15x power binos

[WildRose]

Wow, a lot has been said on this topic, and I don't think you need any more "advice" thrown your way.

But, I did want to say a couple things. I totally agree on Meopta glass quality. They use Schott glass that is the same as what Zeiss uses, but they're cheaper than Zeiss.

On the higher-end of the spectrum, Swarovski is one of my favorites. It really comes down to glass quality to see those details you're after. High power with enough clarity to discern details is difficult for some manufacturers to achieve (so many factors involved), so I'd recommend you keep doing what you're doing - stay brand specific.

Of course, you know what you're willing to compromise on be it weight, exit pupil, etc, to achieve what you're after such as perhaps a higher light transmission rate and twilight factor with higher power. It will take some intentional shopping and scrutiny on the specs to determine what you're going to get if you can't test out the product in person.

On the cheaper end of the scale, I highly recommend Maven Optics. You'll save some money here, the glass is fantastic, and they offer binos all the way from 8x to 15x all with ED glass.

Quality optics are one of those things that I never find to be a waste of money. I'm sure you'll continue to enjoy whatever you choose after your surgery. Goodluck!

They use the same glass but the coatings are proprietary which makes a huge difference.

 

[Austin Dial]

I told you in my first two or three posts. I'll repeat it one last time. You need larger objectives and higher quality glass, not more magnification.

Larger is not brighter, it can't be clearer, all it is, is larger and darker.

You only have so much light to work with and every time you step up in magnification you divide the available light that will eventually reach your eyes.

I guide hunts for a living, I hunt for myself and to feed several families and shoot predators and varmints to protect crops and livestock.[/QUOTE



Yes I'm aware of everything you've said but I don't recall you mentioning any actual brands, as before I know larger objectivebis a + and as mentioned I'd like to get an 8x and 12x so with your experience I don't need anymore school lessons just a few brands would you suggest

 

[LDHunter]

I've read a lot about optics in hunting forums over the last umpteen years and most of what I read did NOT correlate to what I saw when I actually got to test different optics in the field. Anybody that has ever hunted with me will agree that I love to compare optics and brands DO make a huge difference.

I found that to be an inescapable fact and I never found an inexpensive brand of optic to measure up to a "premium" brand. Leupold always rated a good from me but rarely an excellent. Bushnell was always either equal if not better and at a better price point but both were priced as premium optics.

Zeiss, Swarovski and Nightforce all seemed to me to be head and shoulders above everything else I ever test in actual field conditions.

Vortex always left me very disappointed.

There are many brands I have NOT tested and I won't repeat what I have heard because most people on hunting forums merely parrot what they've heard others say and have very little actual field experience with varied optics.

My best advice is that if you really want to SEE then there are no shortcuts or bargains in optics like there are in rifles.

I have spent a small fortune on optics in my lifetime because I greatly enjoy looking through premium quality glass with the best of coatings.

I have one more piece of advice that was an astounding discovery for me. I used to wear glasses and always hated wearing them. I either had to suffer with limited field of view and cumbersome use of fold down cups and fiddling with getting a good sight picture with my glasses on or I had to take them off and use my binoculars and the on and off procedures drove me crazy.

One day at a range (15 years ago) a guy was watching me fiddle with optics and he said... "You should try getting lasik surgery. It will amaze you at the difference it will make, especially when using optics".

He gave me the name of a very expensive ($1800 per eye) eye surgeon that specializes in lasik surgery and I went to see him. Long story short the guy at the range was right! After my surgery and recovery from it I felt like I lived in a totally different world and when I put my corrected eyes up to quality optics I discovered that I could see WAY better through them than I ever had before.

I also could quickly put binoculars up to my eyes with the eye cups extended and immediately see perfectly by pressing the rubber around my eye without any fiddling. This offers a huge advantage in field conditions. You're instantly on what you were looking at with your eyes and you don't have to fiddle at all. The enhanced image literally jumps into view instantly.

I highly recommend getting lasik surgery if you really want to take advantage of your optics and to have that great 180 degree field of view again. In the long run it's way cheaper than being ripped off for crappy plastic glasses lenses year after year. If you're serious about being able to see well with no compromises then bite the bullet and get off that wallet and quit spending money on redundant rifles and start fixing your eyes and getting some serious quality optics.

There is no substitute for quality when it comes to optics. Period.

 

[Rich Coyle]

LDHunter,

You mentioned Swarovski and Nightforce. My first venture into quality was with the Nightforce. Then I purchased the Bushnell and then the Swarovski. I thought the Bushnell was as good as the Nightforce when I used leaves and twigs in trees for comparison. Then I made a line chart with 1/4" lines and spaces. The objectives was to clearly see the lines and the spaces. I started at 200 yards and went out. At 521 yards the Nightforce was still on 12X. See below.

521 – Swarovski: 16 ½ Bushnell: 15 ½ Nightforce: 12

I thought the z5 Swarovski was a dud so returned it. The next two were not as good as the first. The forth was about as good as the first so kept that one.

