Stirring The Pot 8X vs 10X
11-03-2008, 05:45 PM
#21
Typical Buck
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: westchester, ny
Posts: 678
RE: Stirring The Pot 8X vs 10X
Uuuhhh, what were we talking about again? How gold are you, being able to be there. Hope you ski some of that awesome terrain too.
ORIGINAL: KodiakArcher
Because I hunt here:
Can you tell if that's a billy or nanny with 8x? I can with 10x and it saves me a lot of leg work! That being said, it's about quality not quantity and given the same quality of glass, I'll take the 10x over the 8x any day as long as they both have decent objectives (42mm+) for good light gathering ability ( I realize that 10x70's would be more ideal but there's the weight issue to consider as well...).
Those are my old dependable Leupold Golden Ring 10x42's strapped to my chest, I wouldn't trade them for anything.
Because I hunt here:
Can you tell if that's a billy or nanny with 8x? I can with 10x and it saves me a lot of leg work! That being said, it's about quality not quantity and given the same quality of glass, I'll take the 10x over the 8x any day as long as they both have decent objectives (42mm+) for good light gathering ability ( I realize that 10x70's would be more ideal but there's the weight issue to consider as well...).
Those are my old dependable Leupold Golden Ring 10x42's strapped to my chest, I wouldn't trade them for anything.
11-04-2008, 04:22 PM
#25
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 131
RE: Stirring The Pot 8X vs 10X
[blockquote]
Ok....I purposely didn't mention anything in my original post about the size of the objective lens or exit pupil. I'm glad to see most of you understand the relationship between the two. Multiply the power into the size of the objective and you get the size of the exit pupil. 8 divided by 42 is 5.2....a 5.2 mm dot of light coming out of the eyepiece will more than cover your pupil even under poor light conditions, on an 8X42 bino . 10 divided by 42 is 4.2mm on a 10X42 bino. Give me the choice between an 8X25 with a 3.1 mm exit pupil and a 10X42 with a 4.2mm exit pupil and I'd be a fool to choose the 8X25.....of course I'd choose the 10X42....but are either of those choices ideal. When you couple a smaller exit pupil with magnified movement do you think you're going to get ideal resolution????? Now give me the choice between an 8X42 with a 5.2 mm exit pupil and a 10X42 with a 4.2 mm exit pupil I'll take that big dot of light every time. That bigger dot of light not only covers all of your pupil under almost any hunting condition but also allows for movement and misadjustment of interpupilary distance. You all ALWAYS have your binos set at the perfect interpupillary distance don't you????????
The US military has studied the human body as it relates to optics. The average maximum that the human pupil will open up to is 7mm. So designing an optic with an exit pupil of 7mm would meet ANY viewing condition thus the military standard 7 X 50. They also found that 97% of the test group could HANDHOLD a 7 X bino well enough to CORRECTLY count the lines on a 7X resolution chart.............but only 8% could CORRECTLY count the lines with a handheld 10X bino on a 10X resolution chart. All of the binos had at least a 5mm exit pupil. The test group were required to use both hands, could sit, stand, or kneel, steady themselves in any way against any part of their own body but were not allowed to lay prone or use any foreign object to help steady themselves or the bino. The test group were between the age of 18-27.
Bino's by design are handheld, so it only makes sense to use a binocular that gives you the best possible options while using them handheld. If most of your glassing is from a bluff overlooking a huge expands of land and you glass while sitting then by all means get a tripod and buy a 15X or use a spotting scope. But for that peice of glass that hangs around your neck that you use in MOST hunting conditions..... what's the best option? BTW I love those answers along the lines of "well I hunt out west were you can see for miles"?????? Well I live on earth and I can see for millions of miles with my naked eye completely through our atmosphere and see Mars. How many of you know that you can clearly see the rings of Saturn with only 20X. ..... (the larger the exit pupil the better the resolution.) By the way I live in New Mexico and can clearly see with as much detail as you can.... the same thing you're looking at with 10X...... because I use an optic that gives me excellent resolution and I CAN HOLD IT STILL ENOUGH to take advantage of that resolution.
Lets talk about hunting conditions. How many of you all are going to tell me you never use your bino with ONE hand. How many of you are going to tell me you can't "see" your heart beat or your breathing cycle when looking through your binos. How many of you are going to tell me you are as steady as a rock with a pack on your back and a bow or gun in one hand as you top a ridge and see movement on the next ridge over. How many of you are going to tell me you are as calm as a lamb when you see a tangled web of antlers on top of that buck or bull. Movement is your enemy when looking through any optic and the more power you try to handhold the more that movement is magnified. You see the question is NOT will the 10X or 12Xbino produce good resolution. With most decent optics made today the answer is almost certainly YES they will produce good resolution. The question IS can you hold them steady enough to take advantage of that resolution?
Just some food for thought for those of you looking to buy a new pair of binos. And seewe haven't even touched on FOV, matched optics, coatings, or any brand names.
