Leupold Yosemite low light performance (1 Viewer)

Hi, first time poster. This forum is great! I hope some of you can help me out. I am wondering how the yosemite 8x30 compares to something like a Nikon Monarch or Vortex Sidewinder 8x42, especially for low light performance. I would assume that bigger objectives would be brighter?
I might say that the Monarch 8x42 are the highest quality bins I have had a chance to look through and they were good enough for me.

My real issue is that I want to get a good pair of 10x (Vortex Viper or similar), but I will have to save for a couple of years to afford them. Until then I need a good all-purpose pair for less than $100. My main concerns are light weight, ease of viewing, and low light performance. The Yosemite 6x30 sounds like it would fit the bill, but I don't know if 6X would be enough for me.

Okay, I think that was a long enough post for the first time! :bounce:

I have a Yosemite 6x30 on my desk right now. I assure you that it is an excellent low light birding/hunting binocular. It is bright/sharp, easy on the eyes, has excellent depth of field - little focusing is needed. I also have a Yosemite 8x30. It is also a nice binocular, but not quite so good in low light; it also has a shallower depth of field.

Hello Kevin and welcome.
Keep in mind that the Yosemite 8x has an eye relief of 14mm which is not enough for people wearing glasses and for some with deep-set eyes. The 6x has a relief of 20mm. So despite having the exact same build and ergonomics otherwise, they are quite different in how far the eyeball can be from the ocular lens. You should probably consider this factor.
I would go for the 6x. In this price range, keeping to low power allows for a very bright, clear image with a wide field of view. I value these more than magnification. Adding magnification will reduce image quality significantly unless you spend alot more on the design.
The wow factor of these 6x Yosemites is that people have forgotten how good 6x is as far as image qualty, field of view, reduced eye strain, great depth of field, etc. at a very reasonable price. While they are well made for $100, they are not especially advanced in design and the 8x version are noticeably dimmer and not as good as many 8x42 or 8x44 Porros such as the Swift Audubons which weigh only 24 oz.
But since you are hoping for a 10x bin, I can see you may find magnification more important. But don't expect good lowlight performance. In any 10x bin it will be worse than the 8x model of the same bin. Everyone has their own preference. Good luck in your search. Let us know what you get and your initial impressions.

Well, I actually don't like huge magnification for most things. The 10X will be for longer distance viewing (mountain and field). I want to get some good ones though to keep them as bright as possible.

I may just have to try out the 6x Yosemite and see if it's enough magnification. Compared to my $30 Tasco 8x40 anything has to be good!

Thanks for the info, guys.

kevina,

I have heard only good things about the Yosemite 6x30, and consider to purchase this model. The 5mm exit pupil will provide good lowlight performance, almost as good as the Nikon Monarch 8x42 model, if the light transmission is decent.

Patric

I have a pair of 6x30 on the way. I'll let you know what I think.

They are an outstanding binocular! I have one and reported on it a year ago. See the Leupold Forum in April 2006 entitled New 6 x 30 Yosemites at thread #9.

Also check out the Equipment Reviews at the top of this page. There is another review on them there under "Medium and Compact Binoculars."

Good birding,
Bob :t:

I got my Yosemite's. Right out of the box I have to say I was not "blown away" by how good they were. Perhaps I got myself too psyched up from all the good reviews. However, after playing around with them for a day I am liking them more. I am not a binocular expert by any means. My brother-in-law's Monarch 8x42 bins are the highest quality that I have had the chance to look through. I would give the Monarch's a definite advantage over my Yosemites though.
However, they do have a great depth of field and are much sharper than my Tasco 8x42. I like their size, and for the money ($67 NIB including shipping on ebay) their is no way I could do better.


I'm kind of wondering if I got a bad pair. They seem to focus all right, but there seems to be spots that are kind of out of focus. Either that or there is just a very small sweet spot in the middle. Like I said, I haven't had a lot of experience with decent binoculars so I may be imagining things. Another thing that I was wondering about was there is something like a "wrinkle" on the bottom of one of the lenses. If you have seen the UV film that goes on windows, and sometimes they get a bubble or wrinkle in the film putting it on. It kind of looks like that. Is that normal?


Also, along with my original post, I find them pretty good at low light. Again, I would give a significant edge to the Monarchs I tried, but at less than 1/3 the price I certainly can't complain!

Kevina,
First, if you don't wear glasses, did you twist the eyecups all the way out before you used them? If you did, then what you are describing is troublesome, both with the out of focus spots and the wrinkle in the glass. (Is the wrinkle in the Objective (front) lens? My 6 x 30's also have a very large sweet spot. You may want to consider returning them. Sometimes it is better to pay more and buy them from an experienced dealer, like Eagle Optics, who will check them out closely before they mail them.
www.eagleoptics.com.
Bob













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Ceasar, you are probably right about paying a little more for a dealer. I figured since they were New in Box that I would be safe, but perhaps not. Again, I may be off-target with my evaluation, but I think I might call Leupold and see what they think.

After looking at the "wrinkle" on the objective again, I think it may actually be a spot where the lens coating did not get properly applied. There are also small scratches on the coatings of both objectives. Perhaps these are repackaged factory seconds? They look like brand new boxes but who knows.

Well, I thought I would give a little update on my Yosemite issue. I contacted my ebay seller and he readily agreed to exchange my pair. I got the new pair today and am much more pleased with this pair! The first pair must have been defective. These are sharp, clear and very bright. I can now honestly agree with the other reviews that have already been posted on these binoculars.

Also, to answer the question that started this thread, I find them very satisfactory in low light conditions. I don't have my brother-in-law's Monarch's handy to compare against, but I think that this pair will compare favorably whenever I get the chance. Thanks for all the replies.

Hi Kevina,I have a Leupold Yosemite 6x30 and have been following this thread and am glad that you were able to get another pair.I have had two,the first pair my Brother-in-Law took I look through it and wanted to buy it.The other pair I bought off Frank on here after posting of remorse for selling the first,Frank was kind enough to offer me his for a very good price.On another note, I accidentally dropped my 6x30 Yosemite this morning on concrete floor from about two foot up and it is none the worst for wear.This is the first time I have ever had any of my binoculars fall and was really worried,no mark on them.
Steve