ZEISS At BINTEL: The story behind premium binoculars

Premium Binoculars and Spotting Scopes from ZEISS:

BINTEL have been supplying binoculars and spotting scopes to our customers for over four decades for all sorts of pastimes and lifestyles including bird watching, nature, whale watching, sports and even astronomy.

We feel especially delighted when our customers decide to upgrade their optics for a better viewing experience.  Premium binoculars and spotting scopes from BINTEL offer significant improvements above and beyond simply buying a famous "name" and we're always keen to point out what they offer, as well as offering our advice on the best choice of optics for your outdoor lifestyle. 

More than just magnification: Putting YOU in the scene

Most people would know that binoculars enlarge or magnify the size of distant objects.  This is the same effect is getting physically closer; however there's more to the "view" than simply bumping up the size of what you're looking at. 

With just our eyes, the reason we move towards something to see it in more detail is that, yes, the size of the what you're seeing does increase in size and this lets you pick up elements that can't be spotted from a distance, however, the other parts of what we see doesn't deteriorate. For example, our field of view or what we see side-to-side stays the same. The sharpness and colours we see remains.

When we use binoculars to "get in close", the nature of optical systems means there's often trade offs between the view they produce, sharpness on offer and more.  We know instinctively that we're look through something rather than simply looking at something up closer. Our minds spend time making up for these differences and that experience is less lifelike

One of the main benefits of higher end binoculars and spotting scopes is they have far fewer downsides to the views they produce. This means what we perceive through them is a more lifelike scene in front of our eyes. 

It's not uncommon for our customers when trying out binoculars from companies like ZEISS to tell us something like "Wow! It's just like I'm  there!"

Quality optics produce more lifelike viewing

The most important part of any optical system is the multiple components that blend together to produce the image of objects in the distance that our mind perceives.

Some of the optical elements in ZEISS binoculars. 

There's a lot of terms that are used to describe how the optics, especially of binoculars, work. One of these is sharpness. 

You might hear people describing more expensive binoculars as being "sharper" or "crisper". What does this really mean?

This is made up of several parts. First of all, just how well the optics bring views into a crisp sharp, focus without any blurring.  This lets us quickly see more details of what you're viewing. 

Another factor is premium optics having next to no chromatic aberration. This is where different colours are focussed slightly differently and the result is a slight coloured or blurry fringing around the edges of the field of view. 

Optical designers work to minimise these effects by using multiple elements in their design, often of a different and higher quality type of glass. (You can check out my article on "ED Glass" and how it improves binocular and spotting scope views here.)

Another factor to take into consideration is light transmission.  A little bit of light is lost as it travels through each lens and bounces off the mirrored surfaces of internal prisms.  Again, premium optics will reduce this light loss and binoculars such as the ZEISS HDX series will offer light transmission of 90% or higher.

This is important especially under low light or overcast conditions as brighter viewing keeps the fine details in the scene visible. 

For observations in the field, as the viewing improves it's easier to concentrate for extended periods 

Another thing you need to consider when selecting binoculars is field of view, sometimes shortened to FOV. I covered this in detail in another blog article that you can find here.)

This refers to how much you can see side to side and up and down.  

Our eyes have a field of view of around 150 degrees or just under halfway around. This, like so many other parts of our bodies sadly, will change and decrease as we age. Interestingly we evolved sensitivity to movement at the extreme edges of our vision and this the reason we refer to "spotting something out of the corner of our eye."

It's not difficult to produce optics that have wide fields of view. However, it is tricky to make sure the outer edges of the view are sharp and not distorted. Again, our minds are experts at working out what's real and what's not and even slight aberrations will reduce our perception of what's being presented to us.

One of the main features of higher quality binoculars is not just their wider fields, but the quality and clarity, especially around the edges of what you're looking at.

Weatherproofing and keeping water away

All binoculars sold by BINTEL have some degree of waterproofing.  This ranges from beginner's binoculars being ok to use in a light shower through to those with complete waterproofing and even floatation aids they're dropped overboard!

At the higher end, this protection can be extremely robust. For example, the ZEISS Conquest HDX is pressure-tested to 400 mbar and immersion-tested for more than two hours at depths of up to four metres, a level of sealing designed to cope with heavy rain, spray, and accidental submersion.

Alongside waterproof construction, higher end ZEISS binoculars and spotting scopes also feature LotuTec® water-repellent coatings. In rain, misty, or damp conditions, water beads and rolls off the front lenses rather than pooling and blocking your view.

Mechanical construction: toughness doesn't have to equal extra weight

One key consideration about optics for your lifestyle is weight and balance while at the same time making sure they're going to handle the rough and tumble of travel and being used in the field.

We've seen newer binoculars such as the ZEISS SFL series offer some remarkable optical quality but in an extremely lightweight body and rugged Magnesium housing. 

To wrap up:

Affordable and mid-priced binoculars offer excellent views and let you enjoy bird watching, nature, sports and more, 

As you move to premium binoculars and spotting scopes from companies such as ZEISS they offer a range features that you'll experience from moment you look through them. 

They include:

• Sharper, crisper images
• Flawless colours
• Wide fields of views, right to the edge
• Better weather and waterproofing for use under all conditions

These and other features add up to optics that provide a far more immersive viewing experience and offer relaxed and comfortable viewing for extended periods of observation. If the outdoors is a big part of your lifestyle, have a chat with the team here at BINTEL about ZEISS binoculars and spotting scopes.

Cheers,

Earl White

BINTEL

15th December 2025