Binoculars and Telescopes

You will find a vast array of Maritime Binoculars,Army Binoculars,Naval Binoculars ,Marine Binoculars and Military Binoculars along with Telescopes and Periscopes from Makes Such as Nikon,Fuji Meibo,Carl Zeiss,TZK,DKL,Bush,Toko,Kowa ,Ross,S&B Solomons, Dolland of London,ESS,Leitz,Luger,Ross of London,Steiner and U-Boat Binoculars.
You will Find Binoculars from World War I and II,The Cold War up until the Modern Day.There is also a selection of Military Telescopes,Army Telescopes and Marine Telescopes.
A Majority of our Binoculars and Telescopes are on Stands or Tripods with Some Small Enough to be Held in Hand or Even Attached to a Head Brace.
If you are Looking to add to your Current Binocular Collection or Just Looking for Something to WOW your Freinds Please Take a Tour Around our Products.
We have Many Years Experience in the Trade so Please do not Hesitate to Ask us Any Questions that you May Have.

Binoculars are also Known as Field Glasses and are Two Identical or Mirror Symetrical Telescopes Mounted Side By Side and Aligned to Point Accurately in the same Direction,Thus Allowing the Viewer to use Both Eyes When Viewing Distant Objects.(Binocular Vision)
Most Binoculars are Sized so they can be Held Easily in Both Hands but there are Larger Models which are Mounted on Stands or Tripods.Binoculars give a Three Dimensional Image to the User.Two Views from Slightly Different Viewpoints to the Viewers Eyes Merge to Produce a Single View with a Feel of Depth which then Allows Distance to be Estimated.
This is Differenct to Telescopes where you need to Close an Eye.

There are Two Type of Binoclars One Using Roof Prisms and the other Porro Prism.Porro Prism Binoculars Produce a Brighter Image than the Roof Prism Binoculars of the Same Magnification,Optical Quality and Size as Less Light is Absorbed along the Optical Path.The Optical Quality of the Roof Prism Binoculars have Improved Dramatically with New Coating Techniques and Therefore it seems Porro Binoculars will be Replaced by Them.


MAGNIFICATION - This is the Ratio of the Focal Length of the Eyepiece Divided into the Focal Length of the Objective thus Giving the Linear Magnifying Power of the Binocualars.For Example a Magnification Factor of 10 Produces an Image as if you Were 10 Times Closer to the Object.


OBJECTIVE DIAMETER - This is the Diameter of the Objective Lens Which Determines how much Ligh can be Gathered to Form an Image,this is Normally in Milliemeters.


Binoculars are Categorised by the Magnification x The Objective Diameter for Example 10 x 80.


EXIT PUPIL - Binoculars Concentrate the Light Gathered by the Objective into a Beam.The Exit Pupil is the Circle of Light Visible in the Eyepiece when the Binocular is Held a Short Distance from the Viewer.The Exit Pupil Size is Determined by Dividing the Objective Lens Diameter by the Binoculars Magnification.


EYE RELEIF - This is the Distance from the Rear Eyepiece Lens to Where the Image is Formed.It Determines the Distance the Viewer must Position Their Eyes Behind the Eyepiece in Order to See an Image.


FIELD OF VIEW/VISION - The Field Of View of the Binocular is Determined by Their Optical Design.Usually in a Linear Value such as how Many Meters can be Seen or in an Angular Value Such as how many Degrees can be Viewed.


OPTICAL COATINGS - Binoculars Have Many Air to Glass Surfaces with the Light Lost at Every Surface and Optical Coating can Help the Image Quality.When Light Strikes an Interface between two materials for Example Glass and Air some Light is Transmitted and Some is Reflected.In Binoculars ant Light that Reaches the Viewer after Being Reflected is Disturbed in the Field of View and Reduces the Contrast Between the True Image and the Background.Therefore any Light Lost in a Pair of Binoculars will make the Image Hazy and Difficult to see Clearly.Applying Optical Coatings to the Interfaces will Reduce the Reflection which Results in a Brighter and Sharper Image .Modern Lens Coatings are made from Multi Layers and Reflect less than 0.25%, Older Binoculars Tend to have Lenses Coated with Magnesium Fluoride.


