Using Bins with Glasses

[Odd Dob]

Despite having had a telescope for years, I'm not above asking embarrassing noob questions...

I really can't get along with using binoculars, and I've been putting it down to my poor vision and need to wear glasses. I look up, fix on a star, need to take my glasses off to look through the bins, then have no idea where I am because I completely lost track of what I was looking at after I took off my glasses. So finding anything is a complete nightmare, and I usually give up.

(With a scope, I can use the red-dot finder or even a finder scope with my glasses. I then know where I am, and take the glasses off to use the EP.)

So, am I just being an idiot and doing something really fundamentally wrong when using binoculars? Anybody else found this problem, and found a way of dealing with it? Am I doomed never to be able to use binoculars effectively?

(and I can't do contact lenses!)

[tibbz2]

I'm having this problem too! Would love to know if there is anything that can be done

[adrianelliott]

Its perfectly normal to use binoculars and glasses at the same time - this is what I do as I have astigmatism which focusing cannot correct.

The two 'features' you need from your binoculars are long eye relief and fold down eye-cups. With the eye cups down and assuming your glasses don't sit too far from your face you should be able to use the bincolars fine.

If with the eyecups down and pressed up to your glasses you still have problems with the Canon IS, then maybe try and have a go with bins with a longer eye relief than the 15mm offered by the Canons.

[tibbz2]

I find it difficult to use my glasses while looking through, the image is far better without them for me. Looks like i'll have to get used to it or get some laser eye surgery soon

[Odd Dob]

Yeah folding down the eyecups works! Cheers!

Stability suffers a bit, but then the wide field and IS makes that less of a worry. Cheers!

[jonathan]

I usually just press my glasses up to the eye cups (which are rather solid rubber screw-up ones on the Bushnell Legend, I like them, I always use them fully screwed out), then push my face into the binoculars / glasses a bit more so that my eye lashes are just not touching the glasses. I find that without glasses it doesn't feel right, and I can't see the stars clear enough to know what I'm looking at without my glasses on (mainly because I'm so used to wearing them).

[SteveNickolls]

Hi Odd Dob, sorry to hear of your problem with binoculars. You can use a red led finder as on this binocular/tripod adapter, see-http://www.scopesnskies.com/prod/binocular/red-dot/tripod-bracket.html which might help you out. Sorry- I have just seen that you use Canon image stabilised binoculars so you probably won't want to be connecting them up to a tripod.

Regards,

Steve