Marine Electronics Reviews
Image Stabilized Binoculars Reviewed on the Water

"Do Image Stabilized Binoculars Really Work?"

Yes they do! Today's cadre of image stabilized binoculars offer boatmen a significant optical advantage over other marine binoculars.

Over the years a magnification factor of 7x has proven to be the maximum practical magnification usable aboard a small boat with standard marine binoculars.

Using any higher level of magnification would be nearly impossible aboard a boat as sea without some way to stabilize the image.

Boat movement caused by wind and waves combined with hand jitters would make the viewed image unusable.

So what's the fix for getting a sharp, clear, usable image from binoculars with high magnification, like 10x, 12x, or even 16x in the rock and roll environment of a boat at sea?

Image stabilization or IS for short, is the answer.

Image stabilization is a broad term for any technology that takes the shake out of an image.

When equipped with IS technology modern binoculars can provide a clear sharp image at magnifications more than double what most boaters have ever used on the water.

Boaters who regularly use standard 7x marine binoculars will be astounded the first time they you use a high magnification IS binocular on a boat.

Not only will you be amazed by the added magnification but the stability of the image will seem unreal.

Give it a try for yourself.

To determine which of the marine-grade IS binoculars on the market today provide the sharpest, clearest image we decided to take several out on our test boat and put them through their paces.

You can read how we test IS binoculars here.