Telescope or binoculars for a elderly man that has one good eye?

December 10, 2015 3:20 PM

My 75 year old father really enjoys looking across his fields at the wildlife with a pair of binoculars. He has one "good" eye and I have actually seen him get out a rifle with a scope on it to get a better look at what he sees across the field with the scope. My question is what would be a good instrument such as a telescope or something else to get him with his limitations with having one good eye? I did get him some Celestron SkyMaster 20x80 Binoculars for night time star gazing which he seems to enjoy. Any suggestions are welcome.
posted by just asking to Technology (8 answers total)

Best answer: Do you want to get him something else to look across his fields at the wildlife? Get him a spotting scope. Possibly with a tripod. Not sure what you're looking to spend here, but generally, optics prices are pretty rational -- you generally get what you pay for, and more money will often (though not always) get you more clarity and brightness.
posted by craven_morhead at 3:24 PM on December 10, 2015 [4 favorites]

Best answer: At the risk of this being obvious, monoculars are things, with a wide range of goodness and price and features.
posted by brainmouse at 3:43 PM on December 10, 2015 [2 favorites]

Seconding spotting scope. They're like a binocular, but monocular. Celestron makes some really good ones.
posted by zippy at 3:45 PM on December 10, 2015 [1 favorite]

I came here to suggest a spotting scope, but craven_morhead beat me to it. Anything with moderate to high power magnification will be a lot easier to use with a tripod.
posted by aubilenon at 3:46 PM on December 10, 2015 [1 favorite]

this thread on the difference between monoculars and spotting scopes may be useful.
posted by andrewcooke at 3:53 PM on December 10, 2015 [2 favorites]

Definitely a tripod and spotting scope. Eagle Optics is a good mid-range brand. Zeiss and Swarovski are the most expensive and best brands.
posted by hydrobatidae at 4:04 PM on December 10, 2015

The customer service folk at Eagle Optics are, in my experience, really knowledgable and helpful and won't try to sell you the most expensive thing. Give them a call!
posted by rtha at 5:34 PM on December 10, 2015

I'm curious- the 20x80 binocs you bought him can't be handheld, so I presume he has a tripod for those? Wouldn't this be a serviceable solution? For those with a view (and two good eyes) there is no substitute for large binoculars. The drawback is they're large to have hanging around on a tripod near the window. But this would also be true of a spotting scope- it pretty much needs to sit there on a tripod all he time. Another more pricey solution- Canon makes some higher end binoculars which have electronic optical stabilization which are excellent. I have some 15x60s which can be used hand held by pressing the stabilization button- they're amazing for night skies or daytime terrestrial use-they're essentially a telescope-power binocular power that can be handheld.
posted by MacChimpman at 6:51 PM on December 10, 2015