Lacks retro style appeal of your typical opera glasses After all, you’ve come to see a production, not just a solo performance.

So, beware of very compact designs that may result in image blurring at the edges of your view. You’ll generally want a large or wide field of view so you can catch all the collective action happening on the stage, not just a narrow section of it. So, typically, opera glasses, also sometimes referred to as opera or theater binoculars, regularly provide a magnification factor of around 3x, very occasionally creeping up to 4x.Īrguably, just as significant as the magnification of the opera glasses you’re considering buying is the field of view they provide.

They come in many styles but generally have a classic or vintage look and feel to differentiate themselves from their regular binocular brethren.īecause you’ll generally be sitting within comfortable viewing distance of your subject via the naked eye anyway, the magnification factor needn’t be so huge as a typical pair of binos, while a more modest magnification factor also helps keep any possible image shake to a minimum.

A close cousin to a pair of regular binoculars (opens in new tab), opera glasses are likewise a magnification tool to bring the faraway nearer.

Compact opera glasses