Diopter Setting in Binoculars | Optics Trade Debates

Welcome to Optics Trade debates. In each episode, we talk about a different topic and try to answer the most common questions we receive about it. Today we are going to answer questions we get regarding diopter setting in binoculars.

The diopter setting helps you with balancing the diopter of your eye. If you don’t have the same diopter on both your eyes, you can compensate with the diopter settings on the binoculars.

The glasses itself correct the differences between the left and the right eye, so when you’re wearing glasses and they are correcting your sight you should have the diopter setting on zero.

The diopter setting is set with a ring around the eyepiece. To set the diopter, you find an object that is about 100 m away, then you close the eye on the same side the ring is on. The easiest way to set it is to open the cap on the opposite side of the binoculars, look through and then focus on the object that you’re looking at.

Then you close the cover for the standard eye and you open the eye on the side of the compensation. You leave the central focusing knob alone and you just turn the diopter setting ring until you get a clear image. When you open both eyes they should be in sync, you should have the same clear image in both eyes.

Once you have the diopter set, you leave it alone and you just use the central focusing nob. When the compensation is made, the settings are optimal for your eyes only.

There are several types of diopter adjustments. The most common type is the additional ring on the eyepiece, either on the left or on the right.

On Laser Rangefinder binoculars you have a display inside one of the tubes, so you get the diopter compensation rings on both eyes. It’s a little more difficult than with only one compensation ring. You choose the barrel without the display for the standard, you set it correctly and then you compensate the other eye so that you see the object and the display clear. Then, you are able to focus normally.

Zeiss binoculars have the diopter compensation on the top of the bridge, so you have to check with which eye it works with.

The same is with Leica. You pull the knob on the bridge out, set the compensation and push the knob back in.

There are also some other less common types where the diopter compensation is on the rear part of binoculars, usually around the lenses.

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Products mentioned:
Binoculars: https://www.optics-trade.eu/en/binoculars.html