Binoculars Poll - What format do you prefer ( 8x32, 10x50 etc. ) (2 Viewers)

elkcub said:

The original survey was modified midstream to allow only one selection when it originally asked for multiple selections. Several folks commented on this, but, like me, were apparently stuck with whatever their first selection happened to be. Since 8x32 appears earlier in the list than 8x42, it may be that this biased the results in its favor. I noted on post #2 that 6x25, 7x26, 7x35, 8x20, and 8.5x44 were missing even though many famous birding binoculars have these configurations. Moreover, 19 of the 36 configurations that were included had zero responses. Finally, although the question at hand was "What binocular configuration do you prefer," the preference could be for any use, e.g., Birding, Hunting, Nature, Travel, etc.

I wouldn't be too quick to draw momentous conclusions here. :smoke:

Ed

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I'll second that, Ed.
Conclusions based on such a small sample (88 voters) are statistically unreliable. Also many people use more than just one pair of binos, depending on the application. The survey should allow multiple choices, and it should be open for a much longer period of time to allow more people to vote.

PeterPS said:

The survey should allow multiple choices, and it should be open for a much longer period of time to allow more people to vote.

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The poll is open for a year Peter.

Lee

eronald said:

Troubador,

While I have no faith in either politicians or statistics, I can see the marine sites full of 7x50 glasses and no one here (zero, zilch, nada, 0% on the poll, at the time of typing) prefer using them => see above. From which I infer that we are not the place people who place priority on marine use do gather.

Edmund

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Edmund

Marine is only one category on your list and while I don't recall a lot of marine users on Birdforum we certainly have some. Very recently a member was explaining his use of 7x50s on the approach to harbours in his boat and how successful 7x has proved for viewing from boats. I don't know that we have a lot of law-enforcers either but we certainly have two and we have had wildlife tour leaders, professional biologists, a scientist retired from NASA, several farmers as well as business men and women. Since Birdforum has over 158,000 members it is not surprising that there are is a wide variety of folks in there.

Lee

[email protected] said:

Looks like 8x32 is the most popular format for birding. 8x32 is perfect for most birders. You don't need an 8x42 99% of the time and 8x32's are much lighter and more compact. Also, there are a lot of 8x32 binoculars to choose from. Funny Zeiss has never made an 8x32 SF. Well maybe they will. There is definitely a market for it.

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Could be. I have never found the ideal 8x32. Mine are Pentax. They weigh almost the same as my 8x42. I get a lot of bad weather birding parts of the year, though we DO have a large number of sunny days. on dark days I would not use my 8x32. But it is an old model, possible high end glass might be bright.

Tero said:

Could be. I have never found the ideal 8x32. Mine are Pentax. They weigh almost the same as my 8x42. I get a lot of bad weather birding parts of the year, though we DO have a large number of sunny days. on dark days I would not use my 8x32. But it is an old model, possible high end glass might be bright.

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Try an SV 8x32. I have a friend who lives in Nebraska and he said the weather lately is the worst he has seen it in 20 years.

As ED has stated binoculars are not just used for birding, I would think that 7X35/8x42 is the most common format world wide.

Andy W.

dries1 said:

As ED has stated binoculars are not just used for birding, I would think that 7X35/8x42 is the most common format world wide.

Andy W.

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No way! 10x42. There are way more hunter's than birder's.

Hi Dennis,

why should hunters prefer 10x42?

Andreas

Conndomat said:

Hi Dennis,

why should hunters prefer 10x42?

Andreas

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Because they want to see more detail so they can identify their game and a 10x42 is better at dawn and dusk when the animals are moving than an 8x42. If you go in a Cabella's or a Bass Pro in Colorado 95% of the binoculars are 10x42's. That could be different down south or back east where the hunting condition's are in heavier brush and closer in for Whitetail Deer versus the Mule Deer out here. I still bet overall 10x42's are the most popular format in binoculars.

[email protected] said:

Because they want to see more detail so they can identify their game and a 10x42 is better at dawn and dusk when the animals are moving than an 8x42.

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???
The 8x42 does have a larger eye-exiting pupil, so is it brighter?
Here in Germany still many hunters have the thick 8x56 glasses, in hunter forums I often read as a light alternative to use the 8x42.
OK. Of course, the US is more extensive, there are many forest regions here.

