Welcome to Optics Trade Debates. Today we’re discussing a subcategory of rangefinders, namely stabilized rangefinders that you can find on our website.
We already talked about hunting rangefinders, archery rangefinders and those intended for the use on a golf course but we haven’t yet paid enough attention to stabilized rangefinders. We gathered the most common questions that we receive from our clients on rangefinders of this type, and we hope that this video will help you make an informed purchase.
Stabilized rangefinders are a new trend in the field of optics. They are not exactly a separate category entirely but more of a new feature that can be used in hunting, archery, gold and elsewhere. We believe that all laser rangefinder optics of the future will feature a stabilized rangefinder but due to the current spark of interest, we do sometimes catalogue optical products of this kind under one group.
Now, what is the actual feature? With stabilized rangefinders, the user can push the measuring button and the optical structure inside the system will stabilize itself, so that a clear and steady image can appear on the display.
There are many technologies used for image stabilization (Nikon models use mechanical stabilization, for instance) but the final result should be the same. No matter the movement of the user’s hand, they should be able to precisely measure and observe small objects.
Normally, when the user clicks on the measurement button, the reticle appears inside the objective and the user will have to point at the desired point of distance measurement themselves. This is not an easy task, since the point is really small, not to mention that laser rangefinders usually have a magnification power of 6 or 7. The physical properties of these devices do not help either, as they are usually hand-held and quite compact.
All in all, it will be really hard to point to a small mark in the distance and get the exact reading of the distance to that point, especially if the point we are talking about is a really small object. With the image stabilization feature, this is made easier.
The physical properties of rangefinder devices remain the same and here brand specifics play a huge role. For example, most Nikon rangefinder devices are waterproof and their casings are wrapped in rubber, making them more robust.
As we said, stabilized rangefinder devices can be used in different areas but are perhaps especially useful in the sport of golf. On the golf course, the flags (used as visual markers to measure the distance of the holes) are really small and a rangefinder device with a stabilizer feature can come really handy.
Interestingly enough, this tempting new feature is not yet available with many traditional, top-level quality brands like Leica, Sig Sauer and Zeiss. This will surely change in the future because of the user-friendliness of stabilized laser rangefinder devices.
This brings us to the end of our discussion. As always, we thank you for your time. Leave your thoughts on this topic and any questions you might have in the comment section below, we’ll be more than happy to reply. Please like, share the video and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel. See you next time!
Products mentioned:
Stabilized Rangefinders
