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I really like the 10x42s
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Best all-around power for binoculars?
- Thread Starter Joe Link
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Don't buy less than 10. When 15 use a rest to hold them on.
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+1 on the Vortex Viper HD. I have the 12x50 and the HD glass is awesome. Comfortably carried strapped to my chest for 2 weeks stomping around the Alaskan tundra My hands are pretty steady so I opted for a little more magnification.
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You need to consider the conditions that the binos will be used in most of the time and the application.
Living in Arizona, we have very bright conditions most of the time. In the Pacific Northwest, you will have dimmer conditions much of the time. So, higher luminosity factor will be of more importance in the PNW than in Arizona.
I generally recommend 8x rather than 10x as they are of a good size, weight, and brightness (given a particular objective) and thus will be easier to use, wider field of view, plenty of magnification, and less subject to jitters from hand shaking.
Vortex Vipers are a good choice at their price point. But, if you can stretch the budget a bit go with Zeiss Conquest HD. These are in Zeiss' near-Alpha line, quality-wise, but a bit less than 1/2 the price of their top-shelf line. I have them in 8x32 (exit pupil of 4) and 10x42 (exit pupil of 4.2) and they're both absolutely fantastic. The 8x42 is an excellent choice, as well. And, for Zeiss, are at a good price point, in the $900 price range, as I recall. Remarkable clarity and image quality at this price point. Well worth the money. Look for sales and shop online, to get the best deals.
In the PNW, I'd go with the Zeiss Conquest HD 8x42, if the cost is in your ability. There is more to brightness than just the magnification and objective numbers. Premium optical quality and coatings make higher-end binoculars brighter than others, given the same 8x42 or other numbers.
In a more compact size, I really love the Swarovski CL Pocket. I have these in 8x25 and 10x25. Great for walking around with. They're in the $850 price range, as I recall. You sacrifice brightness when going with compacts, but you gain convenience and comfort. And if you go with compacts, it makes good sense to buy really high quality, like Swaros, to help make up for them not being as bright. Again, look for sales and shop online to get the best deals.
Here is a great place to shop online:
Eagle Optics
See Binocular Basics by Chuck Hawks to get schooled up a bit about binoculars.
BINOCULAR BASICS
Some excerpts:
For luminosity (divide the aperture by the magnification and then multiply by 2). The higher the factor, the brighter the images viewed will be in lowlight conditions although clearly the quality of the lenses and coatings are crucial. Twilight factor is the square root of the product of the diameter of the objective and the magnification. A twilight factor of 16.0 is essentially a daytime binocular
The magnification and the diameter of the objective lens determine the size of the exit pupil. The diameter of the exit pupil determines how much light is transmitted to your eye. The exit pupil can be seen by holding the binoculars at arm's length and looking through the eyepieces. The pencil of light you see is the exit pupil.
The actual diameter of the exit pupil is easily computed. Divide the diameter of the front objective lens (in millimeters) by the magnification of the binocular. For instance, take a pair of standard size 7x50 binoculars. Divide 50 (the diameter of the objective) by 7 (the magnification) and you get approximately 7.1 (50/7=7.1). 7.1mm is the diameter of the exit pupil for 7x50 binoculars. Now let's figure the exit pupil of a pair of compact 8x25 binoculars. Divide 25 by 8 and you get 3.1 (25/8=3.1). So the exit pupil of 8x25 compacts is only 3.1mm. A lot less light reaches your eye from compact binoculars than it does from standard size binoculars. Light is what you are sacrificing to get compact size and weight.
Why does the diameter of the exit pupil matter? It doesn't as long as there is enough ambient light so that the pupils of your eyes are smaller than the exit pupils of your binoculars. But when the ambient light gets dim, and the pupils of your eyes adapt by enlarging, the exit pupils of your binoculars may become the limiting factor. With the 8x25 compacts in the example above, when it gets dim enough for the pupils of your eyes to exceed 3.1mm in diameter, the binoculars are restricting the light available to your eyes. Ideally, human eyes in excellent condition can achieve about a 7mm pupil opening, so a 3.1mm exit pupil from your binoculars can be quite limiting in dim light. You can probably see more without your binoculars. But the 7x50 binoculars in the first example above have 7.1mm exit pupils, as large as young, fully dark-adapted human eyes, so they never limit what you can see, even at night.
The human eye loses its ability to adapt to dim light as it ages, so a middle-aged person's maximum pupil size is typically down to around 5mm. Elderly eyes are often limited to about a 4mm pupil maximum pupil. So as we age, the exit pupil size we need decreases.