Andreas

Worst of my 5 springs. Packed snow and ice made it hard to drive. And migration birding worst of the 5 years.

Conndomat said:

???
The 8x42 does have a larger eye-exiting pupil, so is it brighter?
Here in Germany still many hunters have the thick 8x56 glasses, in hunter forums I often read as a light alternative to use the 8x42.
OK. Of course, the US is more extensive, there are many forest regions here.

Andreas

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"The twilight factor makes it possible to compare the performance of binoculars in low -light conditions. It is calculated by first multiplying the magnification by the objective lens diameter and then finding the square root of the result. In a 7x42 binocular, the twilight factor is therefore 17.2 - the minimum for sufficient detail recognition in twilight - and an 8x56 binocular has a twilight factor of 21.2. A comparison: An 8x30 binocular, on the other hand, has a twilight factor of 15.5 and is therefore less suitable for viewing in very low light conditions.

Twilight Factor

1) 8x42 = 18.33
2) 10x42 = 20.49

Troubador said:

Edmund

Marine is only one category on your list and while I don't recall a lot of marine users on Birdforum we certainly have some. Very recently a member was explaining his use of 7x50s on the approach to harbours in his boat and how successful 7x has proved for viewing from boats. I don't know that we have a lot of law-enforcers either but we certainly have two and we have had wildlife tour leaders, professional biologists, a scientist retired from NASA, several farmers as well as business men and women. Since Birdforum has over 158,000 members it is not surprising that there are is a wide variety of folks in there.

Lee

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Lee,
If you go to bhphoto, a well known US photo vendor, here is what they say:

Seven by fifty. That is all you need to know. Almost. The classic size of binoculars for marine use is 7x50. This means that they have 7x magnification and the objective lenses are 50mm in diameter. There are three characteristics of the 7x50 binoculars that make them attractive for marine use: conservative magnification, large objective size, and generous exit pupil size.

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https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/outdoors/buying-guide/guide-marine-binoculars



Now, if you go to the poll above there are ZERO people who have voted for 7x50. I may not know much about binoculars, but I have visited B&H when my beard was still brown rather than white, and they strike me as down-to earth merchandise-movers with a totally single-minded dedication for making sales and keeping customers coming back to buy by selling them what they need. So why do they recommend something to "sailors" that we do not see "liked" in the poll here? Maybe because the sailors are under-represented in the voting sample?

Edmund

The Verdict thus far ......

Jeez, with exactly 100 votes even I can work this out (discrepancies, duplications, omissions, and issues raised so far not withstanding)

~ half are full sized (~42mm) -- 49%
~ 2/5 are mid sized (~32mm) -- 40%
~ 1 in 10 is some sort of other weirdo ! :-O -- 11%

In the full sized bins (49 total) nearly half of those were ~8x, a fifth were 7x, and nearly a third were 10x

In the mid sized bins (40 total if we include the [5] 30mm bins too) seven 8ths were 8x, a tenth were 10x, and there was a solitary 7x32.

So far the most popular bin (30%) in any format is the 8x32 by a factor of ~2.
Next most popular was the 8x42, closely followed by the 10x42 (both in the order of a half the numbers of 8x32's. Honourable mention goes to the 7x42, and 8.5x42 users - each around half that again (or a ~quarter of the 8x32). To save cyberspace, it was my bin that was the lone 8x43 freak (though the objective actually measures out something like 41mm ! .. always knew I was a 1%er o

The breakdown of the majority (~7/8ths overall) of bin formats so far:-
Mag. . Objective Dia. (mm)
. . . . 30.32.40. .42. .43
7× . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . 7x32 = 1%
7× . . . . . . . . . . . 9 . . . . . . 7x42 = 9% . . . total 7x = 10%
8× . . 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8x30 = 5%
8× . . . . . 30 . . . . . . . . . . . 8x32 = 30%
8× . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . 8x40 = 1%
8× . . . . . . . . . . . 16 . . . . . .8x42 = 16%
8× . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . .8x43 = 1%
8.5x . . . . . . . . . . 7 . . . . . 8.5x42 = 7% . . . total~8x = 60%
10x. . . . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . 10x32 = 4%
10× . . . . . . . .1 . . . . . . . . . 10x40 = 1%
10× . . . . . . . . . . 14 . . . . . .10x42 = 14% . . total 10x = 19%

