Bresser 8-22×50 zoom binoculars

Bresser Zoomar 8-22x50: broad overview and sharp detail in a single binoculars

The Bresser Zoomar 8-22x50 is a porro prism binocular with continuous zoom. You start at 8x with a wide field of view to locate something, and zoom in to 22x as soon as you want to see exactly what you are looking at. That makes it suitable for situations where the distance to your subject varies greatly: a polder, a dune, a harbor, a mountain valley.

With 50 mm objectives and BaK-4 prisms, it gathers enough light to remain usable even in the last hour before sunset. It is also well-suited for use on a tripod for the moon and bright star clusters.

Steplessly from 8x to 22x

The zoom lever is located on the right eyepiece and operates without click stops. At 8x, you view a width of 79 meters at a distance of 1,000 meters, more than enough to follow a moving animal or a ship. At 22x, that shrinks to 40 meters, but you see details that you miss with a fixed 10x50. In practice, you search at 8x and then zoom in, not the other way around.

50 mm optics with BaK-4 prisms

At 8x magnification, the 50-mm lenses produce an exit pupil of 6.3 mm, which corresponds to the pupil aperture of a naked eye in the dark. At 22x magnification, that drops to 2.3 mm and the image becomes noticeably darker: that’s just physics, not a flaw. The prisms are made of BaK-4, the higher-quality prism glass, and the optics are fully coated. So, no multi-coating, as found in the more expensive Bresser series. For this price range, it’s a fair, high-contrast combination.

Comfortable viewing, even with glasses

Fold down the rubber eyecups if you wear glasses. The eye relief is 20.5 mm at 8x and 15 mm at 22x, more than enough to keep seeing the full field of view. The diopter correction of plus or minus 3 compensates for the difference between your left and right eye. Focusing is possible from 7 meters, so butterflies and birds up close remain within reach.

Above 12x magnification you want a tripod

This is the advice we also give in the store: hand-held, any binoculars above about 12x magnification are shaky. Your own heartbeat becomes visible in the image. The Zoomar therefore has a tripod thread in the center axis. If you want to view seriously at 22x, factor a tripod and a tripod adapter into your budget. On a tripod, these binoculars are a completely different instrument than when hand-held.

Included

• Bresser Zoomar 8-22x50 zoom binoculars
• Lens and eyepiece caps
• Carrying Strap
• Carrying bag
• Manual

Featured accessories

A tripod adapter is the most important accessory: it connects the binoculars’ bridge to the tripod head. Place a sturdy tripod underneath—such as the Bresser TP-100 DX tripod—and you can use the full zoom range without any shaking. You can find more information about the optics of this merk on the Bresser 1TP5 Page.

For whom yes and for whom no

• ✓ You look at widely varying distances and do not want to carry two binoculars
• ✓ You want to be able to view the moon, star clusters, or a comet occasionally without a telescope
• ✓ You have a tripod or are willing to purchase one
• ✗ You are looking for the sharpest fixed magnification for your money: a fixed 10×50 wins on image quality
• You use it in all weather conditions at sea: this one is not waterproof and not gas-filled
• ✗ You want pure astronomy: then look at the astronomical telescopes with fixed magnification and larger objective lenses

Specifications

You will find more viewers with variable magnification at the zoom binoculars.