MILITARY BINOCULARS FOR
SALE AT QUICKTEST
This short essay is about handheld military
binoculars that are available on the domestic market, but
more specifically it is about those that I sell now or have
recently sold. I would be very glad (for my own information
if not for publication) of any other current models that
are definitely military that I may have missed. If
you wish to jump to the bottom of this article to read why
these binoculars are always 6X or 7X, or the merits of eyepiece
focus over centre focus, click here
RUSSIAN
When these first came onto the market they
were the Russian Military 7X30, there was only one model:
hard plastic screw-down eyecups (allows perfect vision for
spectacle-users), firmly-tethered lens caps over the objective
lenses, a rainguard with two screw-cap compartments containing
a pair of orange filters (they clip over the eyepieces to
enhance the contrast in misty conditions), and when you
look through them you see sighting graticules (to measure
the distance of targets of known height or to measure the
height of target of know distance). The binoculars
were marked with Russian script.
I doubt that they were the actual
binoculars issued to the Russian military, I strongly suspect
that the factory was continuing production for the domestic
market because there was no money left in the military.
As time passed the model changed subtlety,
and this is the model I now sell for £95.00. The optics
are identical to the military version, same quality, same
sighting graticules; the hard plastic screw-down eyecups
are replaced with the standard fold-down eyecups we see
on nearly all domestic binoculars; the firmly-tethered lens
caps over the objective lenses aren't quite so firm (if
you pull hard they come off); the rainguard has no screw-caps
(or if it does, there are no filters inside). You
will also notice English characters printed on the binoculars,
a dead-giveaway that they could not possibly be original
Russian military. But they are the same optical
quality. A couple of years ago I was selling these for £149.00
(I had 3 or 4) but I have now bought a few dozen, hence
my price of £95.00.
The story does not, however, end here.
Later versions are shoddily constructed, not of the same optical
quality, with dust inside. I can only
assume that factory workers were taking parts home and making
the binoculars on their kitchen table! So please don't
contact me to boast that you have been offered some at half
price, you should buy these from an experienced optical dealer
(e.g. me) to be certain you are getting the original, top
optical quality.
At the antiques fairs and on eBay I often
see a black metal Russian 8X30 described as 'military' and
usually for sale at between £20.00 and £30.00. I know these
well, I used to import them, they are not military and my
retail price (when I imported them) was £12.50. So please
don't assume that any binocular with Russian script is military.
CHINESE
The Chinese are relative newcomer to the
optical market when it comes to selling military-specification
binoculars - so new, in fact, that we don't have any mental
image of "Chinese Military." We know that
China produces every conceivable type of domestic binocular,
we know, academically, that they must have an optical
industry for the military (I'd be surprised if they source
military equipment from Japan, America or Europe) - but
what are their binoculars like?
Answer: amazing!
The "Artemis" 7X50, £185.00,
is not just incredible in optical quality, it is built to
the most rugged military specifications (so the official
blurb tells us anyway) and it manages to be small
and lightweight. In fact, when I took delivery of
my very first sample I thought they'd sent me a 7X40 by
accident and I had to measure the lens to confirm that it
was a 7X50.
As with the Russian military binoculars,
not all is as it seems,. there is a heavier version that uses
the same optics but has been designed for the domestic market
- I think the idea is that customers don't think they're getting
value for money unless the item is really heavy.
AMERICAN
A lot of British buyers think that because
I sell the FUJINON FMTR-SX as, "Made to U.S. military
specification" that it must be made especially for
(and currently used by) the U.S. military. This assumption
is because the British military have (traditionally) had
binoculars made only for the British military, they
are never on sale to the public.
It is not like that in the U.S. The
U.S. military will (like the British) have their own "military
specification" (mil-spec) but they will find something
that is already made, off-the-shelf and (in all probability)
already in the shops. They may, on occasion, ask for
variations and I'm sure they negotiate a good price for large
quantities, but the mil-spec binocular you buy in the shop
IS the same as the mil-spec binocular the U.S. Military have
approved. And such an item will still be mil-spec even
after the military have stopped using it. So it is with
the FMTR-SX 6X30, 7X50 and 10X50. Now I know, for a fact,
that the U.S. Military used to use the 6X30 but don't any
more because it was too expensive (!); and I've spoken to
American servicemen who say the 7X50 may well be U.S. mil-spec
but he doesn't remember ever seeing them; and I know the 10X50
wouldn't be used because 10X is considered too powerful for
a handheld binocular. But they are all mil-spec nevertheless.
