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History of Binoculars Timeline

(1608–Present)

The history of binoculars traces the development of paired optical instruments from early telescopes to the compact, powerful devices used today for astronomy, nature observation, navigation, and military purposes. Less

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Early development

Galilean designs reach widespread use

1800 - 1899

Galilean binocular designs were widely used during the 19th century, before later giving way to Porro prism types near the end of the century.

Prism and optical design

Carl Kellner configuration

1849

Carl Kellner invented the configuration that became the most common form of Kellner eyepiece, an optical design used in viewing instruments including binoculars.

Porro prism patent

1854

Ignazio Porro patented the image-erecting prism system that later became the basis of Porro prism binoculars.

Image source: Porro prism

Porro prism patent

Ernst Abbe displays a prism telescope

1873

At the 1873 Vienna Trade Fair, German optical designer and scientist Ernst Abbe displayed a prism telescope using two cemented Porro prisms.

Image source: Ernst Abbe

Ernst Abbe displays a prism telescope

Improved Crown glass produced

1888

Glass scientist Otto Schott produced a better type of Crown glass in 1888, an advance that contributed to later improvements in binocular optics.

Galilean designs give way to Porro types

1890 - 1899

By the end of the 19th century, Galilean binoculars had largely been superseded by Porro prism designs.

Modern Porro prism binoculars introduced

1894

The refinement of Porro prism optics by Ernst Abbe, Otto Schott, and instrument maker Carl Zeiss resulted in the commercial introduction of improved modern Porro prism binoculars by Carl Zeiss in 1894.

Pentaprism binoculars enter the market

1897

Moritz Hensoldt began marketing binoculars based on pentaprisms, an early roof-prism approach to erecting images and folding the optical path.

Image source: Roof prism

Pentaprism binoculars enter the market

Schmidt–Pechan prism invented

1899

The Schmidt–Pechan prism design was invented in 1899 and later became one of the principal prism systems used in roof prism binoculars.

Image source: Schmidt–Pechan prism

Schmidt–Pechan prism invented

Abbe–Koenig prism patented

1905

Carl Zeiss patented the Abbe–Koenig prism in 1905. The design was named after Ernst Karl Abbe and Albert König and was developed to erect images while folding the optical path.

Image source: Abbe–Koenig prism

Abbe–Koenig prism patented

Erfle configuration patented

1921

An Erfle configuration was patented in 1921. Variants of this wide-field optical arrangement became typical in wide-field binoculars.

Roof prism binoculars gain wider use

1950 - 1959

Binoculars with roof prisms came into use to a large extent from the second half of the 20th century onward.

Reversed Kellner eyepiece developed

1975

A reversed Kellner eyepiece was developed in 1975. Its field lens is a double-concave/double-convex achromatic doublet, while its eye lens is a double-convex singlet.

Applications and manufacturers

Five-mil rangefinding example

1900 - 1999

With a typical five-mil scale in which each mark represents five mils, a lighthouse measuring three marks high and known to be 120 meters tall is calculated to be 8,000 meters away.

Mil angular measurement defined

1900 - 1999

In binocular reticles, one mil is equivalent to the angle between the top and bottom of an object one meter high at a distance of 1,000 meters.

Large naval rangefinders deployed

1900 - 1999

Very large binocular naval rangefinders were used for ranging naval gun targets. Some had objective lenses separated by up to 15 meters and weighed as much as 10 tons.

Nebulae become binocular targets

1900 - 1999

Among celestial objects readily viewed through binoculars are the M17 nebula in Sagittarius and the North America Nebula, NGC 7000, in Cygnus.

Image source: Binoculars

Nebulae become binocular targets

Naval binoculars range distant targets

1939

During World War II, very large binocular naval rangefinders were used to measure distances to naval gun targets as far away as 25 kilometers.

Laser ranging reduces rangefinder use

1975 - 1999

Late-20th-century laser range-finding technology further made the naval rangefinding application of very large binoculars mostly redundant.

Radar reduces rangefinder use

1975 - 1999

Late-20th-century radar technology made the use of very large binocular naval rangefinders for this application mostly redundant.

Image source: Radar

Radar reduces rangefinder use

Bausch & Lomb ends binocular production

1976

Bausch & Lomb stopped making binoculars in 1976 and licensed its name to Bushnell, Inc., which continued making binoculars under the Bausch & Lomb name until the license expired and was not renewed in 2005.

Coatings and performance

Reflection losses reduce transmission

1900 - 1999

For 16 atmosphere-to-optical-glass surfaces, a 4 percent reflection loss theoretically results in about 52 percent light transmission, whereas a 1.5 percent reflection loss results in about 78.5 percent transmission.

Transparentbelag coating invented

1935

Olexander Smakula invented Transparentbelag, designated T, the first transparent interference-based coating used by Zeiss.

P-coating improves roof prism optics

1988

Before phase correction coatings were invented in 1988, Porro prism binoculars generally offered superior resolution and contrast to non-phase-corrected roof prism binoculars.

Phase correction coating developed

1988

Adolf Weyrauch developed the P-coating at Carl Zeiss in 1988. Phase correction coatings addressed a major optical disadvantage of roof prism binoculars.

Transmission reaches more than 90 percent

2000 - 2099

Advances in optical coatings allow high-quality 21st-century binoculars to achieve practical light-transmission values above 90 percent when measured at the eye or ocular lens in low-light conditions.

Binocular coatings multiply

2000 - 2099

In high-quality 21st-century binoculars, the various lens and prism coatings can total about 200 often superimposed coating layers.

High-quality roof prisms remain costly

2000 - 2099

The complex production requirements of high-quality roof prism binoculars make them more costly to produce than Porro prism binoculars of equivalent optical quality.

Zeiss Victory FL introduces P-coating

2004

Zeiss introduced the P-coating in its Victory FL binoculars in 2004. These binoculars featured Schmidt–Pechan prisms.

Image source: Carl Zeiss AG

Zeiss Victory FL introduces P-coating

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Key Facts

  1. The invention of the telescope in the Netherlands around 1608 provided the optical foundation for binoculars.
  2. In the 17th century, makers experimented with combining two telescopes so users could view objects with both eyes.
  3. Opera glasses became popular in the 19th century as compact binocular instruments for theaters and social events.
  4. Prism binoculars, developed in the 19th century, used prisms to shorten the optical path and create a more practical design.
  5. Modern binoculars incorporate improved coatings, waterproof construction, image stabilization, night vision, and digital imaging technologies.

Source

This History of Binoculars timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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