Opera Glasses are small decorative binoculars that became particularly popular in the 1800's, as theatres and opera houses became larger. The high quality optical glass, originally developed for naval and scientific use, found a new application as a fashionable accessory. The best opera glasses were...

Opera glasses, also known as theater binoculars, are discreet and compact low-power binoculars, usually used at performance events. For opera glasses, magnification (power) below 5x is usually desired in order to minimize image shake and maintain a large enough field of view. A magnification of 3x is normally recommended.