Binoculars are a great companion for bird watching, sightseeing, hiking, and even for enjoying shows in the theater. For various purposes, binoculars’ properties are varied. When you choose binoculars for you, you need to know their features, functionalities, magnification, and other capabilities. If you are looking for a pair of binoculars that can provide vivid, razor-sharp, and lifelike color images, you should choose ED glass binoculars. Several glasses are used for binoculars, but ED binoculars are expensive compared to them. But why? What are the specialty and benefits of ED glass? Are ED binoculars worth the money?
If you are searching for the answers to these questions, this article is for you. Here we are going to try to answer the questions. Before that, we should know what is the ED glass binoculars:
What are ED glass binoculars?
Extra-low dispersion is the full form of the two-letter ED. As we already mentioned ED glass provides razor-sharp, clear, and bright images, it’s because of the composition of this glass. The construction material of ED glass is calcium fluoride which renders a clearer view compared to normal fluorite glasses. The ED glass removes the chromatic aberrations produced by the binocular lens. As a result, ED glass can deliver better quality and brighter images of distant objects.
Normal glass produces colorful fringes when you observe a distant object. That is the reason for decreasing the image resolution and quality. Small details are not visible to the viewers. In this case, ED glass performs well and helps to see all the tiny details clearly of any object. The binoculars come with extra-low dispersion glass known as ED binoculars. ED glass reduces the color fringing and can deliver high-resolution images.
What does ED glass do?
The Extra-low dispersion lens of binoculars is engineered with the ability to prevent or reduce chromatic aberration. Chromatic aberration is a state that happens for the disability of the lens to refract all color’s wavelengths at the same point. As we know, different colors have different wavelengths and frequencies. They hit on different points for the speed variation. As a result, chromatic aberrations occur and produce color fringing. And the viewers are not able to see all details and clear images of the targeted object. To get rid of the chromatic aberration, ED glasses are implemented in the binoculars.
The ED glasses are multi-element objective lenses and have a wider range of options. It helps to hit all the wavelengths of the colors at the same point by directing and concentrating the lights to your eyes effectively. Again, it reduces the color fringing around the edges so it renders clear and high-resolution images. When the chromatic aberrations are controlled or eliminated, the binoculars can create brighter and more clear images.
ED vs Non-ED Glass Binoculars
Generally, ED and non-ED binoculars can’t be distinguished by their external appearance. The key differences are found in the picture quality, details, and resolution. Firstly, you will get more color fringing in non-ED glass binoculars whereas ED binoculars reduce and prevent color fringing and deliver the best quality images. ED glass binoculars are usually costly. That means the manufacturer also uses quality body materials, lenses, prisms, coatings, etc along with ED glass. That makes the binoculars more protective and long-lasting. In this case, non-ED binoculars are cheaper and designed with less durable body materials, legend, coatings, and prisms.
Most modern binoculars are designed with low dispersion optical glass whereas ED binoculars provide advanced level low dispersion. As a result, the chromatic aberrations will be reduced perfectly. At the same time, controlled color fringing techniques make the images crystal clear and bright. ED glass binoculars are compact and lightweight whereas cheaper non-ED glass binoculars are bulky and heavier. ED binoculars are more suitable for anything like bird watching, sightseeing, hiking, fishing, or watching concerts or shows.
Now the question is, is preventing the color-fringing ability of ED glass binoculars worth the extra cost? The answer is it depends on your preferences, purposes as well as budget. It’s a good decision not to buy cheaper binoculars. You will get poor performance and less durable binoculars. At the same time, the poor quality and lower resolution images may cause headaches and sometimes pain in your eyes. ED binoculars can be used by both kids and adults. So investing in ED glass binoculars won’t be a loss for you. They have a longer shelf life, are suitable for every purpose, waterproof, compact, and lightweight. If you can afford the cost, you should buy ED glass binoculars.
Example of ED Glass Binoculars
ZEISS Terra ED 10×42 Binoculars
Key Features:
- Comes with 10x magnification power
- The diameter of the objective lens is 42mm
- Designed with SCHOTT ED glass
- Hydrophobic multi-coating on the ED glass
- Automatic index finger landing on the focusing wheel
- Made by fiberglass
- 88% light transmission ability
- Features 16 Millimeters of eye relief
- Comes with 4.2 millimeters of the exit pupil
- Features sharp center focus
- Comes with an anti-slip rubber grip
- Lightweight, robust and compact
- Waterproof and fog proof
- Able to produce a high-resolution image
- Can control color fringing
- Delivers optical precision and clarity
Limitations of ED glasses
Nothing is perfect in the world So ED glasses have some downsides along with a lot of advantages. Some of the limitations of ED glasses –
- ED glass needs the same focal length of deeply curved elements because it has low index refraction.
- ED glasses’ focal length may change for temperature changes as they are less stable with temperature. So a small temperature change will lead to focal length variation.
Wrapping it up
Is it a wise decision to invest in ED binoculars? What do you think now after this discussion? The actual answer is it depends on your purposes and desire and how much you want to invest in binoculars. If you love sightseeing, bird watching, hiking, or using binoculars professionally for observing wildlife and sports, you should choose ED binoculars. The extra cost for ED glass will be worth the money as you will get quality binoculars along with higher performance and longevity. Hopefully, this content will help you to make the right decision before buying a pair of binoculars.
