10x when 8x32 + scope? (1 Viewer)

[looksharp65]

As in the past, I'm again tempted to spend money on optics, and I have, and want, a handful of fine and different binoculars.
Lately, I acquired another 80 mm scope mainly due to the logistic equation with regard to the available time frame. In short, this scope will spend its nights at my work together with the Meostar 8x32.

The scope will only be used in the evenings, but this far north, 'evening' may mean 30°C and broad daylight, or pitch black since two hours, and everything in between.
I'd say it will mostly mean spring and autumn for the scope, and all year round for the 8x32.

It is a coastal area with open skies. When I owned my 10x32 FL, I detected no brightless loss even around sunset, compared with the Fury 6,5x32. Not until I came under the tree canopy was there any real difference.

My scope goes down to 20x, meaning an exit pupil of 4 mm and a twilight number of 40.
My question is; will a good 10x50 add anything useful, considering the dusk period can be quite short and the 8x32 probably be sufficiently bright in most situations? My visual acuity is fine, but at times it's long distance observation.
My other scope begins at 30x, so the 12x50 Meopta is a good complement to it.

But is the gap between the wide field 8x32 and the quite narrow, but equally bright, 20x of the zoom wide enough to justify the expense and the weight penalty for a decent 10x50?
Even the relatively scarce use it may see should be part of the equation.

I love and need my big Meostar, but may only be able to bring it to my workplace for special occasions. The 10x is not hugely more than the 8x, so if anything, it's a matter of 10x50 or not, due to its exit pupil. Not 10x42.

Thanks in advance!

//L

 

[Troubador]

As in the past, I'm again tempted to spend money on optics, and I have, and want, a handful of fine and different binoculars.
Lately, I acquired another 80 mm scope mainly due to the logistic equation with regard to the available time frame. In short, this scope will spend its nights at my work together with the Meostar 8x32.

The scope will only be used in the evenings, but this far north, 'evening' may mean 30°C and broad daylight, or pitch black since two hours, and everything in between.
I'd say it will mostly mean spring and autumn for the scope, and all year round for the 8x32.

It is a coastal area with open skies. When I owned my 10x32 FL, I detected no brightless loss even around sunset, compared with the Fury 6,5x32. Not until I came under the tree canopy was there any real difference.

My scope goes down to 20x, meaning an exit pupil of 4 mm and a twilight number of 40.
My question is; will a good 10x50 add anything useful, considering the dusk period can be quite short and the 8x32 probably be sufficiently bright in most situations? My visual acuity is fine, but at times it's long distance observation.
My other scope begins at 30x, so the 12x50 Meopta is a good complement to it.

But is the gap between the wide field 8x32 and the quite narrow, but equally bright, 20x of the zoom wide enough to justify the expense and the weight penalty for a decent 10x50?
Even the relatively scarce use it may see should be part of the equation.

I love and need my big Meostar, but may only be able to bring it to my workplace for special occasions. The 10x is not hugely more than the 8x, so if anything, it's a matter of 10x50 or not, due to its exit pupil. Not 10x42.

Thanks in advance!

//L

I don't have a 10x50 so perhaps I am not the best person to comment but I feel with your current set up sounds excellent.

Lee

 

[Upland]

I would think along the coast a 10x would be nice for long range viewing and scanning. But only you know how comfortable you would get on with a large heavy set of glasses. I say the more the merrier though even if you only use them a small amount. There will be times when they will be the perfect glass for your surroundings.

 

[tenex]

If I had a 12x50 I wouldn't bother with a 10x50, and vice versa. Just too similar. Enjoy your fine glass.

 

[dries1]

Depending on how you feel with 10X hand held. A nice 10X50 roof would be nice in the winter for those dark days to take solo for the coastal walks.

 

[Binastro]

Canon 10x42L IS.

Regards,
B.

 

[looksharp65]

I don't have a 10x50 so perhaps I am not the best person to comment but I feel with your current set up sounds excellent.

