I was recently at an Australian astro gathering with a number of experienced ATM's and observers - and they were very impressed by the views of the milky way it provided. There were numerous scopes of different sizes around and they preferred the binos. Most monoculars only come with a hand strap, which works fine, but it does mean that the hand that you are carrying it from is never a fee as you would like unless you put your monocular away in your bag, but this does mean that it is not as accessible and as easy to get to as you would always like. I concur about the difference in magnification. I had expressed my opinion on it before in another thread, but we all perceive things differently and there were plenty of different views on the subject. The most interesting thing I personally discovered when comparing a 7x with a 12x was that it was easier to read car license plates with a 7x. I definitely did not expect that. We look at how easy it is to set up, and whether it comes with appropriate accessories. We suggest if a particular monocular would benefit from any additional equipment to give you the best viewing experience possible.

Some monoculars have built-in image capture while others offer smartphone mounts for super-easy 'digiscoping' and a built-in tripod mount. What is the best monocular for birdwatching? However, for eyeglass wearers, or those who need some sort of eye protection for shooting, the only option you have is folded down, which with16mm, of eye-relief, this should be enough to achieve the full field of view. The main advantage is obviously the Image Stabilization (or image stabilisation depending on which side of the pond you live on) that allows you to use a larger magnification than you would with a normal pair of binoculars, without the need of a tripod to stop image judder.Whilst the equivalent Vortex Vulture HD 15x56 binocular at 43.6oz is also almost three times heavier than the Vortex Recon R/T 15x50 Monocular and is 7.6 inches long by 5.8 inches wide, whilst the Vortex Kaibab HD 18x56 Binoculars are also very similar. Designed for the space conscious outdoor enthusiast and bird watcher, the new Barr & Stroud Sprite Plus 15x50 monocular represents an outstanding combination of performance and value. The Barr & Stroud Sprite Plus is waterproof and features rugged armoured construction. Designed for convenient single-handed use. All Sprite Plus monoculars feature BaK-4 prisms and fully multi-coated lenses for excellent optical performance, and in addition, the prisms are Phase Coated for enhanced contrast and light transmission. The draw of the 10x42L is the better color correction, the wide 6.5° FOV, the larger exit pupil, and the slightly smaller footprint.

I was actually so disappointed with the Canon IS that I had sworn never to buy Canon binoculars again. I instead liked the Fujinon IS which I thought were better optically. Unfortunately, the Fujinons are not as robust as the Canon and the IS mechanism stopped working in both pairs I owned. So it is good to see that Vortex has included a robust as well as ambidextrous hand strap to help improve your hold on the device as much as possible. As we know objective size also plays a significant part on total 'resolving' ability and optimal exit pupil for the given viewing conditions.Vortex Recon RT monoculars also have their incredibly tough ArmorTek® coating on the exterior lens surfaces which protects them from scratches, oil (often from fingerprints), and dirt.