15x power binos

[Rich Coyle]

Sorry Rich but it is you that is completely wrong on this one.

I've compared too many in low light. All you have to do to get back in the game is turn up the magnification. It's the same as getting closer. John Barnsness (spelling might be wrong) made the same discovery once he tried it.

 

[yobuck]

It would be nice and certainly better for the OP to try a few during the time frame he wants to use them.
Another thing to consider is supporting them steady enough to get a clear picture. Frankly 8x is about the max I can hold steady enough to evaluate details without at least resting my elbows on something.
10 to 15x needs a tripod or good support of some type. I have a heavy duty Bogen 3 section walking stick that wont support my 15x glasses steady enough for (me) to determine fine details, especially at longer distances. Theres just too much shake without a tripod.

 

[jjmp]

Austin , go ahead and buy the Brand name you want ! A couple of yrs back I found a used like new pair of Vortex Viper hds in 15x50 ! I use them just like you plan on useing them and their Great , Guys cut this fellow some Slack !!! Not everyone can afford the newest most Expensive Glass in ever piece of gear we use , what's not a compromise , my APO Televid is to big n Heavy to go in the deer stands with me also . Great Luck Austin hunt Safe thks jjmp.

 

[Buck Buster]

I have a pair of viper 10x42's and absolutely love them but a lot of my stands I can see upward most of 250yds and they just dont cut it at early and late hours as far as the zoom goes being able to tell rack characteristics. Would it be worth going with a 15x. I feel it would benefit me a lot. Thanks. Also what brands, trying to keep a budget under 500, but will be looking at used as well.

15 power would be worse in the dim light ! The greater the exit pupil the better you can normally see in early morning & late evening situations ! The most expensive glass has special coatings that help with the light transmission, but you said you have trouble seeing in dim light so a 15 power in the same brand binoculars with the 42mm lenses would let less light in making it more difficult to see in dim light ! Exit pupil is derived by dividing the power into the size of the objective lenses, the mm size. Your current pair would be 42 divided by 10 = 4.2 exit pupil while this is pretty good, an exit pupil of 5 or 6 should let more light in making it easier to see in dim light ! A pair of 15 x 80 binoculars would have an exit pupil of 5.3 this would normally be better unless the quality of the glass lenses is poor ! 10 x 50 would have an exit pupil of 5 ! I use a pair of Flake glasses, some people call them tank glasses that are 10 x 80 and they are fabulous in very little light, they have an exit pupil of 8 ! Hope you understand all of this, basically comparing the same quality of glasses the one with the largest exit pupil will allow you to see better in dim light ! You can also research exit pupil yourself if you want to understand it better ! Good luck hunting and be safe !

 

[toddc]

When you research Exit Pupil it would also be advisable to research Twilight Factor especially if you have less than perfect vision. Bigger mag CAN equal a better ability to resolve what you are seeing. Optical theory and reality can yield variable results.

 

[WildRose]

I've compared too many in low light. All you have to do to get back in the game is turn up the magnification. It's the same as getting closer. John Barnsness (spelling might be wrong) made the same discovery once he tried it.

Rich this is nothing but your imagination at work.

There is only x amount of light available, y amount is gathered by the objective and focused on the lens.

The higher the magnification the lower the resolution because that light is divided with each increase in magnification and dispersed over a larger area.

It's the same reason microscopes require an electric light source instead of just a mirror as you go above 100x.

What you are stating is physically impossible.

 

[WildRose]

When you research Exit Pupil it would also be advisable to research Twilight Factor especially if you have less than perfect vision. Bigger mag CAN equal a better ability to resolve what you are seeing. Optical theory and reality can yield variable results.

No, it can only make the image larger and darker because increasing magnification cannot increase the available light.

 

[Schnyd112]

Rich this is nothing but your imagination at work.

There is only x amount of light available, y amount is gathered by the objective and focused on the lens.

The higher the magnification the lower the resolution because that light is divided with each increase in magnification and dispersed over a larger area.

