when glassing, what do you find more useful?

Mr. Friendly

Mr. Friendly

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power or field of view? by that I mean say 10x42 with 5 degree FOV or 8/8.5x42 with 7 degrees FOV? I'm just debating some of the features I want for my bino's...aperture, power, eye relief (has to be high as I wear glasses)...as I'm thinking I may very well invest in an entry level pair of high end bino's. something like the Geovid's or some such.
 
just off the top of my head. *grain of salt alert***

It might depend on what you are planning to use them for and what kind of terrain.

a wider field of view with lower magnification would be good for scanning for movement in open but closer areas like clear cuts in the forest,

but higher magnification would be good for IDing areas and scanning from further away like into valleys, etc.

just a thought.
 
Mr. Friendly said:
power or field of view? by that I mean say 10x42 with 5 degree FOV or 8/8.5x42 with 7 degrees FOV? I'm just debating some of the features I want for my bino's...aperture, power, eye relief (has to be high as I wear glasses)...as I'm thinking I may very well invest in an entry level pair of high end bino's. something like the Geovid's or some such.
Click to expand...

There is nothing " Entry Level" about Leica Geovids, I have them and I love them, a little heavier than most comparative models but the built in rangefinder is a large bonus.
I'm not very steady so I went with the 8 powers, you do a lot of glassing with shakey hands and eye fatigue from a 10 or higher power becomes evident quite quickly. FS
 
you're right Fassteel, I misspoke. I'm not sure what line of Leica I'm thinking about, or perhaps it's Zeiss, but they have some entry level bino's around the $800-$900 range.
in any case...56mm objectives would be a deal killer for me. 42mm or so is okay...I'm just debating the power mostly. power doesn't affect me much, as my primary astronomy tool are binoculars...7x50, 10x50, 15x70 & 20x80's (not to mention a 12" scope)...but binoculars focused on astronomy require a few different considerations, that aren't quite as important as daytime glassing needs.
 
If you are wavering back and forth between 8s and 10s I would lean towards the 8 for a given objective size. A lower magnification will give you a larger exit pupil and greater luminosity.

Objective lens/magnification = exit pupil

objctive lens(squared)/ magnification(squared)= luminosity (if anyone cares)

Years ago my hunting partner and I both bought Pentax DCF WPs at about the same time. He bought 8X40s and I bought 10X40s. Side by side in the real world there was very little difference in field of view or perceived magnification. Where the only real difference showed itself was in deep wood or twilght, where the 8s were just that little bit brighter than the 10s.

My 2 cents.

P.S. While researching scopes lately I talked to a couple of folks using Vortex binos. They raved about the quality and value, might be worth a look.
 
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wapitiwhacker said:
P.S. While researching scopes lately I talked to a couple of folks using Vortex binos. They raved about the quality and value, might be worth a look.
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I'll be getting Vortex binos no question

I went to my local wild bird store, who seem to usually be the dealers of Vortex and tried out a number of their binos.

They were all amazing in terms of quality.

I've looked through 1200$ Swarovskis and the Vortex were as good or better and in the 500-900$ range.

I'd definitely say check them out, very good optics
 
I'd say go for quality optics first.

A set of 8x Leica's are better than a 10x pair of Bushnell's.

I own both along with 5-6 other pairs for some strange reason?:confused:
 
i use 9.5 x42 minox individual eye focus.. works well for me but most of my glassing is done with my eye glasses off. i find it easier to glass with the bare eye than worry about the binos dirtying up your eye wear.
 
I carry a pair of 8x42's for bino's (Vortex Diamondback's -- great stuff, given the price). 8x's are way easier on the eyes, easier to hold steady, and brighter glass for the same money. If something is too far away to see it clearly at 8x zoom, then 10x probably wouldn't radically improve the situation (though my 40x spotting scope probably will).

Bino's are for handy glassing of stuff within about a mile or so of your current position. Spotting scopes are for looking at stuff on the next mountain over. They are two entirely different jobs, and thus we have two pieces of gear instead of one.
 
