Re: Are binoculars really an advantage? (was Re: ATM 20-25-30 inch)

["Clive Milne" <milnecd@wantree.com.au>]

>Mark wrote...

>I seem to remember reading that an object viewed under binocular
>conditions will appear 40% brighter than the same object viewed
> under monocular conditions due to the way our visual cortex
>combines the images from our eyes.

.... I think the 40% gain is altogether way too conservative, based on
my personal experience I would suggest that the visual experience
that bino's afford is more closely related to total surface area of your
optics.... there are some who suggets that even this is conservative,
but as much as I would like to find that the case, I would suggest that
the reality lies somewhere in between....
....

> Figuring the gain in resolution of a binocular telescope is a different
>story.

.... You bet it is...... and I would suggest that detail perception is an
issue that is quite a bit more complex than just text book formulas.
....I have spent a fair bit of time evaluating the merits of a prism type
beam splitter binocular viewer on my 7" Apo....the benifits  to deep
sky viewing are marginal, ...... but on high brightness / high contrast
objects the improvement in "percieved" detail is stunning... It is quite
extrordinary the way splitting the same signal between two eyes
allows the human brain to cut through atmospheric turbulence...That
would indicate to me that physiological effects play a much larger
role in telescope resolution than perhaps commonly accepted....
.... At the very least it should be noted that arguing the case for a
binocular or monocular system based on the Dawes limit, or any
other mathematical presumption for that matter, is a little naive....
... All I can suggest is that you find someone with a well built Bino
of large aperture and take a peek through the eyepieces.....
....... You will love it, if for no other reason than the sense of dimension
it provides...... objects are really there, not just as a two dimensional
image.... it is like comparing a picture of a sunset with the real thing...