Binoculars and Telescopes

Binoculars and Telescopes

Binoculars or telescopes are essential to investigators conducting surveillance work. Many investigators find themselves sitting behind a curtained window, binoculars in hand, waiting for a subject to appear. Naturally, in surveillance, the farther away from the subject you can be, the less chance you have of detection, so a small telescope or binoculars are usually best. Binoculars are one of the essential pieces of surveillance equipment. They range in price and size, just as so many other items do. You should purchase the best set of binoculars that your budget will allow.

Powers of 7X50 or 10X50 will be useful all around. High quality 7X and 8X binoculars work well in most environments because images are brighter when the field of view is wider. The wider field of view also ensures that you’ll miss less of any quick movements made by your target. The 10X and higher will provide more detail and better viewing for longer distances and open terrain.

With a high-power, high-quality compact you’ll need a steady hand or a tripod because of the sensitivity. If you wear glasses, look for binoculars with long eye relief. Most binoculars can stand being out in light rain, but cannot stand a downpour or being submerged in liquid. If you anticipate a lot of work in this kind of weather, purchase a waterproof set.

When using binoculars, it is important to learn how to properly focus each eye, individually. The procedure is simple and allows one pair of binoculars to be used by different people who have varying qualities of eyesight.

When using a telescope it is important to keep both eyes open. This may seem unnatural or difficult at first, but it can be mastered with a little practice. The reason for keeping the dormant eye open is to prevent developing fuzzy vision when putting the telescope down to see normally again.