Here's another beginner's primer on binoculars:
https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/binoculars.html
Living in Arizona, we have very bright conditions most of the time. In the Pacific Northwest, you will have dimmer conditions much of the time. So, higher luminosity factor will be of more importance in the PNW than in Arizona.
I generally recommend 8x rather than 10x as they are of a good size, weight, and brightness (given a particular objective) and thus will be easier to use, wider field of view, plenty of magnification, and less subject to jitters from hand shaking.
Vortex Vipers are a good choice at their price point. But, if you can stretch the budget a bit go with Zeiss Conquest HD. These are in Zeiss' near-Alpha line, quality-wise, but a bit less than 1/2 the price of their top-shelf line. I have them in 8x32 (exit pupil of 4) and 10x42 (exit pupil of 4.2) and they're both absolutely fantastic. The 8x42 is an excellent choice, as well. And, for Zeiss, are at a good price point, in the $900 price range, as I recall. Remarkable clarity and image quality at this price point. Well worth the money. Look for sales and shop online, to get the best deals.
In the PNW, I'd go with the Zeiss Conquest HD 8x42, if the cost is in your ability. There is more to brightness than just the magnification and objective numbers. Premium optical quality and coatings make higher-end binoculars brighter than others, given the same 8x42 or other numbers.
In a more compact size, I really love the Swarovski CL Pocket. I have these in 8x25 and 10x25. Great for walking around with. They're in the $850 price range, as I recall. You sacrifice brightness when going with compacts, but you gain convenience and comfort. And if you go with compacts, it makes good sense to buy really high quality, like Swaros, to help make up for them not being as bright. Again, look for sales and shop online to get the best deals.
Here is a great place to shop online:
Eagle Optics
See Binocular Basics by Chuck Hawks to get schooled up a bit about binoculars.
BINOCULAR BASICS
Some excerpts:
For luminosity (divide the aperture by the magnification and then multiply by 2). The higher the factor, the brighter the images viewed will be in lowlight conditions although clearly the quality of the lenses and coatings are crucial. Twilight factor is the square root of the product of the diameter of the objective and the magnification. A twilight factor of 16.0 is essentially a daytime binocular
The magnification and the diameter of the objective lens determine the size of the exit pupil. The diameter of the exit pupil determines how much light is transmitted to your eye. The exit pupil can be seen by holding the binoculars at arm's length and looking through the eyepieces. The pencil of light you see is the exit pupil.
The actual diameter of the exit pupil is easily computed. Divide the diameter of the front objective lens (in millimeters) by the magnification of the binocular. For instance, take a pair of standard size 7x50 binoculars. Divide 50 (the diameter of the objective) by 7 (the magnification) and you get approximately 7.1 (50/7=7.1). 7.1mm is the diameter of the exit pupil for 7x50 binoculars. Now let's figure the exit pupil of a pair of compact 8x25 binoculars. Divide 25 by 8 and you get 3.1 (25/8=3.1). So the exit pupil of 8x25 compacts is only 3.1mm. A lot less light reaches your eye from compact binoculars than it does from standard size binoculars. Light is what you are sacrificing to get compact size and weight.
Why does the diameter of the exit pupil matter? It doesn't as long as there is enough ambient light so that the pupils of your eyes are smaller than the exit pupils of your binoculars. But when the ambient light gets dim, and the pupils of your eyes adapt by enlarging, the exit pupils of your binoculars may become the limiting factor. With the 8x25 compacts in the example above, when it gets dim enough for the pupils of your eyes to exceed 3.1mm in diameter, the binoculars are restricting the light available to your eyes. Ideally, human eyes in excellent condition can achieve about a 7mm pupil opening, so a 3.1mm exit pupil from your binoculars can be quite limiting in dim light. You can probably see more without your binoculars. But the 7x50 binoculars in the first example above have 7.1mm exit pupils, as large as young, fully dark-adapted human eyes, so they never limit what you can see, even at night.
The human eye loses its ability to adapt to dim light as it ages, so a middle-aged person's maximum pupil size is typically down to around 5mm. Elderly eyes are often limited to about a 4mm pupil maximum pupil. So as we age, the exit pupil size we need decreases.
Here's another beginner's primer on binoculars:
https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/binoculars.html
Last Edited:
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I have 2 pair of vortex binocs.
Both have been sent back for warranty work
100% failure rate on my vortex.
I would go leupold or Nikon or look at Sigs new line?
As far as magnification,if he's a birder you might get something stronger . But as refered to earlier,the stronger the magnification the steadier you need to be and the smaller the FOV.
Mine are 8x and that seems to pick up stuff from a long way out just fine.
I have noticed that different manufacturers have different ideas on what their glasses' magnification is. One mans 8x is another's 6x
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