FOCUSING - Binoculars with Independent Focus Require Both Telescopes to be Focused Independently and this is done by Adjusting each Eyepiece.However Military Field Binoculars use an Independent Focusing System.The other Types of Binoculars Include 'Central Focusing' which Involves a Central Focusing Wheel Being Rotated.'Focus Free or Fixed Focus ' Which Focus on the Middle Distance.Modern Binoculars have a Hinged Telescope Construction that Enables the Distance Between the Eyepieces to be Adjusted.


Hand Held Binoculars Range from Theatre Binoculars to Binoculars used by the Bird Watcher.
There are Binoculars Specifically for use at Sea with the Hand Held Models Ranging from 5 x to 7 x Magnification with Large Eyepieces.The Larger Naval Binoculars Such as Rangefinders are High Magnification and are fixed to Mountings.
Binoculars are also used by Astronomers and also many Tourist Attractions have Mounted Pairs of Binoculars for Visitors to look at Attractions.


SPECIAL NOTE **** Well Collimated Binoculars Should Produce a Single Circular Three Dimensional Image which has no Visible Indication that Two Images are Being Viewed.If Binoculars are Misaligned this is Easily Fixed by Moving the Prisms Slightly, However this Should be Done by a Professional.This is Something we can assist you with at Andy's Please contact us for Information.



MILITARY BINOCULARS :
Prior to the nineteenth century the only binoculars available to the military were non prismatic Galilean Binoculars The German Optical Industry Via Carl Zeiss is responsible for the introduction of modern day binocular optics as in 1894 it patented the prism Binocular.

The prism binocular became an indispensable item for all military organisations with the German optical industry supplying most of the worlds military binoculars through Zeiss and Zeiss Type Binoculars.

During the early tentieth century Zeiss,Jenna cooperated with many Countries opening factories and giving Companies rights to manufacture Zeiss Type binoculars.

During the War Years First and Second many many variations of Binoculars were Manufactured.In the War Years Commecial Names and Logos were replaced by a code listing as in German Binoculars this was three Lower Case Letters.Examples of these are Carl Zeiss - blc , Ernst Leits,Wetzlar - beh and Emil Bush,Rathenow - cxn.The Germans came up with such innovations in their binoculars such as antireflection coatings for the binocular lenses.Today German Military optics are the most sought after piece of Military Collectables.


Before 1890 most binoculars used by the American Military were imported from Europe.In the start of the twentieth century there were a large number of optical instrument makers in the United States the Major producer of Binoculars was Bausch and Lomb Optical Company in Rochester New York.This Company had been in partnership with the German Company Carl Zeiss but this ended with the Start of World War I.
There were several US Companies producing optics which were often mirrored European Instruments especially German.Spencer Optical Co in Buffalo,New York and Crown Optical Company along with the US Government at the Naval Gun Factorys Optical Shop in Rochester all produced many Optical devices for the military.
Fueled by the necessities of War the US Optical Industry created many new Binocular designs with a large increase in output.After the War the Manafacture and Production of Binoculars in the US declined.


British Binocular Design and Manufacture relied on a Small Group of Companies to produce Optical Instruments for the Military.The Majority of Binoculars being produced by Two Companies Ross of London and Barr and Stroud in Scotland.
Ross invented a technique in which the field lens in the ocular assembly was cemented directly to the rear of the prism assembly which cut down the number of air to glass surfaces therefore reducing light loss inside the binocular which in turn gave a brighter picture.
Binoculars used by the British Army,Navy and Airforce during the War Years were usually stamped with a Military acceptance mark called a broad arrow.A large yellow arrow indicated naval use with a smaller broad arrow indicated army or air ministry use.
In September 1914 the British Army devised designations for privately donated binoculars, with Binoculars being classified by their type and quality. Each Donated Binocular was was marked with a capital S followed by the grade classification.
The Categories were:
Grade 1 - First-Grade Prismatic Binocular
Grade 2 - Second-Grade Prismatic Binocular
Grade 3 - High-Grade Galilean Binocular
Grade 4 - Second - Grade Galilean Binocular
Grade 5 - Third -Grade Prismatic or Galilean Binocular
Grade 6 - Binoculars of unusal design
After the Second World War demand dropped for Binoculars.



