8x42 or 10x42
 

Trying to decide if I want 8x42 or 10x42. How did you decide? I did a search but was unable to decipher which would be better for bowhunting. I'm not sure that I completely understand exit pupil and what it means. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

-Rob

RE: 8x42 or 10x42
 

are you talking binoculars??? Well 8 and 10 is the power (how much it zooms in) and 42 is the objective (how wide the field of view is while looking through them (how much you see))... This means the 10 power will bring far things closer than the 8 will, but even though both are 42, you will see more through the 8 power than you will with the 10... I'm sure your confused...

these #'s are made up to help you understand...

Say you look through the 8 power at a row of 10 trees... You will see all 10 trees 8 x's closer

but if you look through the 10 power, you will only see like 8 of the trees, but 10 X's closer

I would go with the 10x42 if you are looking at long distances, if you are looking at things fairly close, the 8 might be better...

If you are talking about scopes, it's the same thing...
hope this helps...

RE: 8x42 or 10x42
 

Exit pupil is very easy to understand. If you take the size of the front lens of the binocular (in millimeters) "42" for example and divide the magnification into it (lets say 8x) then you will have an exit pupil of 5.25 mm. This exit puil is the little ring of light that you see in the binocular eyepiece when you hold it out in front of you.

The larger the exit pupil then the more light can get to your eye through the binocular. That is why a lower powered binocular generally gives you a brighter image (when everything else is equal). However there is a bit more to it than just that. Our eyes can only allow so much light in...depending upon the size of our pupil (how much it is dillated). during the day time a large exit pupil on a binocular does not offer much advantage because our own pupils aren't open more than 4 mm. However, at dawn/dusk our pupils dillate much more and in that case a binocular with a larger exit pupil would give us a distinct advantage.

Having said that, the 8x42 would probably be the better option since it has an exit pupil of 5.25 as opposed to an exit pupil of 4.2 that is found on a 10x42 binocular. Personally I chose the 10x as I like the higher magnification but ended up with a pair of 8x32s as well since I also hunt in situations where the wider field of view from an 8x binocular would come in handy. Neither has more than a 4.0/4.2 exit pupil but I have never found that to offer a distinct disadvantage for my hunting situations.

Hope this helps.

RE: 8x42 or 10x42
 

Army and PABownhuntr,

That's exactly the kind of information I was looking for! Thank you very much!

-Rob

RE: 8x42 or 10x42
 

I have 7x42 Brunton Eterna, I bird watch also and they are great deer finders.I myself would get a quality pair of binoc's and a spotting scope for my truck window or a tripod,with those two items your complete.Just my thoughts

lizzzard

RE: 8x42 or 10x42
 

I just went through what you asking about, and PA hit it right on with the exit pupil info, I myself chose the 8x42's because I could tell the diff in low light, most of my hunting doesn't require long range glassing so the most important thing to me was how they performed in low light, I wish I could've found some 7x42's in my price range but they don't seem to be very popular, while I was looking for binocs I'd say most places told me they sold more 10x's than anything else.

RE: 8x42 or 10x42
 

In addition to the exit pupil/light discussion I would through one more thing into the mix. I have both 8x and 10x. I find that in general the 8x is the one I like better due to the fact that I can view my subject better without all of the shaking that I experience with 10x. If your using a tripod than it is another story, but off hand, I like the 8x better.

RE: 8x42 or 10x42
 

Something else to consider with 8x versus 10x is the depth of field that is in focus at any one time. With an 8x binocular more areas seem to be in focus at any given distance. For example, lets say that you are looking at a buck 20 yards away and then notice that another deer walks behind the first one about 30 yards distant. With an 8x binocular the chances are that you will not have to refocus on that second buck or that you will only have to slightly refocus. With a 10x binocular you are most definitely going to have to.

I am somewhat torn. I have a 10x42 Nikon and an 8x32 Bushnell..both of which I am very fond of. I like the color of the image produced by the Nikon a bit better but the Bushnell's overall physical size and the depth of field of focus really appeals to me as well. If I had to choose just once magnification/objective combination then it would be an 8x42. Excellent transmitted light levels because of the exit pupil, a wide field of view (in most cases) and great depth of field focus.

One great website to check out is www.betterviewdesired.com .

RE: 8x42 or 10x42
 

One other thing you want to consider is if you wear glasses the 8x42 will be a better fit than the 10x42 because of the wider field of view

RE: 8x42 or 10x42
 

I went with the Bushnell 8X32 Legends, great glass for the money!!;)