Binoculars.org

I have been in the business of selling binoculars for almost a decade and throughout this time I am still surprised to find how often customers are asking for “Jason” brand binoculars.  As much as I would like to think the Jason brand was named after me (my first name is Jason), that is just not case :) as the Jason brand binoculars were being made long before I was born.

We often hear from customers, my old Jason binoculars were the best binoculars because they automatically focused when looking through them.  So what became of the Jason brand binoculars and how can we satisfy customers searching for these?

The Jason binocular company was established in 1947.  Their most popular models were 8×25, 7×35, 7×50, 10×50 and 12×50.  Each of these binoculars featured a Jason brand patented technology called ”InstaFocus”.  InstaFocus was a feature that made the binoculars automatically focus when looking through them.

Bushnell purchased the Jason brand in 1992 and soon after discontinued the brand.   What they took from it was the InstaFocus design and incorporated it into the new Bushnell PermaFocus binoculars.  The same 8×25, 7×35, 7×50, 10×50 and 12×50 models are all now available in the Bushnell PermaFocus series binoculars.

Were these magical binoculars?  Did the rules of optics not apply to the Jason brand?  Of course not. 

There is nothing amazing about how these binoculars work, they are simply already focused for distance viewing over about 40 feet.  The downfall of these is you cannot focus on objects that are close.  The Bushnell Permafocus binoculars will allow you to focus objects from about 40 feet away and beyond.  But many binocular uses only look at objects 40 feet and beyond so they are great for sporting events and general distance viewing - not a particularly good choice for birding as many times you are looking at birds 15-20 feet up in a tree. 

But my Jason binoculars were more expensive than those?  They must have been better?

Nope.  Not really.  Optics have become much more efficient to manufacturer since the time of the Jason binocular.  Even during that time, other brands of binoculars from Nikon, Leica, Zeiss and many others that were far superior in optical quality than the Jason brand.  But one very important factor is the fastly improved technology of optical coatings and how they are applied to lenses.   The Bushnell PermaFocus binoculars feature fully coated optics and the same focus-free design.  I can even tell you from personal use that the Bushnell is of higher optical quality.  A number of years ago, I purchased a pair of Jason 10×50 binoculars on eBay for less than 20 dollars - simply as a novelty as we both shared the same name and this is the profession that I am in.  In side by side comparison to the Bushnell 10×50 PermaFocus… well let’s just say there is no comparison.

For some reason these binoculars continue to have a strong following and many are determined to find them.  My only words of advice would be if you are looking for a simple, inexpensive binocular for distance viewing - the Bushnell PermaFocus is a fine choice.  However, there are many other binoculars featuring the standard center focus wheel that are made by Bushnell, Nikon and many others that would be better choices in my opinion, and much more versatile in focusing ability.