My canon 18 x 50 image stabilised binoculars will not hold a steady focus when using the IS system. Turning IS off cures the problem immediately but of course means that you cannot use IS - which is why I bought the bino's in the first place.

It sounds like the image stabilization feature on your Canon 10x30 IS binoculars is not working properly. Here are some steps you can take to troubleshoot the issue:

1. Make sure the batteries are properly inserted and charged. The image stabilization feature requires power from the batteries to work.
2. Try resetting the binoculars by removing the batteries for a few minutes, then reinserting them.
3. Make sure the binoculars are being held steady and that you are not moving too quickly or shaking excessively. Image stabilization works best when there is only slight movement or vibration.
4. Check that the image stabilization switch is turned on. The switch is located on the top of the binoculars near the focus knob.
5. If none of these steps work, it is possible that the image stabilization mechanism itself is faulty and needs to be repaired or replaced. Contact Canon customer support or a professional camera repair technician for assistance.

It's worth noting that image stabilization is not a perfect solution and may not completely eliminate all movement or shaking in your images. It is designed to reduce the effects of minor movements and vibrations, but cannot compensate for large or rapid movements.

Hello Samaro,

This effect is produced when the tho sides of the binoculars are not focusing the same.
Since you sayit is present at long distance, it might be that one barrel is stuck and is not focusing the same as the otherone when you scroll the middle "focuser".

What you can do is open it up and try to clean it, also see if there is something, that is making one of the lenses not move forward as far as the other one.

Good luck,
Dahaka

thats how binoculars are. Yours in this case is really strong. the closer you are to something, looking at it, the more magiflyed you going to be. try view things far a distance, really far away. no more double right?
Everything you need to know to become an expert:
on this website: http://www.chuckhawks.com/binocular_basics.htm
It is surprising how many people do not know how to focus binoculars correctly. There are two common focusing systems used in binoculars.
The first is individual eyepiece focus. This system is simple to understand, and easy to manufacture. It also lends itself well to sealed optical tubes, and thus is usually the focusing system used for waterproof binoculars. Individual eyepiece focus means that to focus the binoculars to your eyes, you simply focus the left eyepiece to your left eye and the right eyepiece to your right eye. There is no centrally located focusing mechanism. It is done like this. Look at something in the distance. Close the right eye (or cover the front of the right binocular), and focus the left eyepiece to your left eye. Close the left eye (or cover the front of the left binocular), and focus the right eyepiece to your right eye. You are finished, until you need to look at something at a different distance, in which case you need to repeat the process.
Because individual eyepiece focus is time-consuming, center focus is more common. Unfortunately, very few people understand how to correctly use center focus binoculars. Here is how it is done. Aim your binoculars at something in the distance. Close the right eye (or cover the front of the right tube), and focus the left side of the binocular to your left eye using the center focus control, which is concentric with the pivot shaft between the binoculars. (Note: the left eyepiece itself does not focus on center focus binoculars.) Next, close your left eye (or cover the front of the left tube), and focus the right eyepiece to your right eye. DO NOT touch the center focus control while you are focusing the right eyepiece to your right eye. Now you are finished. What you have just done is adjust the binoculars for your individual eyes. (Practically everybody's left and right eyes are different.) From now on, you only need to adjust the center focus control when you look at things at different distances. Center focus is faster and easier to use than individual eyepiece focus, once you have initially set the binoculars for your eyes.
Binoculars are commonly described by using a pair of numbers, as in "7x50" or "8x25." The first of these numbers refers to the magnification offered by the binocular. Magnification is why most people buy a pair of binoculars. In the examples above, "7x" means the binocular makes whatever you look at appear seven times closer than it does to the unaided human eye. "8x" means the binocular makes whatever you look at eight times closer than the unaided human eye. "10x" makes things look ten times closer, and so on. The first number used to describe binoculars always refers to their magnification. Common binocular magnifications are 6x, 7x, 8x, 9x, and 10x.
There are also variable power (zoom) binoculars, such as 7-21x50. These almost always perform much better at the low power setting than they do at the higher settings. This is natural, since the front objective cannot enlarge to let in more light as the power is increased, so the view gets dimmer. At 7x, the 50mm front objective provides a 7.1mm exit pupil, but at 21x, the same front objective provides only a 2.38mm exit pupil. Also, the optical quality of a zoom binocular at any given power is inferior to that of a fixed power binocular of that power. In general, zoom binoculars are not the bargain they seem to be.
Remember that everything (including movement) is magnified when you look through a pair of binoculars, especially your own shakes and tremors. So the higher the power, the harder it seems to hold the binoculars steady. 6, 7, or 8 power binoculars are easier for most people, even those with very steady hands, to hold reasonably still. The higher powers sound like a good deal, but often result in jiggly, blurred views. This is why 7x binoculars are chosen by so many experts, including the military.
Power affects brightness. Other things being equal, the higher the power, the dimmer the view. And power also affects the field of view of the binoculars. Again, everything being equal, the higher the power, the smaller the field of view. So, as you can see, power must be balanced against other desirable characteristics when choosing binoculars.

