% light transmission: a canard? (1 Viewer)

[Paultricounty]

Also just one number for light transmission doesn't tell the whole story. Each will transmit differently at different wavelengths. It may be that the zeiss has higher transmission in a certain part of the spectrum that makes them appear brighter (for me the cool image of great short wavelength light in searovski SLCs has always seemed very bright even if they didn't have the highest transmission). Also comes down to individuals sensitivities to different wavelengths and lighting conditions of their test et cetera.

Realistically the eye can't even really discern a 2% difference in transmission so I wouldn't worry about it. But then again I am in the "coatings are overrated" camp and regularly use older binoculars without modern multicoatings and get along just fine with them.

Wow, did I say that 😲🙏👍🏻. Well said, that about covers it. Now let’s get back to more important things like Glare monsters 😆

 

[Scott98]

FWIW.....I've noticed that the color cast of binoculars is easy to confuse with transmission. I've tried a bunch of 80's Nikon E binoculars that are known to have transmission in the 80's percentile. They have a warmer color tone and less transmission than my modern binos, I assumed they were much dimmer.

But, when I took them out at night to do astronomy, I tested them on faint stars, the ones at the edge of visibility, and they did really well. I could see the same faint stars as the modern ones...none of them disappeared in the E's like I expected. I think 1 or 2mm of aperture is going to overcome any difference in transmission.

I think the transmission spec serves as a better indicator of contrast and lack of scattered light. The higher it is, the more contrasty the view will be IMO. If the light's not passing through, it's getting reflected and bouncing around, creating scatter and blurring things. At least that's the way I see it - through a simple layperson's eyes

 

[Gijs van Ginkel]

Some confusion about transmission spectra I read.
The only thing you can read from the spectra is: the brightness level and the performance with regard to color reproduction: read my review paper on that matter on the WEB-site of House of Outdoor.
Gijs van Ginkel