I have nothing against quality optics...but I need to keep a few factors in mind, such as eye relief (I wear glasses) and then have to see what I want more, field of view or depth of field. power affects all of these, so I was just wondering how everyone else juggled their needs and what features they preferred. I think it's the Zeiss Conquests that can be hand between $800 - $1000, so I may consider those. being a bino astronomer, I'm also aware that you can spend $500 - $600 and get 95% the optical quality of the higher end bin's...just lack the same level of fit and finish.
 
I'd say 8X's are a better choice for "general" hunitng in BC.

I use 10x42 Ultravids, but I am often looking at mountains and far away where the 10x helps. I usually prefer 10X... Although frankly, I am thinking about investing in a good pair of 8X for more general hunting and especially for hunting close to home, where it's much tighter cover.
 
I'd use 7x's if you could still buy them in a quality glass. To SEARCH for game, power is over rated. If you need to study horns or antlers, a spotting scope is best. But 10x glass is nice for some specialized situations. I mostly use 8's or 8.5's.
 
wapitiwhacker said:
If you are wavering back and forth between 8s and 10s I would lean towards the 8 for a given objective size. A lower magnification will give you a larger exit pupil and greater luminosity.

Objective lens/magnification = exit pupil

objctive lens(squared)/ magnification(squared)= luminosity (if anyone cares)

Years ago my hunting partner and I both bought Pentax DCF WPs at about the same time. He bought 8X40s and I bought 10X40s. Side by side in the real world there was very little difference in field of view or perceived magnification. Where the only real difference showed itself was in deep wood or twilght, where the 8s were just that little bit brighter than the 10s.

My 2 cents.

P.S. While researching scopes lately I talked to a couple of folks using Vortex binos. They raved about the quality and value, might be worth a look.
Click to expand...

A bit of a snag can get worked into this brightness bit, and that is the human eye. In an 8x40 galss, the exit pupil is 5mm, as you point out.
As it happens, this is considered the size of that section of the eye that "sees," or whatever the proper term is for it. In other words, if the exit pupil is smaller than 5mm, it won't allow the maximum light that the eye can absorb. By the same token,if the exit pupil on the binocular is 10mm, it will not appear super bright, because the eye area that catches the light, is still only about 5mm. It would be easier to see through, because the eye could move around latterly, and still see full field, but not brighter. My 1½ cents worth.
 
H4831 said:
A bit of a snag can get worked into this brightness bit, and that is the human eye. In an 8x40 galss, the exit pupil is 5mm, as you point out.
As it happens, this is considered the size of that section of the eye that "sees," or whatever the proper term is for it. In other words, if the exit pupil is smaller than 5mm, it won't allow the maximum light that the eye can absorb. By the same token,if the exit pupil on the binocular is 10mm, it will not appear super bright, because the eye area that catches the light, is still only about 5mm. It would be easier to see through, because the eye could move around latterly, and still see full field, but not brighter. My 1½ cents worth.
Click to expand...
and on top of what you said, you need to consider the time of day and the light conditions you will be in. if you're at the edge of a south facing field, you'll be affected by the sun, which would mean your pupil's will grow smaller...which would allow better use of a higher power bino, whereas if it was a north facing field, there would be lesser light, so your pupil's would dilate better. being in astronomy, these are things we're always highly concerned with...bigger is better, just weighing the costs is important. for instance, my 8lb 20x80's have a 4mm exit pupil, but at that power, I require a very heavy duty tripod (which I have) to use them...our 15x70's by comparison are a piece of cake, and yet shake factors in...and that half a mm more exit pupil has a significant effect on what you can see. it's pretty cool...cause then you get into resolution issues/concerns and have to weigh what magnification has to offer,. LOL!
 
I have a set of Leupold 8 x 42's and a set of 10 x 50's, and prefer the latter, now that I have become used to them. Looking for those two point moose is part of the issue where I hunt. You need resolution, and poor optics handicaps rather than enhances your ability to see things. Regards, Eagleye.
 
To answer the question in the title of your posting:

An animal to look at.

I'm not trying to be jerk by saying that. I usually spot something first, then use the binoculars to positively identify it. It just works that way for me. I rarely ever actually spot something using glass. Just don't have that talent I guess.

To answer the question in the body of your posting, I like my 8 power binoculars for the FOV.
 
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