Binoculars are incredible tools for outdoor photographers and outdoor explorers.  While simply holding them up to your eyes might bring you closer to the object you’re looking at, once you understand the main features and how they affect performance, perhaps you’ll be able to use your beloved telescope better.  

Follow me as I take a look at 5 tips for using telescopes in 2022.  These tips for the proper use of binoculars will help you get sharper, sharper visuals.  

5 tips for using telescopes in 2022

1. Don’t neglect the neck band  

Many novice birders and hunters carry binoculars, which is ultimately the wrong move.  Holding expensive binoculars in your hand can be problematic and could end up damaging the lens.  In addition, binoculars can sometimes be difficult to focus on, especially for novice enthusiasts.  

Holding binoculars in your hand is likely to accidentally mess up the lens alignment.  Therefore, it is essential to use a neck strap, which will keep your binoculars safely on your neck and chest.  Moreover, they will always be within reach.  However, if you use binoculars with a large range and lens, you may find it challenging to use a neck strap.  

For heavy optics, the strap can stab your neck and cause pain.  So instead of a neck strap, they can use binocular harnesses to hold the optics by distributing weight between your shoulders.  

2. Adjust the blindfold  

Most binoculars have an adjustable blindfold on each eyepiece.  These blindfolds should be down if you wear glasses, up if you don’t.  This is done to keep the eye and eyepiece at an appropriate exit pupil distance. If the eye is placed too close or too far away, the field of vision will feel as if there is a shadow swaying, and the complete field of vision cannot be obtained.  

3. Adjust the width  

Binoculars have two eyepieces connected by a central hinge.  Eyepieces can be moved in and out to change the distance between them.  You want to set the eyepiece to match your eye.  To do this, first, place the eyepiece as far apart as possible, and then place the binoculars over your eyes.  Move the eyepiece together until you see the two circles in the view merge into one.  

4. Use diopter  

First, always buy binoculars that include a diopter — it’s best to lock in a diopter.  Anyone with astigmatism will tell you that your left eye doesn’t always see the same way as your right eye, but sometimes your vision differences can be more subtle than that.  

All binoculars have a central focus knob, but the diopter is the auxiliary focus function.  Adjusting diopter allows you to adjust the refraction of each lens to suit your individual eye needs.  Diopter corrects any small (or large) difference in vision in your eyes.  

Having a diopter allows you to do more customization in the focus area of the image.  Not only can you focus the lens to lock on to the target, but you can also focus on each eye individually to get the clearest, most detailed image.  

5. Clean your binoculars regularly  

No matter how much you spend on your binoculars, they need to be cleaned regularly.  However, cleaning a pair of binoculars is not as simple as you might think.  If not handled properly, optical elements can eventually be damaged.  Many people wipe the lens with their sleeves and say it’s clean, but if you do that, you can end up with a lot of scratches on the lens or lens coating.  These tiny scratches may not be visible at first, but over time they can accumulate and damage the lens’s ability to focus.  Therefore, clean the lens with a microfiber cloth.