Do Image Stabilization Binoculars Work?
Are the Best Sports, Marine and Bird Watching Binoculars Stabilized?
Stabilized binoculars do work. They're not a gimmick.
Different types of stabilization mechanisms are used in binoculars. The most common and affordable types make use of technology similar to the technology used in consumer cameras and camcorders.
Stabilized Binoculars Advantages
Stabilized binoculars are used on moving vehicles: boats and cars (for example, on safaris). In such situations a tripod doesn't help because the whole vehicle, and anything on it, is vibrating and jerking up and down.
Less obviously, stabilized binoculars allow high magnification binoculars to be used handheld. Without stabilization, conventional wisdom is that the maximum practical magnification for hand holding is about 7x, possibly but rarely up to 10x (varying from person to person).
Higher magnifications are useful for bird watching (small objects) and marine use (distant objects). Stabilized binoculars are available with magnifications as high as 18x or 20x. This makes them competitive with spotting scopes. Unlike spotting scopes, they can be used without a tripod.
Even 7x to 10x binoculars are improved by stabilization. A simple test is to try to read distant signs or car license plates with binoculars (many shops allow brief in-shop testing of binoculars before purchase). The difference between stabilized and conventional 7x binoculars should be quite obvious, if not startling.
This means that stabilized binoculars are useful not just in extreme outdoor situations but also in many normal settings: concert halls, sports stadiums.
Disadvantages of Stabilized Binoculars
Stabilized binoculars don't just cost more, they are also heavier. Most use batteries, which means:
- Spare batteries need to be carried, adding more weight.
- Lower reliability, as it is always possible to run out of batteries even with spares.
- Poor performance in cold weather.
Alternatives to Stabilized Binoculars
Placing conventional binoculars on a tripod or monopod will stabilize them as effectively as the electronics in stabilized binoculars.
In situations where mobility is not important (such as backyard astronomy), a tripod can be a cheaper and better solution. Even if on foot, using a lightweight monopod or resting the binoculars on a railing, backpack or branch can provide conventional binoculars with a stabilized view.
A "binocular rest" can be fixed to a monopod or tripod. These are small padded handlebars. The binoculars are placed on top of the handlebars, allowing binoculars without a tripod socket to be supported, as well as providing quick on/off performance.
Stabilized Versus Conventional Binoculars
Photographers who have used stabilized camera lenses will be familiar with the magical clarity of stabilized consumer optics, the "wow" factor when the stabilization is switched on.
Anyone who is undecided should try out a pair of stabilized binoculars in a shop. They can also borrow a digital SLR camera with a stabilized 200mm lens from a friend, to get a first-hand feel of what stabilization can do.
This should be a camera where the stabilization is in the lens (Canon, Nikon) not in the camera image sensor (Sony, Olympus, Pentax). Cameras with stabilized image sensors stabilize the final photograph (and the liveview LCD image), not the image in the optical viewfinder.
Chances are, anyone doing a comparison will be more than convinced and will want to find out more about how to choose the right pair of stabilized binoculars.
High-power Binoculars Benefit from Stabilization
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