Low Cost Compact Binoculars – Any Good?

Here are some super-cheap china binoculars. Binoculars that do more harm than good on your eyes are an unwise investment. While these cheap binoculars may certainly be friendly to your pocket you need to be careful with extreme budget binoculars as they may take the fun out and cause frustration. Anyone looking for really useful binoculars has to spend a bit more money

These cheap binos are only useful for occasional viewing if one needs to check out some not too distant objects in bright daylight.

30 x 60 Compact Binoculars?

Some low-budget binoculars advertise features and strange specs. There are quite a few that broadly advertise 30×60 as well as 60×60. What this refers to and what 30×60 means in that context, however, I have not yet figured out. Neither the magnification nor the lens diameter matches that when you check the specifications on the datasheet.

Let’s look at some of the specifications given, it’s confusing

The description mentions a 30x magnification for the optics while specifying a field of view of 126 m / 1000 m (369 ft / 1000 yards). ?????

This is actually contradictory since such a field of view is typical for a magnification of 8x.

Regarding the BAK4 Prism mentioned in the product description. I need to get my hands on of those binoculars to check that out.

As for Fully Coated Optics? The Ruby coating, which is often found in super cheap binoculars, filters out red components of the light. This not only reduces the overall brightness of the images but also leads to a false-color image in which the green and blue components predominate.

I also don’t see a 60 mm objective lens as listed in the specification??  The exit pupil is mentioned with 2.5mm.

As the formula for the exit pupil is:  EP = DObjective / M, and we have figured out that the magnification is 8x, then the Objective lens must be 20mm, which makes much more sense in compact binoculars.

As you have seen, you must read the specification carefully and analyze them as sometimes they make no sense.

Weight and Portability

These models are light and compact thus users will not have any problems toting the binoculars around. It weighs only 7 ounces/ 200 grams and this even includes the carry case. It also includes a neck strap so you won’t have to carry it by hand and instead, let it hang around your neck if not in use.

In terms of storage, the whole package includes a storage case plus a cleaning cloth to maintain the spotlessness of the binoculars. The addition of a storage case will keep the unit free from dirt build-up, nicks, and abrasions, and after each use, you can wipe the binoculars clean with the handy cloth.

Are Cheap Binoculars Worth it?

Those are very cheap binoculars. It’s not waterproof and not fog proof.  Some very cheap binoculars give of strong plastic smell for quite a while when unpacked.

Low-priced binoculars can forego several important aspects that make advanced binoculars effective. For the price, you can not expect much optical performance. Good optical glass and good coatings, which are the main cost factors in binoculars that perform better can not be produced at such a low cost.

If you need a cheap pair of binoculars and you do not need the advantages that real binoculars provide, you may appreciate the workings of these instruments for a while, however, better buy some good binoculars in the first place.