TYPE OF BINOCULAR CONSTRUCTION:


Galilean Binoculars,Non-Prism Binoculars - These are Generally Known as Field or Opera Glasses.They were named after Galileo Galilei the Italian Astronomer hence the name.These Ninoculars Consist of Convex Lenses for Objectives and Concave Lenses for the Eyepieces, this forms an Upright Image.These Binoculars have neither High Magnification or a Wide Field of View.


Original Porro Abbe I Type Prism System - Patented in 1894 by Ernt Abbe of Carl Zeiss,Jena in Germany this Prism System was Separately Invented on the same Principle of Ignaxio Porro in 1854.This is known as the Porro I Prism System.


Modern Porro I Prism System - This Prism System is Widely used in Binoculars Today.Porro Prism Binoculars have a Simple Construction and they form a Bright Image.Modern Porro I Binoculars have a Compact Prism System with the Prism Elements Closely Positioned Together.


Porro II Prism System - The Prism Cluster is Cemented Together which gives more Efficient Light Transmitting.Due to Fewer Glass to Air Surfaces and Therefore less Reflection of Light at Surface Interfaces.The Field Lens is a Seperate Component in these Binocular Type


Porro II "H" Type - Filed Lenses Cemented to Prism Cluster.In German Abbreviated "h" "Helligkeit".First used by Zeiss and Ross of England in the late 1920's this System Increases Light Transmission by Reducing one more Glass to Air Surface and the Consequent Light Loss by Reflection at the Interface.


Roof System - Roof Prism Binoculars are very Popular due to their Lower Weight and Compact Suze.With a Few Exceptions,Most Military Roof Prism Binoculars were made in Germany until the End of World War II.




A Dutch optician Hans Lippershey, designed the convex lens for the first refracting telescope in 1608. He found that a distant object appeared to be much closer when he looked at it through a concave lens and a convex lens held in front of each other. He put the lenses into a tube to make the first refracting telescope.
Galileo Galilee made the first refracting telescope used to study space in 1609. He used it to discover four of the moons orbiting Jupiter. Galileo also used his refracting telescope to map the surface of the moon. Galileo could see objects 20 times smaller than the human eye could using his telescope.
How Does a Refracting Telescope Work?
A Refracting Telescope works just like a magnifying glass. It uses a convex glass lens (to bend light and bring it into focus. This lens is thicker in the center than it is toward its edges, which bends the light more at the edge of the lens than light coming through the center. This allows all of the light to come together at a focus point. The point of focus is where the image is created.

History of the Reflecting Telescope.
A Scottish astronomer, James Gregory, came up with the design for the reflecting telescope in 1663. Isaac Newton made the first model of the reflecting telescope in 1688. After Newton built the model, scientists discovered that better images are seen through the reflecting telescope instead of the refracting telescope because mirrors could make clearer images since the mirrors could be made much larger than the lenses. The reflecting telescope is still used today.
How Does a Reflecting Telescope Work?
Reflecting telescopes use curved mirrors instead of convex lenses to collect and focus light. A large concave mirror (the center is thinner than the edges) collects and reflects the light to make an image. Once the image forms, the lens in the eyepiece magnifies the image. Reflecting telescopes are very helpful for viewing dim or dark objects. Large reflecting telescopes can see objects that are a millionth or a billionth the brightness of the faintest star that can be seen by the human eye alone!


See our large selection of Military Binoculars,Marine Binoculars,Antique Binoculars,Army Binoculars,Marine Telescopes,Army Telescopes,Military Telescopes,Antique Telescopes and Perescopes.