Choosing & Using Binoculars: A Guide for Star Gazers, Birders and Outdoor Enthusiasts

This seems more like a collection of blog posts in printed form than anything else. Not saying it's bad, but there's nothing unique in the book itself.

I would rate this 3.5 stars out of 5 - my reasons may not be as important to some, but while I think Dr. English did a pretty excellent job in generally covering different makes and models, he goes on and on about entry level, rather poor binoculars (eg: Celestron Skymaster series) which I think is VERY unfair to those of us who KNOW just what these deliver for the cheap money and build quality. They are well known to be laden with chromatic aberrations, differential QC, poor balancing (esp. the 15x70 SM by Celestron), and so on.I think that for the astronomical and general nature sections, Dr. English could have maybe covered in more general terms WHAT model CAN show WHAT and WHY. Not too technically necessarily, but cover this for those who are totally new to binoculars.I find he also spend too much book real estate on Blah Blah (long chatty rhetoric); The coverage of specifications should have been included with point form notes on each one he's included to show, at least the ones he has and knows about... Maybe have it in an appendix at least? This would permit a new binocular "reader" to compare at-a,-glance some of the features of various models in size categories. Would have been VERY useful, IMO for a book offering assistance in choosing and using binoculars, no?!This would allow the reader not only a chance to review if looking up these pairs, but also the ability to more easily at a glance compare them - such as including a table of the binocular listed with specifications as provided by the manufacturer. That is useful too!While there is some very good general coverage of the material, IMO, there was less meat and more "fat" to chew. I found myself getting bored as an advanced binocular user/observer, even though some areas were covered well.I think my largest beef is that some pairs received HUGE amounts of use and discussions, while others seemingly a foot note. This makes the content very much subjective to the point of wondering if a self-admitted "late comer" to binocular usage even can truly cover this subject well enough to be an authority.I may be being unfair here, so sorry - many folks may find this a highly useful book. I think it is "average" I think the Binocular handbook is WAY more useful with info on build and testing and usage for the observer, and more technical; this is more of a colloquial chat in many ways.The two together round out a pretty good coverage of past and modern binoculars. I did like Dr. English' coverage of historical aspects (though I'd like to have seen more on this) of binocular optics, and also a more balanced coverage of all aspects of binoculars. I am still reviewing, but so far that's the impression I got - a lot of extra fluff and sometimes we want the answer without the rhetoric. :)

Pas de tableau comparatif permettant d’avoir une vision rapide des possibilités

This is a comprehensive collection of knowledge about all types of binoculars and their various applications. The book begins with a presentation of the technical background necessary to understand the function of binocular instruments, followed by a brief history. What follows over the next 300 pages is probably the most complete collection of binocular samples I have seen in such a book. The chapters are organised by type, from tiny pocket binoculars to huge mounted astronomical binoculars, but also include instruments with special features such as rangefinders or image-stabilised devices. Numerous examples are presented in each chapter, covering different price ranges and accompanied by detailed descriptions, pictures or even field tests carried out by the author. In a second part, further binoculars are presented, but this time sorted by manufacturer or distributor. So if you are particularly interested in binoculars from Leica, Maven, Bushnell or whatever brand (from a selection of 15), you will find a corresponding chapter. In addition, the book offers a lot of information on testing binoculars in the field, selected top bargains on the market today and further reading. Among my favourite chapters is certainly the one on classic binoculars, which presents many outstanding instruments from earlier times that can now only be found on the second-hand market, and the last chapter, entitled Earth and Sky, which uses wonderful pictures to motivate you to leave the house, go out into nature and observe what is on offer there.In short, this book should appeal to anyone who uses binoculars, is looking for new fields of application or is planning to buy binoculars, whether they are high-end, second-hand or inexpensive.