Comparison Sigeta Panorama 15-40x50 vs Konus Konuspot-50

Angle of view provided by a telescope.

If you draw two lines from the centre of the lens to two opposite points along the edges of the field of view of the pipe, the angle between these lines will correspond to the angular field of view. Accordingly, the larger the angle, the wider the field of view; however, individual items in it will look smaller. Conversely, an increase in magnification is inevitably associated with a decrease in the viewing angle. And since most modern telescopes have a variable magnification, the angular field of view is also variable, and in the characteristics this indicator is indicated in the form of two numbers — for the minimum and for the maximum magnification.

The smallest distance to the object under consideration at which the telescope is able to fully focus on it — that is, the minimum distance at which the image in the eyepiece will remain clear.

Spotting scopes were originally designed for viewing distant objects, so focus problems can occur if the distance is too small. Thus, manufacturers indicate this parameter in the characteristics. However, even in the most powerful and "long-range" models, the minimum focus distance is about 25 m — at this distance, the naked eye is often enough. Therefore, you should pay attention to this parameter only in cases where the ability to work normally close is of fundamental importance — for example, if the pipe is used at a shooting range, where the distance to the targets can be different, including pretty small.

Exit pupil diameter of a spyglass.

The exit pupil is the projection of the image "seen" by the tube that appears just behind the eyepiece. A person sees an image in a telescope precisely due to the fact that the exit pupil is projected onto the eye.

The exit pupil diameter corresponds to the size of the lens divided by the magnification (see above for both). For example, for a pipe with an aperture of 50 mm, operating at a magnification of 25x, this size will be 50/25 = 2 mm. At the same time, it is believed that in order to ensure the most bright and comfortable image, the exit pupil should be no smaller than the pupil of the observer's eye — and this is 2-3 mm in the light and up to 8 mm (in the elderly — up to 5-6 mm) at dusk. This is the reason why for comfortable work at high magnifications and/or in low light conditions, a telescope must have a fairly large lens. However, most of these optical devices are designed for daytime use, and for this, an exit pupil of 1.33 mm in size is sufficient.

For most modern telescopes, the exit pupil diameter is indicated by two numbers — for the minimum and for the maximum magnification.

Removal of the exit pupil of a telescope.

About the exit pupil itself, see above. Here we note that the offset is such a distance from the eyepiece lens to the observer's eye, at which the size of the visible image from the lens corresponds to the visible size of the eyepiece lens. In other words, the observed "image" in this case occupies the entire space of the eyepiece, without vignetting (darkening at the edges) and without "spreading" beyond the edges of the eyepiece. In this case, the overall image quality will be the best.

When looking down the pipe with the naked eye, the observer usually has no problem getting into the offset distance, and this parameter can be ignored. Problems can arise if the user wears glasses and the diopter adjustment (see above) is not sufficient to comfortably view without glasses. In such cases, it is desirable to use models with eye relief of at least 15 mm: although such a distance will not provide the highest image quality when viewed with glasses, it will allow using the device without any special difficulties. However, in modern telescopes, this parameter can reach 18 mm or even more.

Also note that eye relief may decrease somewhat with increasing magnification; in such cases, two numbers are indicated in the characteristics, corresponding to the removal at the minimum and at the maximum magnification.

The type of optics enlightenment provided in the telescope.

Enlightenment is called a special coating applied to the surface of the lens. This coating is designed to reduce light loss at the air-glass interface. Such losses inevitably arise due to the reflection of light, and the anti-reflective coating "turns" the reflected rays back, thus increasing the light transmission of the lens. In addition, this function reduces the amount of glare on objects visible through a telescope.

Enlightenment types can be:

— Single layer. This marking means that one or more surfaces of the lenses (but not all) have been coated with a single layer of anti-reflection coating. This is inexpensive and can be used even in entry-level optical devices. On the other hand, it filters out a certain spectrum of light, which distorts the colour reproduction in the visible image — sometimes quite noticeably. In addition, in this case, on some surfaces of the lenses there is no coating at all, which inevitably leads to the appearance of glare in the field of view. Thus, single-layer enlightenment is the simplest variety and is used extremely rarely, mainly in low-cost models.

— Full single layer. A variation of the single-layer coating described above, in which an anti-reflection coating is present on all lens surfaces (at each air-glass interface). Although this option is also characterized...by colour distortion, it is devoid of another, the most key drawback of “incomplete” enlightenments — glare in the field of view. And the mentioned colour rendition distortion is most often not critical. With all this, full single-layer enlightenment is relatively inexpensive, due to which it is very popular in spyglasses of primary and primary-intermediate levels.

— Multi-layered. A type of coating in which a multilayer reflective coating is applied to one or more lens surfaces (but not all). The advantage of such a coating over a single-layer coating is that it evenly transmits almost the entire visible spectrum and does not create noticeable colour distortions. The absence of a coating on individual surfaces reduces the cost of the device (compared to full multilayer coating), but it is impossible to completely get rid of glare in such a system.

— Full multilayer. The most advanced and effective of today's types of coating: a multi-layer coating is applied to all lens surfaces. Thus, high brightness and clarity of the “picture” are achieved, with natural colour reproduction and the absence of glare. The disadvantage of this classic option is the high cost; accordingly, full multilayer enlightenment is typical mainly for high-end telescopes.

The material used for prisms mounted in a telescope (see "Type of Prisms").

— BK7. A variety of borosilicate optical glass (crown), a relatively inexpensive and at the same time quite functional material that provides, although not outstanding, but quite acceptable image quality. It is used in models of initial and intermediate levels.

— BaK4. Barium optical glass, which is noticeably superior to BK7 in terms of brightness and image clarity, but also more expensive. Found mainly in premium spyglasses.

Material and general construction of the telescope housing.

Most modern models use rubberized cases, in which a solid base (metal or durable polycarbonate) is covered with rubber. This provides not only strength, but also increased shock resistance — even in the case when shock resistance as such (see above) is not claimed in the characteristics. In premium models, magnesium alloy cases are found — it is characterized by high strength combined with low weight.

A separate category are the Galilean pipes (see above) — they are usually produced in a "retro" design and use appropriate materials, such as copper and a high-quality leatherette cover.