Why Do Binoculars have Red Lenses? Debunking the Myths!

It can be surprising or confusing for you if you’ve just seen red binocular lenses for the very first time. Normal binoculars don’t have any color on their lenses, so seeing very few optics nowadays having colors on the lenses can take your mind quite easily.

Curiosity is something that drives one towards the research and you might be thinking as well about the lens colors. In this guide, we will be talking about ‘‘why do binoculars have red lenses’’ and what are the advantages of using binoculars that have red lenses. 

The colors on the lenses are due to different levels of coating which make them fit for low-light hunting. The red lenses’ binoculars are due to the rugby coating which filters out the red color and supports the blue and green colors to increase your visual comfort in low light conditions.

It was just a brief answer; we have got a lot more to guide you about. Stay connected with us so that you don’t miss anything about the red lenses of binoculars.

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History behind the color of lenses

Initially, there was no advanced technology and the companies also had resources to produce binoculars. There was nothing fancy and the users had to use binos with normal lenses no matter if they would use binoculars for hunting, birding, or anything else.

But Steiner had come up with the idea of color lenses for the very first time and since then it has become a kind of trend. The well-known brands produce binoculars with red, green, or even blue lens colors to ensure that the users get a good viewing experience for different outdoor activities.

Why do some binoculars have red lenses?

The reason behind the usage of red lenses is to suppress the effect of redness in the image. When you use binoculars in low light conditions, then the red colors become more powerful and give your eyes an uncomfortable feeling and you feel tired. 

But when you use binoculars with red lenses (Rugby coated binoculars) then the visuals that you see have less radish effect and the effect and blue and green colors become more prominent which gives a soothing effect to your eyes.

Usually, red color always gives slightly uncomfortable feelings whereas blue and green colors are considered suitable for your eyes. So, when you go out hunting at night, then these red lens binoculars give you a more comfortable viewing experience with less reddishness and more effect of blue and green colors.

You have to keep in mind that red lens binoculars are only helpful for low-light hunting as they will give you better visibility and less eye tiredness and pain. In fact, the usage of red lenses in the binoculars helps you use binoculars for an extended duration without having any sort of trouble.

You might also like to read: Are Old Binoculars Worth the Money?

How do manufacturers make red lens binoculars?

Lenses are made red by different levels of coatings. Look, different coating layers are used for increasing the quality of the binoculars. For making the lenses red, a special type of coating known as rugby coating is applied to ensure that the reddish effect goes away and you get a good greenish and bluish effect in the visuals when used at low light conditions.

Are red lenses of binoculars any good?

Nothing made on the earth is useless and many optics brands are using red lenses because they give some positive results. Below are some advantages of using rugby-coated binoculars.

• Increase color contrast without the reddish effect.
• Produce less stress to the eye when used such binos for an extended duration
• Better visual depth when used in low light conditions.

Disadvantages of red lens binoculars

Although these binoculars are good for hunters who walk around at night. But some optics brands misused this technique for increasing the sale of their products.

Initially, red lenses were very famous and people loved buying them. At that time, few optics brands used low-light quality rugby coating and made binoculars with red lenses with no optimal performance.

When people bought such low-quality rugby-coated binoculars, the performance of these binoculars was too bad which created a bad perception of the red lenses binoculars. Actually, it was the fault of this rugby coating, but it was the bad will of manufacturers who used this technique in a negative way to increase the sale of their products.

Rugby-coated binoculars do not provide an excellent viewing experience in low light conditions as they suppress the red colors. In daylight, you like to see the reddish effect on the visuals. But with these binoculars blue and green colors look more dominant you start getting the impression that the image is slightly off-color. It just happens during the daytime and your experience will be altogether different in low-light conditions.

Conclusion

Binoculars are indeed one of those tools that are being used for a variety of outdoor activities. But hunting is the most used activity and having red lens binoculars for that particular activity will certainly uplift your hunting experience. There are some drawbacks of using red lenses binoculars and you should take them into account while deciding about them.