Another consideration when choosing your optic is the category of optical performance - these measurements give you digestible numbers to show how much light is making it to your pupil. This is generally represented by a percentage of light and three common calculations to show how much light is moving through your binocular. The light transmission percentage is determined by a machine that measures the entire optical system. This can be a bit misleading as usually, you get the maximum measurement and not the full visual spectrum.

Hopefully this blog post will help you better understand the complex world of USB connectors and protocols. It is an essential part of modern electronics and understanding the different types can help you make the right choices when purchasing devices and cables. Regardless of the device - whether it's an Arduino , Raspberry Pi , Teensy board, or anything else - there's a USB cable that fits the bill.

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The purpose of USB was to have a standard cable that allows you to connect devices easily and that works without hassle. This means that if you connect a device with a USB cable, the device will work immediately without having to install any additional software.

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In today's digital world, Universal Serial Bus, commonly known as USB , is ubiquitous. But there is some confusion about USB connections and protocols. Let's unravel this mess and learn more about the different USB types and their applications, especially when it comes to products from Opencircuit.

The prism assembly serves to correct the image so that it doesn’t appear flipped. It also shortens the optic to make it more compact, streamlined, and lighter.

One of the main advantages of USB technology is its ability to power and charge devices. This is made possible by the fifth pin in the USB connector, known as the VBUS pin. This pin provides a voltage of 5 Volts, which is usually enough to charge and power most portable devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and even some laptops.

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But the real game-changer came with the introduction of USB Power Delivery ( USB PD). This is a specification introduced with USB Type-C that allows for up to 100 Watts of power to be delivered. As a result, even devices with high power consumption, such as laptops, can now be charged via USB . This makes USB a versatile solution for powering and charging a wide variety of electronic devices.

These prisms are oriented in a straight line and are located within the optical tube. This creates a smaller, more compact, and durable binocular. Because this prism splits the light wavelengths (which are then recombined with the lenses), phase shift can occur. Because this needs to be corrected light gathering qualities and image contrast can suffer. For this reason, high quality roof prism binoculars are typically more expensive due to improved coating technology.

In addition to the different forms of connectors, there is also a variety of USB protocols, which determine the speed and capacity of data transfer. USB 1.0 and 2.0 were the first versions, with 2.0 supporting a maximum transfer rate of 480 Mbps. USB 3.0, also known as USB 3.1 Gen 1, increased this to 5 Gbps, while USB 3.1 Gen 2, also known as USB 3.2, further increased this to 10 Gbps. The latest protocol is USB 4, which supports speeds of up to 40 Gbps. These protocols can be used with any type of USB connector, depending on the specifications of the device.

The second formula is Brightness; this is the exit pupil squared. So in an 8x42, this number is 5.252² = 27.56. Greater than 25 is considered ideal.

USB -A is probably the best known and most used connector. This type of connector is found at the end of most USB cables and is the plug that plugs into your computer or charger. USB -A's design is simple: a rectangular connector that plugs in only one way. This type of connector is still widely used, especially in desktop computers, laptops, Raspberry Pi boards, and in charging adapters and power supplies.

In this guide we hope to give you the knowledge base you need to select the perfect optic for your application as well as giving you an understanding of how each item in our specifications list affects the optic you are looking to purchase. We will be adding to this guide continually, so check back often for updates and additional information.

Schmidt pechan prismvs roofprism

USB -C is the newest and most advanced USB connector to date. It has a reversible design, meaning you no longer have to worry about which side to plug in. USB -C is quickly becoming the standard for most portable devices, including smartphones, tablets and laptops, as well as the latest generations of Raspberry Pi and Teensy development boards. It also supports USB 3.1, which means it can support data transfer rates of up to 10 Gbps, as well as charging higher powered devices.

The diagram to the right (or below on mobile) shows the core parts you will find on most binoculars - use this as a reference when we are describing different parts of the binocular. At its most basic level the objective lens gathers light while inverting the image, that light goes next into the prisms which correct the inverted image (rotate and flip it back to the correct orientation), which then goes into the ocular lens which magnifies the original image. The focus wheel moves a lens in the housing to bring the image into focus while the diopter adjusts for differences between the left and right eye. Most of our optics come with strap attachments, and a method to attach to an adapter.

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However, Micro-A is relatively rare compared to Micro-B. This is because many devices that require a USB host connection, such as computers and game consoles, still use the larger USB -A. Most smartphones and tablets, as well as many other portable devices such as Bluetooth speakers, headphones, power banks, and some models of Arduino and Teensy boards, use Micro-B connectors.

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USB -B connectors are another well-known form of USB connector, although they are not as common as USB -A. They are almost square in shape and are usually used in larger peripherals such as printers, external hard drives and also in some Arduino models, such as the Arduino UNO. While not as widely used as USB -A, USB -B remains an important part of many devices, especially those designed for heavy use and requiring a strong, sturdy connector.

The successor to the Mini USB is the Micro USB . Even more compact than the Mini USB , this smaller connector quickly became the standard for many portable devices, including most Android smartphones and certain models of Raspberry Pi . While some manufacturers have moved to USB -C, Micro USB remains common, particularly in lower-cost devices. The Micro USB connector is smaller than Mini USB and can only be plugged in one way.

