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Posted by John Blatchford Jul 10, 2008 |
Binoculars will always shake a bit when they are hand-held, and if the ‘platform’ you are on is also vibrating the situation becomes much worse. Using binoculars on a boat watching whales will involve movements caused by the waves and vibration caused by engines as well as the inevitable shaking. They are also very likely to get wet!
Waterproof Stabilized Binoculars
The military sometimes need to use binoculars in small craft at sea, and very rugged waterproof binoculars are available with internal gyroscopic stabilization. They are much heavier than regular binoculars, and can be incredibly expensive (thousands of dollars!) – but the electrically driven gyroscopes effectively damp down most movement and vibration to give a steady, clear image.
Attaching a Gyroscope to the Tripod Mount
An alternative solution to the problem would be to attach a small battery-driven gyroscope unit to standard waterproof binoculars. This has the advantage that the gyroscope can be used when at sea whale watching, and then detached for times when a tripod is used, or when the binoculars are not being used from a bouncing boat. Still an expensive toy though!
Non Gyroscopic Image Stabilization
There are a couple of alternatives to the use of rather heavy gyroscopes to stabilize images, one uses a built-in microcomputer to fiddle around with lenses and prisms when motion is detected, and the other suspends the prisms in a very clever way that reduces movement.
Waterproof Stabilized Digital Camera Binoculars
These would be the ultimate tool for whale watching, but unfortunately I have not been able to find any on sale. If any reader knows better, then please leave a comment!