. 

Many companies also produce spotting scopes. These are usually single barrel small telescopes that have their optics set up for best viewing of landscapes, ocean views or getting up close to wildlife. They're popular with birdwatchers for views of nesting birds from a distance or shore birds. Spotting scopes often have larger diameter lenses than binoculars and higher magnifications - normally started at say 20x and going up as far as 60X. Zoom eyepieces that let you locate what you'd like to and then increase the magnification for a much closer view. To overcome the issue of holding them still in your hands they are designed to be mounted on a tripod. It will generally take you longer to find objects in a spotting scope as well.

It's not questions of what's better, binoculars or spotting scopes. Rather each has its own something to offer observers. 

While tripods are a cost effective way to hold a spotting scope still, they take a little while to set up and have to packed away and carried when you're travelling. 

Here at BINTEL we're pretty happy to see the release by Kite Optics of the first full sized spotting scope with electronic image stabilisation.

We've been big fans of the Kite image stabilised binoculars for a couple of years. The release of the Kite Optics APC Stabilised 60 ED with similar tech is something new that hasn't been offered to consumers in the past.

What it means is that you now use the higher magnifications useful for long distance viewing that are found in spotting scopes without the need to for a tripod.

It offers the power of a spotting scope combined with the convenience of hand held binoculars. It's easy to see how Kite Optics APC Stabilised 60 ED could quickly become a favourite among nature explorers and travellers to remote locations. 

Another application might be as quick "grab n' go" spotting scope for those with water or ocean views - I'm sure our customers will quickly come up with other uses.  We certainly have many folks requesting hand held optics with high magnifications. 

You can read more about the Kite Optics APC Stabilised 60 ED along with tech details and specifications here.

There will be only a limited number available during the initial release and you can reserve yours now via the link above.

Cheers,

Earl White 

BINTEL 

31st January 2025

*This is referring to people without vision problems.