The last formula is Twilight Factor, this is another formula for brightness/resolution in low light for a binocular – because it is a more complex measurement, some feel it’s a better representation. This is calculated as the square root of (objective diameter x magnification). So in an 8x42 bino, 8x42=336 – √ 336 = 18.33. Again, the higher the twilight factor, the better the resolution in low light.

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This reflective prism system is used primarily in telescopes and more recently in some high-end binoculars. The Abbe-Koenig prism bends the light 3 times as opposed to the more common Schmidt-Pechan prism which bends the light 5 times. This creates a mid-sized binocular that produces the same high quality image and light gathering capabilities as a Porro-Prism, but is more compact and durable. Paired with high quality coatings and lenses, this optical system produces a very bright image.

Magnification will be one of your first considerations when it comes to selecting an optic. Are you (relatively) near or far away from the object you want to view? Is the subject you are viewing moving?

USB , or Universal Serial Bus, is something we often use to connect devices such as a mouse or a keyboard to a computer. In the 1990s, before USB , there were many different types of cables and plugs. That was quite complicated. So big companies like Intel and Microsoft decided to team up and make something new. That became USB .

In the case of wildlife viewing magnification is very important. If you are cataloging the birds in your backyard for instance you will be relatively close to your subject and (being a bird) it is likely to move about quickly. For this application you would want a low magnification - this will increase your field of view and make it easier to find your subject - and see identifying characteristics. If you look at the diagram below you may be looking at a pronghorn, because both sexes can have horns one needs to find a dark cheek patch to signal the animal is male. For this application you may want a mid to high magnification for making that determination.

Field of view (FOV) shows up a lot in our specs as well as in articles about what optics to buy, but what does it mean? Simply it is just the amount of space you can see through the optics measured in degrees.

The main physical difference between Micro-A and Micro-B is the shape of the connector. Micro-A is rectangular, while Micro-B is a bit asymmetrical with a small notch on one side. This makes it easy to distinguish them visually and prevents you from accidentally using the wrong cable.

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Over the years, improvements in USB standards have also increased the amount of power that can be delivered. With the introduction of USB 2.0, the maximum current was increased to 500 milliamps (mA). The subsequent USB 3.0 increased this limit to 900 mA.

The very first USB came out in 1996, this was USB 1.0. With this USB you could send data at a speed of up to 12 megabits per second. That was very fast at the time, but it is not fast enough for today's devices. That's why newer USB have been created that are much faster. The latest USB , USB 3.2, can transfer data at a speed of 20 gigabits per second. That's about 1667 times faster than the first USB ! That shows how much the technology has improved since the first USB .

In the diagram above you can see that the size of the objective (along with magnification) dictates the diameter of the beam of light hitting your pupil. Ideally, the exit pupil should be about the size of the pupil of your eye. In general, larger is better – an exit pupil of greater than 5 is considered best.

The Mini-A connector was originally designed to connect to a computer connection and the Mini-B connector to connect to a device. This means that if you had a digital camera with a Mini USB port, for example, it would probably be a Mini-B connection. However, Mini-A was soon discarded due to its limited utility, and you'll rarely, if ever, come across it these days.

According to Wikipedia a typical human visual field is over 200° with both eyes (though much of it is peripheral)[1]. These B.2's are rated at 7.4° (7x). All are measured at 1000yds. At 1000yds every degree of view is equal to 52.5 feet. So If you take the amount of degrees and multiply by 52.5 you end up with the horizontal distance you can see in your optic. The last spec that you’ll see FOV in is Apparent FOV; this is the FOV in degrees multiplied by the power. In our example to the left the 7x comes out to 51.8°. This number describes your field of view through the optic. [1]Wikipedia contributors, "Visual field," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Visual_field&oldid=993364595 (accessed December 14, 2020).

The first formula, Exit Pupil, is determined by dividing the size of the objective lens by the power. In an 8x42 binocular 42/8 = 5.25. This represents the diameter of the beam of light coming through the binocular eyepiece.

Unlike the Mini generation, both types of Micro USB connectors - A and B are still commonly found in the wild. As with Mini USB , the original intention was for Micro-A to be used for host connections (such as computers), while Micro-B was for devices.

This is the prism system used in traditional, old-school binoculars. The objective lenses are offset from the ocular lenses and are set farther apart than the ocular lenses. These binoculars are simpler to build and usually less expensive to make. Porro-prism binoculars produce a high quality image and have great light-gathering capabilities. They are, however, heavier and significantly less durable than newer optical systems, so high-end binoculars made with Porro-prisms are less common.

Before the micro- USB connector was invented, you had the Mini USB . This compact version of the USB -B connector was widely used for portable devices such as digital cameras, older MP3 players and certain types of Arduino boards, such as the Arduino Nano. Although it has been largely replaced by Micro USB and now USB -C, you will still come across devices that use Mini USB . The characteristic of a Mini USB connector is the five-pin configuration. Although smaller than USB -B, it is slightly larger than Micro USB . The connector cannot be inserted in reverse; there is a specific way to connect it.

You can see in the diagram to the left the higher the magnification the smaller the field of view. It seems important to note that the largest drop in field of view is between the 9x and 11x (or 8x and 10x in other models). Optics with a wide field of view equate to being better able to find your subject, following moving targets, and are less likely to magnify shaking from the user.