Bushnell Spectator 4x30mm Extra-Wide Compact Binoculars, 900' FOV Ideal for Sports or Stage Event Viewing

extra wide field of view

It might help everyone better understand these reviews of optical devices if reviewers would mention whether they wear eyeglasses or contact lenses. Evaluation of optical devices depends on whether the reviewer is looking through another set of lenses. If you wear glasses, please share the strength in diopters, and whether there is an astigmatic or cylindrical correction. Please mention if you wear bifocals or trifocals, and the strength of the reading areas.Overall, I found these Bushnell Xtra-Wide 4x30 Binoculars to be a good value. I use them to watch opera.On a recent trip, these binoculars worked well. I saw six opera performances, in three different opera houses, sitting at various distances from the stage.This was a 3,000 mile road trip, and these Bushnell binoculars seemed to be fairly durable. They survived the packing and unpacking, and the vibration and jostling of car travel. Of course, I did not do any deliberate drop or impact testing! They also survived the summer heat soak test, packed in the parked car.The physical size and weight of these binoculars was not a problem for me, although some might find their size uncomfortable, since these Bushnells are significantly larger than traditional opera glasses. But they are light enough to carry easily, along with an umbrella and water bottle. (This was a long, HOT, summer road trip.) The 4X magnification is a bit stronger than the traditional 3X of opera glasses. However, the field of view IS significantly wider than the smaller, traditional opera glasses. The extra magnification did not make the image more unstable, that is, shaky or jittery. I prefer these Bushnells to the traditional opera glasses.Because these "bins" are larger than average, I was concerned that the opera houses might suspect that these Bushnells were a pair of digital camera binoculars, and object to their use. But no one said anything. Ushers WERE asking people to put away any cameras. Photography IS prohibited. (Here are examples of camera binoculars and camcorder binoculars: BinoCatch 4x28 Digital Binoculars w/Built-In Digital Camera/Camcorder Bushnell ImageView 10x25 VGA Digital Camera Binocular Celestron VistaPix 8x32 3.1 Megapixel Binocular/Digital Camera w/LCD (Champagne Gold) )There is only one drawback. These Bushnell "bins" have no focus adjustment. I wear "no-line" continuously variable bifocals, that vary from minus 2.5 diopters for distance to zero diopters for reading, with a tiny correction for astigmatism. I found that I can get perfect focus by sliding these Bushnell bins to the right spot in my eyeglass lenses. If you wear glasses that are single focus, lined bifocals, or trifocals, these Bushnell binoculars might not work for you. Your results might possibly be unsatisfactory, depending on the prescription strength and design of your eyeglass lens.

I give regular quarterly public outreach lectures for one of the largest astronomy clubs in the USA. My usual subject emphasis is on identifying constellations and a few Messier objects like the Andromeda Galaxy that are visible via naked eye. I also give a lecture on Opera Glass Astronomy where I compare the lower power binoculars (2 to 5x) to the higher power binoculars 7x and above. I personally own and have tested a large number of binoculars both modern and antique--ranging for a very wide angle 2.3 power to 18 power image stabilized.Powers above 7x and above are good night sky observations, but at that power experience and dexterity is needed to find one's target due to the relatively small field of view and difficulty keeping the binoculars steady.The 4x30 Bushnell binoculars are outstanding for astronomical observing primarily because of their wide field of view, brightness (relatively large front objective and 7.5 exit pupil), and fixed focus at infinity. The 17 degree field of view s enough to take in the bowl of the Big Dipper and Alioth, the first star in the handle. At 4 power, the views are not shaky like one encounters at the high magnifications. The fixed focus is good, because everything in the night sky is at infinity.Now don't expect to see a markedly enhanced detailed view of the moon, a spiral galaxy, or the rings of Saturn with this instrument. But they are the instrument of choice in my opinion for lovely widefield views and for showing the fainter stars, especially those of magnitudes 5 and 6.I enthusiastically recommend for their size, weight, utility, and excellent price point. I have no association with the company or any distributor. I was prompted to write in response to the postings claiming these binoculars are of little or no value for astronomy. If you want a practical astronomical viewing aid, you cannot go wrong buying these wide field binoculars. I wish I could write more, but space is limited.

Living under the light-polluted skies of Los Angeles, I find these very useful in learning my way around the constellations. I can see all the stars that I normally would be able to see without any optical aid at all if I was under the dark skies of the desert, although constellations are of course spread out by a factor of 4x. But unlike with regular binoculars, this magnification is low enough for me to see the stars "in context". That is, I can see enough of the sky in the field of view to easily pick out and recognize constellations from my charts, which is very enjoyable.-I have two problems with them, though. Most important is the fact that they do not focus. My eyes are still pretty good at age 64, but even now the stars are not quite as sharp as they would be if I was able to tweak the focus. And as I get older I'm afraid my progressing farsightedness will make it even worse. Also, as others have mentioned, the loops through which we're supposed to thread the strap are too small, making the strap useless. While I can live with them strapless, why they would put these on the market with this defect is beyond me.-Still, I give these binoculars 4 stars instead of 3 (as I originally intended), because even with these deficiencies I really do like them. I have three telescopes of various sizes as well as a couple more powerful pairs of binoculars, but these little guys fill an important optical niche in my enjoyment of the heavens.-