Mr. William J Cook Profile

William J Cook

at Retired

SPIE Involvement:

Author

Publications (1)

This will count as one of your downloads.

You will have access to both the presentation and article (if available).

DOWNLOAD NOW

This content is available for download via your institution's subscription. To access this item, please sign in to your personal account.

Email or Username Forgot your username?

Password Forgot your password?

Show

Keep me signed in

No SPIE account? Create an account

Proceedings Article | 15 October 2012 Paper

Binocular collimation vs conditional alignment

William Cook

Proceedings Volume 8491, 84910G (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.931108

KEYWORDS: Collimation, Prisms, Telescopes, Collimators, Reticles, Glasses, Optical alignment, Objectives, Optics manufacturing, Internet

Read Abstract +

As binocular enthusiasts share their passion, topics related to collimation abound. Typically, we find how observers, armed only with a jeweler’s screwdriver, can “perfectly collimate” his or her binocular, make it “spot on,” or other verbiage of similar connotation. Unfortunately, what most are addressing is a form of pseudo-collimation I have referred to since the mid-1970s as “Conditional Alignment.” Ignoring the importance of the mechanical axis (hinge) in the alignment process, this “condition,” while having the potential to make alignment serviceable, or even outstanding—within a small range of IPD (Interpupillary Distance) settings relative to the user’s spatial accommodation (the ability to accept small errors in parallelism of the optical axes)—may take the instrument farther from the 3-axis collimation conscientious manufacturers seek to implement. Becoming more optically savvy—and especially with so many mechanically inferior binoculars entering the marketplace— the consumer contemplating self-repair and alignment has a need to understand the difference between clinical, 3-axis “collimation” (meaning both optical axes are parallel with the axis of the hinge) and “conditional alignment,” as differentiated in this paper. Furthermore, I believe there has been a long-standing need for the term “Conditional Alignment,” or some equivalent, to be accepted as part of the vernacular of those who use binoculars extensively, whether for professional or recreational activities. Achieving that acceptance is the aim of this paper.

My Library

You currently do not have any folders to save your paper to! Create a new folder below.

Folder Name

Folder Description

View contact details

UPDATE YOUR PROFILE

Is this your profile? Update it now.

Sign into your SPIE.org account

Don’t have a profile and want one?

Create an account on SPIE.org

Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks. You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*

*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please sign in to access your institution's subscriptions.

To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on SPIE.org.

ORGANIZATIONAL
Sign in with credentials provided by your organization.

Organizational Username

Organizational Password

Show/Hide Password

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available

Members:

Non-members: ADD TO CART

Keywords/Phrases

Search In:

Publication Years