Most models, such as the one shown here, are battery powered and use electronic sensors and movable optical components to counteract hand jitters. Photo by Craig Michael Utter. Not far away you see a young woman using binoculars that have a dim green light on top. Hers are a new kind of battery-powered binoculars featuring image stabilization. As good as regular binoculars are, above 10x magnification it becomes increasingly difficult to hold the glasses steady enough for good views.
Image stabilization turns the view almost rock-steady at the push of a button.
You can get the same steadying effect by mounting the binoculars on a camera tripod, but only when looking near-horizontally. But this solution is not much less expensive than image stabilization has recently become. Stabilized glasses are relatively pricy, costing more than double what conventional binoculars of similar size and optical quality would. But for many observers, the steady views provided by the stabilization mechanism, coupled with superb optics, justify the extra expense. And prices are likely to decline.