I bought a decent pair of binoculars on an auction website that happened to have a reticle built-in. The pair was a Zeiss 8×30 B/GA IF Safari Roof prism. At the time, I was unaware of what reticles were. I was just attracted to the olive green rubber armor coating on the body.
That was the first time I looked through binoculars with a reticle. At first, I was a little bothered by the scale in the field of view. After a while, however, I found it enjoyable to measure the distance of objects with this pair.
Only a few models have reticles because they are designed for business and military use, such as marine surveillance. Here, I’ll explain what a rangefinder reticle is and how to use it.
How do you measure distance or height with binoculars?
A reticle is built into the eyepiece in order to calculate the distance to an object. It also enables us to calculate the height.
Looking through binoculars with a rangefinder reticle, you’ll see scales in your view.
If you know the height or length of an object, you can calculate the distance.
For example, there is a lion in the field (see above). If you know that the height of the lion is 1.5 meters, the distance between you and the lion can be calculated as follows:
Don’t just stand there calculating; run away!!!
If you know the distance between you and an object, you can calculate the height or length.
If you know that a lion is 50 meters away, the height of the lion can be calculated as follows:
- What is a rangefinder reticle used for?
I feel a little regret for selling my Zeiss 8×30 safari roof prism binoculars.
Reticle rangefinders once played an important role in military and marine use. Now that laser rangefinders have become affordable and more accurate, reticle rangefinders are not used as often.
I sometimes miss my binoculars that had a reticle. It was a lot of fun calculating the height of a man working in a field. When he got closer to me after finishing his work, I would be surprised to see that he was the height I had anticipated.