It's the same reason microscopes require an electric light source instead of just a mirror as you go above 100x.

What you are stating is physically impossible.

It's math and the microscope is exactly the example I was going to use.

 

[Austin Dial]

I understand the concept of the exit pupil, but im here to say that when hunting at low light once I spot a deer in my scope i'll zoom all the way in to get a better judgement of its rack, and my meostar at 12x power helps a ton, now at the same point at 12x power I can see a lot more detail of that bucks rack at 12x than say 6-8x. I understand the exit pupil is smaller, but at some point being closer to the object lets you see more detail. I mean the rack might look to be more clear at 6x, but I can see more details at 12x even though my image might be a little more grainy. I mean you can tell me that lower power is clearer at low light over and over again, and im not disagreeing with you but to see the details I want to see I need more zoom, I'm sorry to disappoint but I've been doing this too long.

 

[WildRose]

I understand the concept of the exit pupil, but im here to say that when hunting at low light once I spot a deer in my scope i'll zoom all the way in to get a better judgement of its rack, and my meostar at 12x power helps a ton, now at the same point at 12x power I can see a lot more detail of that bucks rack at 12x than say 6-8x. I understand the exit pupil is smaller, but at some point being closer to the object lets you see more detail. I mean the rack might look to be more clear at 6x, but I can see more details at 12x even though my image might be a little more grainy. I mean you can tell me that lower power is clearer at low light over and over again, and im not disagreeing with you but to see the details I want to see I need more zoom, I'm sorry to disappoint but I've been doing this too long.

It may be bigger but it cannot be clearer, the physics simply won't allow for it.

Think of the internal lens which is the focal point of your magnifier.

Nothing you can do will increase the light of that image unless you apply an external light source to the target.

Each time you increase your magnification you are dividing the available light.

Think in terms of pixels. At low mag you have say a 1088P image, at 12x you now have roughly something like a 300p image.

Even though it's larger it's becoming more and more pixelated.

In those last few seconds of light when you can no longer pick up your target on high mag simply start reeling the magnification back and as the image becomes smaller it becomes clearer and brighter.

 

[WildRose]

It's math and the microscope is exactly the example I was going to use.

I'm not a teacher, engineer, or physicist but I understand what we're talking about.

Unfortunately I'm apparently not able to make it clear to those who do no.

I am however trying my best.

 

[Austin Dial]

I understand what you're saying but there is a time that magnification has its advantage at low light and if you can't understand that then ibdk t kjow what to tell you. I mean example a deer at 15 after sundown on cloudy skies at 200 yards you're not shooting that deer at 3 power. And that's a fact

 

[WildRose]

I understand what you're saying but there is a time that magnification has its advantage at low light and if you can't understand that then ibdk t kjow what to tell you. I mean example a deer at 15 after sundown on cloudy skies at 200 yards you're not shooting that deer at 3 power. And that's a fact

Well, you're absolutely wrong there. I've shot a great many well beyond 200yds at 3-5x. I spend the entire summer popping heads off of swimming turtles out to 200yds with a fifty year old Leupold VX-1 4x. If you can't find the aim point on a deer at 200-400yds with the same power something is seriously wrong.

I'd rather see my target brightly and clearly than a large, vague outline as the sun fades and for that you have to dial back, not up.

There's also the simple fact that most of the scopes we're discussing here are 12-24x on the high end or larger and 4-6x on the bottom end so let's stick to reality.

The difference in low light focal quality between 20x and 6-10x is literally night and day.

Larger isn't and cannot be clearer in low light, all it is, is larger and darker.

 

[Bravo 4]

How about this-
Let's call this one a tie...you're both stumps.

6 pages of some good experiences and advice thrown in (with a little science sprinkled on). Austin- it seems like you had your mind made up before you posted. Do you even really have a question? Maybe one about brand/model? If verification is what you're after then I'll tell you this "Go get'em Tiger!", then get your eyes fixed when you can.
Now to find that darn unwatch button.