What is interpupillary distance? How do I adjust it on my binoculars?

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	What is interpupillary distance? How do I adjust it on my binoculars?

Answer Interpupillary distance (IPD) is the distance between the pupils of your eyes measured from center to center when your eyes are focused on infinity. It varies from person to person. IPD is also smaller when looking at something nearby.

Exactly the same term applies to the distance between the centers of a binocular’s exit pupils.

To take full advantage of the field of view and light from your binoculars, the binoculars IPD should be the same as your IPD. Because IPD varies between people and uses, virtually all binoculars have adjustable IPDs. In general, lower-power, smaller objective size binoculars can be set at smaller IPDs.

If you don’t have the IPD correctly adjusted, you’ll see only part of the scene you’re looking at, since the beams of light from the eyepieces are partially missing your pupils. Adjust IPD by moving the two tubes of the binoculars towards or away from each other. Some pairs of binoculars have a scale on the center pivot to help with the proper adjustment.

Article Details

Article ID:

2083

Created On:

Nov 18 2008 10:49 AM