I found a long, forgotten Bushnell Ensign 7x35 binocular that used to belong to my FIL. An avid hunter with bow, shotgun and rifle. I was amazed by the clarity of the glass and decided to put it back in service but I have a few, simple questions beings there are no instructions. In the first pic it looks like 394' @ 1000 yds. What does that mean to me? Also in the pic on the hinge there are gradients from 60- to 70+. Are these just reference points, also. In the second pic, there are gradients of 0 to +2 and 0 to -3 on the right ocular. Are these just for focus reference and if so why is only on the right ocular and not the left? Dumb it down for me, please.
1) 394' at 1000yds is your field of view at that distance. 2) The angle dial on the hinge is just a reference for comfortable viewing for the interocular distance between your eyes. 3) The +/- on the right ocular is for fine focus. Close your right eye and focus the left ocular with the center dial then close your left eye and focus your right eye by turning the ocular ring on the right. Once that is set it should give you focus for both eyes when you use the center dial. If you didn't have a center focus, you'd have a +/- scale on both oculars. Hope this makes sense...
Now.... Get a paint pen and mark your individual settings on eye width and diopter so you can rapidly return the binoculars to your own eyes.
Those markings hearken back to when binoculars were shared. So, you would want to know the hinge angle that fits your actual pupil distance, and you'd want to know the diopter settings for your best focus. Some bino cases require a neutral or narrower "bend" to stow them way (hard cases are more like this). "Single focus, single power" binoculars are handy in that any thing in your field of view is right there, in focus, without fiddling about. Downside, of course, is that you can't "zoom in" on a specific thing with the binoculars, you need a different optic for that. But, that also gives you a better overview of a given area, too. So, like most things in life, a trade-off.
I wouldn’t have binoculars that did not have an adjustable diopter on one side. Young eyes tend to both be the same, but those days are gone for me.
