Waterproof binocular - what next?

[Flying Eye]

Hi all,

I understand the advice that ideally binoculars should be waterproof, and I can see the sense in that proposition.

Assuming one took the advice and is in posession of said waterproof bins, I can't find any general advice laying out what is the best thing to do next if you did happen to get them drenched?

This has not happened to me, but it seems to me that being wise after the event is probably not the greatest ploy in the book, so what is the best course of action?

I suspect that knowing this is going to prove pivotal in gaining any benefit from having purchased waterproof bins.

As time passes I may well add waterproof sets to my collection, and felt it would be a good thing to be clearer on how one might make actual use of the feature.

Beyond "not letting them get any wetter" I really don't know of a correct next step(s) one should ideally take.

Anyone?

[E621Keith]

Often waterproofed binocular are designed to be used in a marine environment, such as on a fishing boat, so they are design to survive some level of submergence.

You just need to rinse them under the tap to wash off the salt and mud and then finished the optics with distilled water to prevent lime scale.

The added benefit of water proof binocular is they are sealed, so you won't get fungal growth in the inside.

[Dave Smith]

I use waterproof binoculars, mainly for birdwatching. They commonly get wet. They have a rain guard that covers the eye lenses and the objective lenses are usually pointing down so don't get wet. When water droplets do get on to any of the lenses I would gently dry them with a clean tissue. When they eventually do get grubby then I clean them with Baader wonder fluid (from FLO). The nice thing about waterproof binoculars is that you don't have to worry if it rains. My birdwatching scope is also waterproof and has the same treatment. I've had them both for about 12 years and they are both still fine.

Dave

[garethmob]

one thing thats interested me in this is resently at the macworld conference a company released a substance that can be coated to electronics and actually prevents water getting and damaging anything

i cant think of the companys name now but that would be perfect for the astronomy / bird watching community

[MjrTom]

As Dave said most birding kit is waterproofed and that they tend to be in the more compact roof prism design as these are easier to seal than porro prisms.

Roof prism bins tend to be far more compact for a given aperture but more expensive due to the tighter manufacturing tolerances used.

For astro you dont really need this level of protection and therefore can spend less money or buy bigger optics for the same money. If its raining then the stars are not out

When my roof prisms get rained on I just use a tissue to carefully soak up the droplets off the optical surfaces.

A rain guard is a godsend in these cases.

[BinocularSky]

Usually, the only thing that drenches my various astro binoculars is dew. When I get them indoors, I merely uncap them and leave them on a table to dry out.

[Flying Eye]

Thanks very much for the tips guys, I feel so much better knowing how to handle the situation if it should ever arise.

I sort of thought it would be roughly that way, but you never know about the gotchas us newbies can fall foul of so easily!

One last thing that sprang to mind in reading the replies is about salt, mud and other abrasive dross; if at the time you are not near any fresh, clean or indeed distilled water, is it going to make sense to have a zip lock bag handy to put them in so as to stop this sort of thing drying in place and then becoming a total nightmare to remove safely with a rinse later when fresh, clean water is available? I'm thinking that, for the sake of a few pennies, having one of the right size in your kit could be useful.

I can't think of an immediate down side to this approach; obviously you don't want to carry a zip lock bag with the binocular and loads of muck and water in it, and also remember to tackle it as soon as an opportunity presents itself. But that aside I suspect this is a fair approach? Unless of course you happen to know otherwise?

A pair or two of disposable waterproof gloves might be a smart thing to carry in the kit too? Small space, and should the worst happen, a big and very welcome advantage probably.

[Flying Eye]

Usually, the only thing that drenches my various astro binoculars is dew. When I get them indoors, I merely uncap them and leave them on a table to dry out.

I'm hoping that is the worst case I will ever encounter too!

The unknown can get a bit hostile in the course of it plying it's trade though.

[MjrTom]

I would be careful if you put them in a plastic bag as those bits of grit my work as sandpaper from being stuck to the bag wall.

Really unless you drop them in a muddy puddle than you are pretty safe with them

Just dont do what I did and try and wipe off the water because in my case I scratched the coatings as there was some grit I did not see.

Only my compact binoculars but still very annoying....

[Flying Eye]

I would be careful if you put them in a plastic bag as those bits of grit my work as sandpaper from being stuck to the bag wall.

Really unless you drop them in a muddy puddle than you are pretty safe with them

Just dont do what I did and try and wipe off the water because in my case I scratched the coatings as there was some grit I did not see.

Only my compact binoculars but still very annoying....

A point well made and equally well taken.

[scogyrd]

As Dave said most birding kit is waterproofed and that they tend to be in the more compact roof prism design as these are easier to seal than porro prisms.

Roof prism bins tend to be far more compact for a given aperture but more expensive due to the tighter manufacturing tolerances used.

For astro you dont really need this level of protection and therefore can spend less money or buy bigger optics for the same money. If its raining then the stars are not out

When my roof prisms get rained on I just use a tissue to carefully soak up the droplets off the optical surfaces.

A rain guard is a godsend in these cases.

I believe the main reason people advise using water proof binoculars for astronomy is to prevent them dewing up on the inside, which (apart from ruining an observing session) could lead to all sorts of problems in the long term, so I don't think it's an unnecessary level of protection.

Especially if you intend keeping the binoculars.

[MjrTom]

Very good point Scogyrd

Though if you put the lens caps on before you enter the warm house this will be less of an issue.

If you can get waterproof ones for the right price its a no brainer

[BinocularSky]

Though if you put the lens caps on before you enter the warm house this will be less of an issue.

I never do that nowadays. After an observing session, there will almost certainly be a small amount of dew on the glass; I leave my binoculars uncapped in a warm (& dry) room for a couple of hours. I used to stick silica gel sachets inside the lens caps to pick up that dew, but nowadays I just leave the binoculars open to dry out.

[MjrTom]

Ok fair enough

[E621Keith]

Condensation could be a problem. I had fungal growth on the prisms of my old 10x50 which significantly affected image quality. The binocular was kept in a cupboard which was dry as far as I was concerned. Sadly, it was destroyed when I tried to clean it (I cracked the prism).

A sealed binocular should be safe from internal fungus, but I now keep all my optics in sealed box with silica gel.

[BinocularSky]

Yes, I too keep silica gel sachets in my various optics cases.

[garethmob]

I have loads of them in my astro case(eyepieces ect) need to get one for scope now

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