Finally, two little stories about the FUJINON
FMTR-SX series.
Firstly, I once placed one of these (at
one of our shows) on a high shelf. A customer asked
if he could lift it down, I said no, I'd pass it to him,
he ignored me, grabbed it and dropped it onto the concrete
floor. To my utter amazement not only did it remain
in perfect alignment [1] but there wasn't a dent
or scuff on it! I do not, however, advise a deliberate
'drop test' for any binocular!
Secondly, I listen with glee at the 'purists'
in optics comparing the FUJINON FMTR-SX range with the same
magnification / lens diameter in Zeiss and Leica: they think
the optical quality of the FUJINON is better. I hasten
to add that I have never compared them directly, if Zeiss
or Leica would like to donate to me a 7X50 and 10X50 I would
gladly make the comparison and report back on this web site.
BRITISH
The only modern (1980s) binocular you see
on the open market that is obviously military is the fixed
focus 7X40 AVIMO. These are usually released by the
MOD (Ministry of Defence) when they are considered Beyond
Economical Repair. If you are lucky this is because
the outside is tatty, but often it is because they are out
of alignment. This is one of the very few binoculars
that cannot be re-aligned. Its distinctive shape makes
the AVIMO instantly recognisable, even when the name has been
removed. It is, in fact, a fairly awful binocular but I like
it because it is (when in good condition) quite a good seller
providing the price is reasonable. It is fixed focus
(not auto-focus) focused on infinity providing you have normal
eyesight. Since a high proportion of the population wear spectacles,
the only option is to keep the spectacles on, and because
of the badly-designed rubber eyecups you can't get your eye
close enough to the eyepiece to see anything. Also, the unusual
shape means that you have to raise your head quite high above
a parapet and then you get shot - though not, I suppose, if
you're merely using it for bird watching.
I did have (but now sold out) a very
nice very lightweight 6X30 by Edna. Unremarkable in
appearance, completely bland, noticeable only because of
its unusually good optical quality and light weight. Confidently
described, by my suppliers, as 'military', supplied as a
'production overrun by the factory.
I simply don't know of any
modern (1970s onwards) British military binoculars that
have come onto the open market (I don't mean the many 6X30s
with NATO numbers that are still in use, these were made
in the 1940s and so are not 'modern').
WHY ONLY 6X
OR 7X MAGNIFICATION?
The military have the money and the authority
to order binoculars of any magnification they wish.
They know (as does every binocular dealer and enthusiast)
that the lower the power the easier it is to get good quality
with a small binocular; the lower the power the brighter
the image; the lower the power the wider the field
of view. And the entire point of a binocular is to
be able to see what is going on, there's no point in having
binoculars so strong that you can identify the rifle held
by a soldier on a distant hill but not have the field of
view to see his colleagues shooting at you.
This is why the standard strength for the
infantry (and the smallest and easiest binocular to carry)
is 6X. And the 'powerful' binoculars used at
sea (though these binoculars are always quite large) are
7X. They do have 10X, but a decent 10X (decent
in optical quality) would be too large to hold and would be
used mounted.
WHY EYEPIECE FOCUS?
Those who have become used to centre focus
binoculars get to like them so much that they object to
binoculars that are eyepiece focus. With centre focus
you must turn the centre wheel to focus both eyes but have
only one eye open (usually the left) then you must shut
the left eye and focus the right eye by turning the eyepiece,
then you turn the centre wheel again to focus both eyes
together, first on something nearby then something far away,
and if one eye is slightly out of focus you start again.
Why people fall in love which such a complicated system
I really don't know, eyepiece focus is so much simpler.
With eyepiece focus you turn each eyepiece
separately (focus the left eye, focus the right eye). All
military binoculars use this system. The eyepieces on military
binoculars will be marked clearly in dioptres (+ and - with
zero in the middle for 'normal'). You remember your
dioptre number for each eyepiece then if you lend the binocular
to someone and they focus it differently, you simply turn
each eyepiece back to your setting when you get them back,
no need to look through them, you now know that they will
in focus for your eyes, so simple! And if you notice, over
the months and years, that your dioptre setting is changing
slightly, then you know it's time to go and see your optician.
You may think that you have to focus binoculars
continuously for near and far targets. Well, yes, you do with
powerful binoculars, but with 6X and 7X the only time you
will have to re-focus for distance is if you are looking at
something very close. So if you are a keen bird watcher
and you must be able to focus on a fast-moving bird
as it lands a few meters away, then you may prefer
centre focus. But please don't ask me for military centre
focus, they don't exist.
