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Leupold Gold Ring Binoculars (1 Viewer)

L

Ludwig

New member
I have several Leupold scopes and I am intereseted in their new Gold Ring Binos (primarily for hunting). I have always heard, that for low light situations (morning and dusk), it is best to set your scope magnification at 1/7 the objective size (ie: 50mm is set to 7x). I assume this is the same for binos.

My question: Would the 8 x 42 be better than the 10 x 42 in low light, or does it really matter when comes to binos?

Also, what are your opinions on the new Gold Ring binoculars... are they the best choice at $1000? I would love to have a pair of Swarovski's, but I don't believe they are worth $500 to $700 more.

Please Help!!
 
Ludwig said:
I have several Leupold scopes and I am intereseted in their new Gold Ring Binos (primarily for hunting). I have always heard, that for low light situations (morning and dusk), it is best to set your scope magnification at 1/7 the objective size (ie: 50mm is set to 7x). I assume this is the same for binos.

My question: Would the 8 x 42 be better than the 10 x 42 in low light, or does it really matter when comes to binos?

Also, what are your opinions on the new Gold Ring binoculars... are they the best choice at $1000? I would love to have a pair of Swarovski's, but I don't believe they are worth $500 to $700 more.

Please Help!!
Click to expand...

Ludwig,

Classic binoculars for hunting are the Swarovski SLC series. It should still be possible to get a pre-SLCnew 10x42 for less than $1200. The optics are the same as the SLCnew series except for minor appearance changes. Another brand you might consider is Kahles, which is a Swarovski owned company in Austrtia. The optics, functionality, and durability are excellent IMO, and they also orient to the hunting community. Frankly, I was not too impressed with Golden Rings binoculars, and would much rather buy a Kahles for considerably less.

Best wishes,
Elkcub
PS. With modern coatings I believe 10x42 is a good size and usually much less weight than a 10x50.
 
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Cabela's has the Zeiss Classic for $799. I own a pair of them. I do not think my Leica Ultravid 10x42 BLs are visually worth $1000 more, and during low light hours, the Zeiss and Leica are nearly equal.

I've also compared 3 pairs of 10x40B Classics to 2 pairs of the 10x42 pre-SLCnew. One of each were beat, and one of each were new... They were different, but overall optical quality was pretty much even. Zeiss had slightly higher contrast and a sharper sweet spot, the SLC was a bit sharper edge to edge. The sweet spot on the Zeiss was pretty large, probably 80-85% of the view, and I found them more favorable to view. I wasn't able to test the SLCs in low light, though my boss prefered the SLC after a few nights of hunting with the Zeiss only because he was too used to the front focus. They're both very rugged, but the Zeiss is much smaller. I also think they fit better.

I would definitely recommend the Zeiss Classic 10x40b over the SLC, especially at a $400+ savings.

Edit: The Golden Ring bins might be nice, but I don't think they would be better than either of these...
 
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Is there any major difference in an 8x42 and a 10x42 in low light?

This, I believe, is my major concern after I pick a brand of binos.
 
Yes, there will be a bit of difference. I haven't had much experience with 8x bins. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but with lower magnification, you have a larger field of view, meaning more ambient light to view. With a larger FOV you're more likely to make out shapes and textures that might be more difficult to discern with higher magnification. With a larger objective, lower magnification will increase the size of the exit pupil, which is really transposing a larger image to your retina, so there is slighty more data for you to process.

Hmm.... instead of sounding like an idiot, perhaps I just should have said yes. lol
 
There may or may not be a difference in brightness depending on your vision. Mathematically, the 8X is brighter. In reality, I cannot tell a difference in the brightness. If you are still in your 20s you may be able to tell a difference. The Gold Rings are good and Leupold is a great company. But, I think the GRs are overpriced and as elkcub said; the Kahles are pretty hard to beat for the money.

ranburr
 
I found a set of Kahles 8x42 on Binoculars.com for $669. Do you think this is the best price... The same ones on Cabelas are $769
 
Ludwig said:
I found a set of Kahles 8x42 on Binoculars.com for $669. Do you think this is the best price... The same ones on Cabelas are $769
Click to expand...

Check out Eagle Optics (www.eagleoptics.com), they are very dependable, quick shipping and have a 30 day, no questions asked return policy. They're $649 on Kahles 8x42w's

Jaeger near Chicago
 
Ludwig said:
Is there any major difference in an 8x42 and a 10x42 in low light?

This, I believe, is my major concern after I pick a brand of binos.
Click to expand...

Ludwig,

There have been several discussions of this topic. Basically, low-light visibility is a function of both brightness and magnification. An empirical formula for such "twilight visibility" is T = (M x O)^.5. In words, it is the square root of the product of objective size times magnification. (This assumes equal quality optics.) So, there should be about 12% better low-light visibility with the 10x42 than the 8x42. This is a valid way to answer your question, although I personally believe the advantage is proportional to the square of the magnifications in this case or 19%.

Elkcub
PS. The number of rod sensors stimulated in the eye is determined by the area of an object's retinal projection, which is proportional to magnification squared. This is particularly important under low light (mesotopic) adapation conditions.
 
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Hello Ludwig,

Within a given brand ..... you 'may' be able to see the difference between a 8x42 and 10x42 . It's all rather subjective to your eyes. Same thing when you compare brands . .. . no two of us see the same way ..... so here worded advice can be cheap . Never underestimate the influence of the mind on what you think you see. Trust your own vision. You may better off looking to get the field of view you want .

As stated before , the Swarovski SLC is still available . I shop at Cabela's .... and I see the price is still at $1179.... free shipping. These are plenty bright in all conditions for me .... but of course these are my eyes. If you have a Cabela's near you you can directly compare them to the Leupolds. . . . go in the evening if you can .... and give your eyes plenty of time to adjust. Or..... the best solution to help you decide is to buy them both and try them in the enviroments you frequent .... and will leave no doubt as to which suits you best. This is where you need a good retailer..... one that has no restock fee or otherwise gives a hard time in returning or exchanging. Cabela's is excellent for this ..... and I had a good experience with Eagle Optics as an online sale.

I wish you well, Garth
 
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