Beginner Level - Suited for a wide range of uses, these products are simple to operate and set up. Some initial assembly may be required depending on the type of product. Optical instruments with this rating will have very good optical and mechanical quality. Great for families, young people, and folks who don't want to mess with equipment and complexity. Beginning level telescopes will show you countless lunar craters, Saturn's rings and a myriad of star clusters and nebulae! Referring to the manual is recommended.

Intermediate Level - These products offer higher performance and more advanced features than Level 1: Beginner models. They typically take a bit longer to learn and need some set-up or adjustments. But anyone with the slightest technical bent will have no problem getting familiar with these models. Referring to the manual is recommended.

Advanced Level - These products provide the best performance but may require more skill to master and appreciate. Optical instruments with this rating have exceptionally fine optics and mechanics. Some are easy to use but might be on the large or heavy side. Some are intended for specialized uses. These products will appeal to the more technically inclined. Referring to the manual is highly recommended.

For telescopes, the optical diameter (also known as aperture) is the size of a telescope's main light-collecting lens or primary mirror, measured in millimeters or inches. Telescopes with larger optical diameters collect more light, which leads to an increase in brightness and image resolution compared to smaller instruments.

For binoculars, the optical diameter (also known as objective lens diameter) is the size of each of the front-facing objective lenses of a binocular measured in millimeters. Binoculars with larger objective lenses collect more light, which increases image resolution and brightness. Binoculars with larger objective lenses are recommended for low light situations, and binoculars with at least 50mm or larger objective lenses are recommended for pleasing astronomical observations at night.

The distance, measured in millimeters, between the observer's eye and the eyepiece lens in which the entire field of view remains visible. Eye relief varies with the optical design but generally increases with decreasing magnification. Long eye relief is advantageous for observers who wear glasses, as they don't have to put their eye directly on the eyepiece to see the entire field of view, nor do they have to remove their eyewear.

The minimal distance at which a binocular and/or spotting scopes can attain focus. Near focus is an important quality for bird watchers and wildlife devotees who want to get as close as possible to their quarry.

Porro Prisms:

A binocular prism system that contains two right-angle prisms in each barrel offset from one another, requiring that the objective lenses be spaced further apart than the eyepieces. Optically, porro prisms often perform better than their roof prism counterparts.

Roof Prisms:

A compact binocular prism system that allows the objective lenses to line up directly with the eyepieces and hence yields a more portable binocular. Roof prism binoculars lose slightly more light to reflections than porro prism binoculars. High-quality roof prism binoculars compensate for this with special optical coatings.