Like I said before, one of the prisms has shifted and the binoculars have lost collimation. This is not something you can fix yourself.

Have you actually cleaned the contacts or are you just looking at them and they "look" clean? Clean them with a cotton swab lightly dampened in rubbing alcohol.

Because of the magnification any unsteadiness in your hands is multiplied. Try to brace your elbows or put the camera on something steady. About 1/2 second after you click the button is when you hear a little beep. That's the moment you ahve to hold the camera very still.

Also, I wear glasses with a strong correction, I get better pictures when I take them off to focus the binoculars.

Difficult to answer specifically without knowing the model. But binoculars are designed to view objects in the distance. They all have a limit as to how close they will focus based on the magnification and design. Objective lenses that are far apart such as on a porro prism binocular will not focus very close. The nature of the design of having the objectives further apart than the eyepieces doesn't allow it. When trying to focus too close the image will appear blurred and double. That is the nature of the design. 9 feet or 3 metres is considered quite close to focus a binocular and is usually for a model designed to do this such as a roof prism where the objective lens and the eye lenses are inline. A specialty binocular such as the Pentax Papilo will close focus to 50 centimeters. It has been designed so that the objective (large lenses) lenses converge.

Take into account when focusing that binoculars are also designed to compensate for differences in each eye. One of the eyepieces either right or left will adjust seperately. For binoculars with a center focus ring. First focus using the center ring with one eye covered. The eye that should be covered is the one that doesn't have the adjusting eyepiece. When the image is clear close the eye you have just used and leave the center focus alone. Focusing on the same spot look through the eyepiece that adjusts and turn the eyepiece ring until the image is clear. Now all you have to do is focus using the center ring only as the binoculars are adjusted for each eye.

Some binoculars do not have a center focus and each eye will adjust seperately.

these binoculars were made for astronomy or day viewing but are hard to hold steady by hand, best to use tripod...bak4 prisms means you should get a sharp image from edge to edge, in cheaper models with cheap prisms only the center of the field of view is [email protected]

Your binoculars are known as the Zeiss Classic or what was once known as the Dialyt. They focus differently from the usual binoculars like those mentioned. The rear wheel is to focus both binocular barrels while using them. The front focus wheel is adjust the right eyepiece to suit your right eye. Binocular manufacturers take into account each eye is slightly different. To focus the Dialyt...First close your right eye and turn the rear wheel until the image is sharp in the left barrel. Leave the focus wheel alone. Now close left eye and adjust the front wheel until the image is sharp for your right eye. The image should now be clear and in focus for both eyes. It should not be needed to use the front wheel from now on. The rear wheel is what you will use to change the focus from near to far objects.

Assuming you have already tried replacing the battery, contact Canon Service Dept.