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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

meopta 10x32 HD Cabela's (1 Viewer)

Aaron Rust

Active member
I have been watching the Cabela's Meopta instinct Euro 10x42 in the bargan cave for $850 or so. They also have 8x32 and 10x32 for $575. I have been watching them and want to buy them. At home I have a Zeiss Classic 7x42 TP, and EDF 7x40 Aus Jena commercial glasses, DF 7x40 NVA, and a 8.5x40 Aspherical Minox Asian Binocular. I have been wanting some 10X binos. Today not in the bargan cave but in the retail glass case was a last pair of Cabela's Meopta 10x32 for $447. I couldn't pass them up. I will use them for white tailed deer hunting in Kansas... and on Safari in Namibia in 2018. I like the 10x for wide open spaces. But will these suffer at dusk? I know there is one way to find out BUT it was dark when I bought them... now I have to wait for morning. How will they compare to my Zeiss classics? It really doesn't matter because I have 3 kids at home and a wife so we all need binos next year for animal viewing in Africa. What say you!? Will the 10x32 suffer from low light conditions?
Aaron
 
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My 9x28 with a 3.1mm EP is about the closest I've got to the 3.2mm EP. 10 minutes before dawn on a cloudless UK morning the view seems just as bright as my 10x42. Half an hour ago, the x42 had a distinct advantage.

Having said that, I think the Cabela's/Meopta 10x32 would be excellent choice for a safari... providing one of your other bigger EP binos wasn't too far away.

David
 
That plot that Synaps linked looks like it's from Holger Merlitz's paper. It's a plot of contrast sensitivity against luminance (scene brightness) I believe. The foilage in the shaded corners of my back yard would have been about 0 on that scale 40 minutes before dawn and about 2, 10 minutes before. At 0 the purple, blue and yellow lines are pretty close, showing your 10x32, 8x40 and 7x40would have a fairly similar target detection capability. The advantage would go to the lower powers at even lower light levels. The best performer in very low light would be a 10x50 from that plot.

David
 
Correct, Typo! I found it on a Wikipedia page which was written by Dr. H. |:d|

Here is the full page https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernrohrleistung

Edit: looking at the plot again, I find the curve of the 12x a little odd, since it doesn't connect to the 50mm objective. The 7x doesn't connect to 50mm either. I assume he left it out for the reason of not making the graph look too crowded and complicated.
 
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It may not be all that important.

Depending on where you are visiting Africa, the length of twilight there will be shorter in equatorial latitudes.

Bob
 
Beautiful Namibia!

What a fantastic place. I've been there 4 times, and each time took an 8x32 and it worked great. On safari in Namibia, there is not the premium placed on low light viewing that there is over here. You'll have no issues with that 10x at all, and the Euro HD's are winners IMO. Hope you have the trip of a lifetime.
 
What a fantastic place. I've been there 4 times, and each time took an 8x32 and it worked great. On safari in Namibia, there is not the premium placed on low light viewing that there is over here. You'll have no issues with that 10x at all, and the Euro HD's are winners IMO. Hope you have the trip of a lifetime.

We lived there for 3 years. Loved it.
 
Ok, I took them out driving around looking for deer. I saw a bunch of deer! I was out a few minutes before sun up. My 1990s classic Zeiss 7x42 TP were of course brilliant leaving in the dust every binocular I had along. Just the brightest for sure... But just after sun up with the sun on my back I saw a really nice buck over a quarter of a mile away. His antlers were a little hard to distinguish with the Zeiss. The Meoptas and their additional 3X made it clear enough to count the points. I was actually surprised a bit that they were as good as they were. They are a handy size and feel great in the hand. I think they make a good combo with the zeiss. I also had my EDF along. They are really fun but in another league... good league but another league.
 
Ok, after about two weeks of deer hunting I appreciated the smaller size. But at dawn and dusk they are not good. The big buck are out then the most. So today I took them back to Cabelas and returned them and got my $447 back. i then went to the bargain cave to find a 10x42 in the same binocular B1 HD glass... for drumroll please... $545!!! only $98 extra... I was so stoked... Then tonight we hunted until dark and they are amazing... no regrets! they are heavy but super dooper nice.
 
I am not out at dawn, though often at dusk, and my Cabelas Euro Instinct 10x32's perform pretty well in most lighting conditions, though of course, if you have a larger diameter objective, it will help with low light conditions. But, for my purposes, I would rather have the lighter 10x32's than the x42's for general use, and it is what I will probably stay with. These binoculars give a very wide open view for 10x, and seem more wide open than the 8x32 Cabelas Euro Instincts. Even though the 8x have a wider field of view overall. Maybe I just prefer the 10x details in combination with that open view.

Cabelas has a 90 day return policy, and that is one of the best in the industry. So naturally, if you can find them there at a discount, then it is worth doing IMO.
 
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