 

[yobuck]

I told you in my first two or three posts. I'll repeat it one last time. You need larger objectives and higher quality glass, not more magnification.

Larger is not brighter, it can't be clearer, all it is, is larger and darker.

You only have so much light to work with and every time you step up in magnification you divide the available light that will eventually reach your eyes.

I guide hunts for a living, I hunt for myself and to feed several families and shoot predators and varmints to protect crops and livestock.

Well having used optics for hunting all day every day for almost 5 decades, I will agree with everything you say with regard to your assessment of them. It obviously works well for you in the location you live and for the way hunt.
However if you were to take your equipment and methods to where the OP hunts, and how he hunts, you might be surprised to find that what you use and do wont work, or at least as well as it does for you now.
What it takes to be successful, regardless of the location, is whatever it takes to make it happen.
And that dosent just apply to optics.

 

[Mark Warner]

I have used 10x42 forever (Leupold), recently I purchased a pair of Leupold Mojave 12x50 and it is amazing what two more power adds up when looking for detail at any range over the 10's, the problem is that the 12 power magnifies more of YOUR wiggle, shaking, vibrations. Best thing for you to do is go to a local sporting goods store and try some higher power bino's to make sure that you can handle them.

 

[WildRose]

Well having used optics for hunting all day every day for almost 5 decades, I will agree with everything you say with regard to your assessment of them. It obviously works well for you in the location you live and for the way hunt.
However if you were to take your equipment and methods to where the OP hunts, and how he hunts, you might be surprised to find that what you use and do wont work, or at least as well as it does for you now.
What it takes to be successful, regardless of the location, is whatever it takes to make it happen.
And that dosent just apply to optics.

The physics of optics doesn't change with location or application.

You only have so much light to work with.

The objective lens can only gather and transmit a given percentage of that light.

The higher the magnification the more light is required to resolve an image so the higher the magnification the more light is required.

 

[Rich Coyle]

The physics of optics doesn't change with location or application.

You only have so much light to work with.

The objective lens can only gather and transmit a given percentage of that light.

The higher the magnification the more light is required to resolve an image so the higher the magnification the more light is required.

You keep bringing up the physics of optics, and the idea "you only have so much light to work with." Apparently we in Oregon get more light than some other places. Over and over I have, as light fades, turned up the magnification and can clearly make out DETAILS that I could not without turning up the magnification. This always works until there is just not enough light for these very good optics on any magnification setting.

When one wants to check detail there is only one option. Have enough magnification to see detail. If that was not the case a 12X bino would substitute for a 20X spotting scope.

 

[WildRose]

You keep bringing up the physics of optics, and the idea "you only have so much light to work with." Apparently we in Oregon get more light than some other places. Over and over I have, as light fades, turned up the magnification and can clearly make out DETAILS that I could not without turning up the magnification. This always works until there is just not enough light for these very good optics on any magnification setting.

When one wants to check detail there is only one option. Have enough magnification to see detail. If that was not the case a 12X bino would substitute for a 20X spotting scope.

All the magnification in the world won't help you if you don't have enough light.

This isn't theory, it isn't opinion it is simply fact, the higher the magnification the more light required to resolve an image.

 

[Rich Coyle]

All the magnification in the world won't help you if you don't have enough light.

This isn't theory, it isn't opinion it is simply fact, the higher the magnification the more light required to resolve an image.

Like I said, apparently we in Oregon have more light than others do. That's why we use spotting scopes over binoculars when we want to check detail, you know, because we have enough light to use spotting scopes.

 

[WildRose]

Like I said, apparently we in Oregon have more light than others do. That's why we use spotting scopes over binoculars when we want to check detail, you know, because we have enough light to use spotting scopes.

And this entire discussion is about low light performance.

You will never get a clearer image in low light with higher magnification, all you will get is a larger and darker image.

The higher the magnification the more light is required to resolve an image.

Again, this isn't opinion, it isn't theory, it is proven fact.

Now if you wish to believe something other than fact because it makes you feel good somehow go for it but don't try to pass off fantasy for fact.

 

[Rich Coyle]

WildRose,

What is it about this conversation that is so hard for you to understand? People use spotting scopes all the time because there is enough available light. Why are you wasting your time trying to convince us that real life does not work?

 

[Schnyd112]

WildRose,

What is it about this conversation that is so hard for you to understand? People use spotting scopes all the time because there is enough available light. Why are you wasting your time trying to convince us that real life does not work?

Dude. You're wrong. Stop. A spotting scope has a larger objective and gathers exponentially more light than binoculars.

 

[WildRose]

WildRose,

What is it about this conversation that is so hard for you to understand? People use spotting scopes all the time because there is enough available light. Why are you wasting your time trying to convince us that real life does not work?

In the real world as the light fades you have to dial back the power to resolve the image, that's the whole point of the discussion about low light performance.

As we've discussed one of the ways to increase that performance in low light is with larger objective lenses and higher quality glass.

That doesn't change the fact however that as the light fades, even with the best quality glass and largest of objectives you have to dial back the power to resolve an image. If you don't you just end up with a bigger, darker, fuzzier image.