Hello All. I wanted to pose a question to the optics experts, or anyone else for that matter. First a little background. I own a pair of Ultravid 10x50 that is almost exclusively used on a tripod for long distance wildlife viewing. After about 4 days of looking at accumulated dust I decided to clean the objectives. Both lenses are now very clean except for a small (1mm) blemish on the right objective (barely noticeable). I don't think it is a scratch but who knows. Do small blemishes as noted impair image quality? The reason I ask is that I have a friend that uses 10x50 SLC and if you looked at his front objectives you would be horrified. When you look through his binoculars they seem as clear as a brand new pair. I normally would not worry about such things and I wonder if most of these theoretical image issues we have with binoculars are even perceptable to human vision. Just wanted a few opinions on the subject. Great forum.
Darin
quote:
...... don't think it is a scratch but who knows. Do small blemishes as noted impair image quality?
Frank D is correct. Dirt on the objectives is not visible, dirt/scratches on the oculars is immediately visible. As far as cleaning those Ultravids: that spot may go away with the help of a moist tissue or optics tissue ($3/box at your wallystore, Zeiss brand, at the eyeglass department). as far as cleaning, there is a useful thread here somewhere.