Obviously BF is populated by a stack of little old ladies (and blokes built like cricket bats ! , while the too busy to vote real hairy-chested HunTers are carting their huge chunks of glass up and down mountainsides one handed with a deer carcass slung over one shoulder and kicking cougars, wolves, and grizzly bears out of the way with their army boots ! 3




Chosun :gh:

eronald said:

Lee,
If you go to bhphoto, a well known US photo vendor, here is what they say:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/outdoors/buying-guide/guide-marine-binoculars

Now, if you go to the poll above there are ZERO people who have voted for 7x50.

Edmund

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Edmund
We are talking about different things here. You mentioned a list of folks that you suspect are not represented in the poll (marine, hunting, travel and safari, law enforcement and military) and I have been trying to say that actually Birdforum members are a diverse bunch of folks including some in the categories you mention, and in other categories too. Thats all.

As for the poll results so far, these results are a reflection not only of what format of binos folks own/prefer, but also a reflection of which members feel motivated enough to vote.

Lee

[email protected] said:

"The twilight factor makes it possible to compare the performance of binoculars in low -light conditions. It is calculated by first multiplying the magnification by the objective lens diameter and then finding the square root of the result. In a 7x42 binocular, the twilight factor is therefore 17.2 - the minimum for sufficient detail recognition in twilight - and an 8x56 binocular has a twilight factor of 21.2. A comparison: An 8x30 binocular, on the other hand, has a twilight factor of 15.5 and is therefore less suitable for viewing in very low light conditions.

Twilight Factor

1) 8x42 = 18.33
2) 10x42 = 20.49

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Hi Dennis,

So would a 15x30 glass (21.2) be better for the dark than your 10x42?

The power of a glass at night, as in the daytime, is a matter of object size. A higher magnification may even be counterproductive in perception. Finally, the twilight number standing alone is a bad advice.
The exit pupil should definitely be considered as a priority.

Andreas

[email protected] said:

"The twilight factor makes it possible to compare the performance of binoculars in low -light conditions. It is calculated by first multiplying the magnification by the objective lens diameter and then finding the square root of the result. In a 7x42 binocular, the twilight factor is therefore 17.2 - the minimum for sufficient detail recognition in twilight - and an 8x56 binocular has a twilight factor of 21.2. A comparison: An 8x30 binocular, on the other hand, has a twilight factor of 15.5 and is therefore less suitable for viewing in very low light conditions.

Twilight Factor

1) 8x42 = 18.33
2) 10x42 = 20.49

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I think the twilight factor must be used with caution and knowledge of other factors, for example the exit pupil.
After all a 42x8 bino has the same twilight factor as an 8x42.

Lee

Troubador said:

I think the twilight factor must be used with caution and knowledge of other factors, for example the exit pupil.
After all a 42x8 bino has the same twilight factor as an 8x42.

Lee

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If you want to see in the dark just get a 10×56. I note none have polled yet - owners must be out looking at owls all night ! :gn:




Chosun :gh:

Chosun Juan said:

If you want to see in the dark just get a 10×56. I note none have polled yet - owners must be out looking at owls all night ! :gn:




Chosun :gh:

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So true, Chosun. I love my Victory FL 10x56, and if multiple choices were allowed I would have also ticked the 10x56 box (not only the 10x42 checkbox, for my Victory SF 10x42).

I contacted Swarovski and asked them what format binocular they sell most frequently. Here was their response.

Hello Dennis,

Please see the list below that shows our most popular binoculars that we sell very frequently.

1. EL 10x42
2. SLC 15x56
3. EL 8.5x42
4. SLC 10x42
5. EL 10x50

While there are many of our other binoculars that sell often, these are the binoculars I see leave our warehouse the most frequently.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Best,
Lauryn LaBrosse
Customer Relations Specialist

SWAROVSKI OPTIK NA
2 Slater Road
Cranston, RI 02920
T 401-734-1800 ext. 2278
T 800-426-3089 ext. 2278
F 877-287-8517
[email protected]
SWAROVSKIOPTIK.COM
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