What is the field of view of a pair of binoculars?

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	What is the field of view of a pair of binoculars?

Answer Your binoculars field of view is the width of the area you can see. It’s usually described in two ways: angular field of view and linear field of view.

Angular field of view is the true angle seen through the optics and is usually measured in degrees. The linear field of view is the width of the area seen and it’s given in feet observed at 1000 yards. A larger number for either angular or linear field of view means you see a larger area.

Binocular field of view

Angular and linear field of view
for binoculars.

Angular field of view can be used to calculate the linear field of view. Just multiply the angular field by 52.5. For example, if the angular field of a particular binocular is 8 degrees, then the linear field at 1000 yards will be 420 feet (8 x 52.5).

Field of view is related to magnification. In general, a greater magnification yields a smaller field of view. A large field of view is especially desirable in situations involving motion – birds in flight or you are on a boat or in a car.

Article Details

Article ID:

1619

Created On:

Feb 21 2005 10:04 AM