Lee

The setup is certainly adequate. But if the most obvious choice resides at home, it's of no relevance. It takes planning, and the birds don't give a damn about my planning if I'm not properly prepared.

//L

 

[looksharp65]

If I had a 12x50 I wouldn't bother with a 10x50, and vice versa. Just too similar. Enjoy your fine glass.

The Meostar 12x50 HD definitely cuts it if I've had the opportunity to bring it. Maybe I have to practice being prepared.

//L

 

[looksharp65]

Depending on how you feel with 10X hand held. A nice 10X50 roof would be nice in the winter for those dark days to take solo for the coastal walks.

Absolutely no problem with hand-holding the 12x50, good balance and that heft are very helpful. Most 10x50 are fairly heavy and I reckon I'd be able to handle them.

//L

 

[looksharp65]

Canon 10x42L IS.

Regards,
B.

I'd want to like it, but the price tag and battery-dependence are discouraging. An IS binocular might be more interesting at times when scope is left home. But this post relates to the fact that I already have that very scope, and wonder whether or not a 10x50 would be a feasible addition.

//L

 

[looksharp65]

I would think along the coast a 10x would be nice for long range viewing and scanning. But only you know how comfortable you would get on with a large heavy set of glasses. I say the more the merrier though even if you only use them a small amount. There will be times when they will be the perfect glass for your surroundings.

New toys are always exciting. Owning a different backup binocular sits in my backbone, but the execution with actually bringing it is another thing. I never drive a car, and speed downhill with my bike in the morning. Perhaps I just need to learn to let it shuttle between the two basecamps.

//L

 

[William Lewis]

I'd see how much you pupil dilates to see if you can make use of the extra exit pupil that a 10x50 gives, it's been discussed at length here recently. As a ball park figure though you'll likely not make much use of an exit pupil greater than 6mm if your over 40. Higher transmission will also help with this.

 

[William Lewis]

Check here - 8x42 vs. 10x50 dawn/twilight

 

[Tringa45]

I'd see how much you pupil dilates to see if you can make use of the extra exit pupil that a 10x50 gives, it's been discussed at length here recently. As a ball park figure though you'll likely not make much use of an exit pupil greater than 6mm if your over 40. Higher transmission will also help with this.

Now, William, you as one of an elite bunch of 8x56 SLC owners should know that exit pupils larger than your own dilated pupils can still offer some significant benefits.

John

 

[looksharp65]

So it happened that I ordered a Svbony SV202 10x50 ED
Readers with good memory may question my decision to buy a backwards-focusing unit, i.e. anticlockwise to infinity. Such devices are inherently awkward due to that trait, and it will be unique in my collection to be that.
No doubt it will be a nuisance at times, but I have yet to find out how bad this is.

But there are physical feats I have learned in recent years, that were unimaginable earlier in my life, and that are decidedly more difficult and potentially dangerous than an anticlockwise focus knob. I'll probably live with the inconvenience, or sell it.

The Svbony would almost be a free-ride to almost everything that even the costliest alpha 10x50 provide. I was also tempted to a Genesis 10.5x44, but it would be too expensive to have lying at work, and not significantly brighter than the little Meostar, judging from its exit pupil.
Together with my new Svbony scope, these are the only two sport optics I bought new in about a decade. My current collection is built with second-hand optics. But judging from the glowing reviews of the 406P ED scope and the SV202 binoculars, together with my assessment of the scope, finding such good optical quality on the used market at the same or lower price is not possible. Time will tell about their durability.

//L

 

[looksharp65]

The Svbony arrived several weeks before schedule. Unfortunately, it was out of collimation and suffered from central astigmatism in both barrels.
At first sight, it didn't appear too bad, but here was something slightly 'off' about the image. When I looked into it backwards, it was obvious that the fields didn't match.
But the kiss of Death was when I compared it to the little 8x32 Meostar a good half hour after sunset. The Meostar consistently presented a brighter image and better detail even into deepest shadow. I doubt a perfect sample would rectify that to a degree that would justify the weight penalty.
It's official now: I'll stick with 32 mm binoculars and the 12x50.

//L