Cameras and Lenses
What determines Field of View?
I thought maybe a particular ocular/objective combination contributed to the FoV but that doesn't seem to be the case unless I'm missing something. I sit about halfway up near the goal line at Michigan Stadium and when watching the other end of the field, when the QB drops back to pass I have to pull the binocs down to see where the pass goes.
My new Zeiss Victory 8x42 has about the same FoV as my old 8x32 ELs. The largest FoV I can find is the Zen Ray EDII 7x36 with a 477" FoV and a reasonable 16.8mm eye relief. Is there something with more FoV as reasonable as the Zen Ray? Thanks.
Hello TP,
The short answer is the field stop in the eyepieces. The field stop is roughly the narrowest diameter of eyepiece, the widest piece of unobstructed glass. If you compare a narrow field binocular with a wide field binocular, other things being equal, the latter has the wider field stop.
To get a wide field with a sharp image across the greater part of the field requires a sophisticated design of the eyepiece.
I am sure that others will add to my rudimentary explanation.
Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood 
Don't believe the published FOV specs too literally - give them a try in the flesh, if possible. The distance of your eyes from the eyepeice will also be factor, as those of us with glasses know. FOV is larger when I look without my glasses so that my eyes are close to the eyepeice, but of course that isn't possible in the field.