"Jittery hands shouldn't get in the way of a good view. A fine set of image-stabilized binoculars use electronic gyroscopes and fluid-filled prisms to compensate for the shakes and give you many moments of clarity... These 14 x 40 rugged rangers are built for real-world abuse. The waterproof body survived a full submersive dunk with no ill effect. For rougher conditions, they also come with a heavy-duty hard-shell Pelican carrying case that handles a 50-foot drop with no visible damage. And while the 14 x magnification cranked in on distant action nicely, the real jaw-dropper on these was the incredible image stabilization. Even when rapidly shaking the binoculars by about 30 degrees from the center axis, they maintained a steady, stable field. But all that ruggidization and steadiness comes at a price: At 43 ounces they're heavier than a Tolstoy novel."
I have never taken a deep look at binoculars. The ones that my parents had when I was a kid seemed nice enough, though very basic and heavy, and the ones I see on TV (movies like Rambo, Commando, etc) always seemed too unrealistic. But then I happened to come across this article on Wired. Very interesting. Do any of you have recommendations on good binoculars? And more importantly, how often do you get to use them?
Rock Steady: Four Image-Stabilized Binoculars
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