Optics & Astro

For astronomical viewing you need to look at an astro telescope or a high powered pair of binoculars. In this section you'll find astronomical telescopes plus spare eyepieces, barlow lenses and many other accessories.

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Binoculars come in a great variety of sizes and magnifications. Compact, pocket sized models are usually 8x25 or 10x25 - the first number is the magnification and the second the diameter of the objective lens at the front. Popular binoculars for bird watching would be 8x42. The larger the second number the more light will enter the binoculars, making the image brighter and clearer. There are very high powered binoculars around which need to be mounted on a tripod for the best results and these are ideal for general observation and astronomy viewing - especially the moon.

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A magnifying glass is used to produce a magnified image of an object. Magnifying glasses are helpful for viewing small objects such as jewellery, stamps etc and also of benefit for visually impaired people.

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Look at the world a little closer with a microscope. A microscope allows you to view extreme close up images of objects for a totally new and interesting perspective. The latest digital microscopes connect to your computer and allow you to record stills or movie clips of your subject to your PC. Perfect for schools, colleges, kids, adults and archive purposes for coin and stamp collectors.

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Sometimes wrongly perceived as inferior to binoculars, monoculars can provide a superior viewing alternative to many compact or pocket size binoculars of similar price. Compact and lightweight, monoculars are small enough to keep in your rucksack or camera bag for viewing distant objects. Certain models also have very good close focus capabilities and are perfect for specialist applications such as entomology. Monoculars make ideal field glasses for the space and weight conscious. They come in a variety of sizes, magnifications and formats and some include some useful accessories dedicated to both the macro study of wildlife and long range high magnification observation.

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A night vision scope allows you to see in the dark. It does this by taking the ambient light and amplifying it through a special process, the result is a visible image with a green hue. There are various generations of night vision, 1st is the basic specification, 2nd generation is more expensive but you go get a brighter, clearer image.

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Spotting scopes are primarily used by bird watchers or as general observation and usually fixed to a tripod. Prices can vary dramatically, you generally pay more for a larger objective lens which lets more light in and the type of optics used in the construction of the scope. You can normally change the eyepiece for a different magnification or zoom eyepiece with variable magnification. Spotting scopes come in a straight or angled design, there are pros and cons to both types and it depends on where and what you intend to observe as to which design would suit best.

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