monocular or binocular? what level of mag…?

Is the monocular just as good as two?
Do we get a clearer picture by using to scopes?

Every thing in optics is a compromise – there is no “best” instrument, only the best for your purpose. Your first task is to work out exactly what you will be using the instrument for. For example moving targets in dusk conditions or bright daylight, hand held or on a tripod.
Firstly a monocular will not give you the 3D vision of binoculars but has the advantage of being lighter and more compact for long field trips.
You will see two figures on binoculars e.g. 7 x 50. The first number is the magnification and the second the diameter of the front lens in mm. Form these you can calculate two important factors. 1) The exit pupil, this is is the virtual size of the image leaving the instrument. This is important as the smaller it is the more image is lost due to it being smaller than the pupil of the human eye which is about 6mm. To find this number divide the lens size by the magnification e.g. for 7 x 50 it is 50 divided by 7 = 7.17 (the human eye in very dull conditions is about 7) which makes them good for poor light conditions.
The next is image brightness or how much light the instrument lets through. This is calculated by dividing the size of the main lens by the magnification squared e.g. with 7 x 50 it is 50 divided by 7×7 (49) = 1.02 the human eye gives about 1. With greater magnification the brightness drops rapidly e.g. 12 x 50 comes to 0.35 or only one third as bright and the huge power binoculars one sees advertised (total rubbish and not worth even considering) 25×50 it comes to a ridiculous 0.08.
Another factor is holding binoculars. It is simply not possible to hand hold any magnification above 10x steady enough to get clear results, you will see more detail with 7×50 than with 10×50 simply because the image is not dancing about all the time. There are Image Stabilizing binoculars available but they are very costly and the overall image quality is not as good.
For general outdoor use I would recommend 7×50 or maximum 10×50 these will give you good vision at dawn or dusk and can be hand held with comfort.
Hope that helps a little.

Bird Watching Binoculars & Field Guides : Picking a Spotting Scope for Bird Watching

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