[/blockquote]
Ok....I purposely didn't mention anything in my original post about the size of the objective lens or exit pupil. I'm glad to see most of you understand the relationship between the two. Multiply the power into the size of the objective and you get the size of the exit pupil. 8 divided by 42 is 5.2....a 5.2 mm dot of light coming out of the eyepiece will more than cover your pupil even under poor light conditions, on an 8X42 bino . 10 divided by 42 is 4.2mm on a 10X42 bino. Give me the choice between an 8X25 with a 3.1 mm exit pupil and a 10X42 with a 4.2mm exit pupil and I'd be a fool to choose the 8X25.....of course I'd choose the 10X42....but are either of those choices ideal. When you couple a smaller exit pupil with magnified movement do you think you're going to get ideal resolution????? Now give me the choice between an 8X42 with a 5.2 mm exit pupil and a 10X42 with a 4.2 mm exit pupil I'll take that big dot of light every time. That bigger dot of light not only covers all of your pupil under almost any hunting condition but also allows for movement and misadjustment of interpupilary distance. You all ALWAYS have your binos set at the perfect interpupillary distance don't you????????
The US military has studied the human body as it relates to optics. The average maximum that the human pupil will open up to is 7mm. So designing an optic with an exit pupil of 7mm would meet ANY viewing condition thus the military standard 7 X 50. They also found that 97% of the test group could HANDHOLD a 7 X bino well enough to CORRECTLY count the lines on a 7X resolution chart.............but only 8% could CORRECTLY count the lines with a handheld 10X bino on a 10X resolution chart. All of the binos had at least a 5mm exit pupil. The test group were required to use both hands, could sit, stand, or kneel, steady themselves in any way against any part of their own body but were not allowed to lay prone or use any foreign object to help steady themselves or the bino. The test group were between the age of 18-27.
Bino's by design are handheld, so it only makes sense to use a binocular that gives you the best possible options while using them handheld. If most of your glassing is from a bluff overlooking a huge expands of land and you glass while sitting then by all means get a tripod and buy a 15X or use a spotting scope. But for that peice of glass that hangs around your neck that you use in MOST hunting conditions..... what's the best option? BTW I love those answers along the lines of "well I hunt out west were you can see for miles"?????? Well I live on earth and I can see for millions of miles with my naked eye completely through our atmosphere and see Mars. How many of you know that you can clearly see the rings of Saturn with only 20X. ..... (the larger the exit pupil the better the resolution.) By the way I live in New Mexico and can clearly see with as much detail as you can.... the same thing you're looking at with 10X...... because I use an optic that gives me excellent resolution and I CAN HOLD IT STILL ENOUGH to take advantage of that resolution.
Lets talk about hunting conditions. How many of you all are going to tell me you never use your bino with ONE hand. How many of you are going to tell me you can't "see" your heart beat or your breathing cycle when looking through your binos. How many of you are going to tell me you are as steady as a rock with a pack on your back and a bow or gun in one hand as you top a ridge and see movement on the next ridge over. How many of you are going to tell me you are as calm as a lamb when you see a tangled web of antlers on top of that buck or bull. Movement is your enemy when looking through any optic and the more power you try to handhold the more that movement is magnified. You see the question is NOT will the 10X or 12Xbino produce good resolution. With most decent optics made today the answer is almost certainly YES they will produce good resolution. The question IS can you hold them steady enough to take advantage of that resolution?
Just some food for thought for those of you looking to buy a new pair of binos. And seewe haven't even touched on FOV, matched optics, coatings, or any brand names.
[/blockquote]
11-04-2008, 04:36 PM
#26
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Virginia / West Virginia
Posts: 4,906
RE: Stirring The Pot 8X vs 10X
ORIGINAL: vichris
[blockquote]
Ok....I purposely didn't mention anything in my original post about the size of the objective lens or exit pupil. I'm glad to see most of you understand the relationship between the two. Multiply the power into the size of the objective and you get the size of the exit pupil. 8 divided by 42 is 5.2....a 5.2 mm dot of light coming out of the eyepiece will more than cover your pupil even under poor light conditions, on an 8X42 bino . 10 divided by 42 is 4.2mm on a 10X42 bino. Give me the choice between an 8X25 with a 3.1 mm exit pupil and a 10X42 with a 4.2mm exit pupil and I'd be a fool to choose the 8X25.....of course I'd choose the 10X42....but are either of those choices ideal. When you couple a smaller exit pupil with magnified movement do you think you're going to get ideal resolution????? Now give me the choice between an 8X42 with a 5.2 mm exit pupil and a 10X42 with a 4.2 mm exit pupil I'll take that big dot of light every time. That bigger dot of light not only covers all of your pupil under almost any hunting condition but also allows for movement and misadjustment of interpupilary distance. You all ALWAYS have your binos set at the perfect interpupillary distance don't you????????
The US military has studied the human body as it relates to optics. The average maximum that the human pupil will open up to is 7mm. So designing an optic with an exit pupil of 7mm would meet ANY viewing condition thus the military standard 7 X 50. They also found that 97% of the test group could HANDHOLD a 7 X bino well enough to CORRECTLY count the lines on a 7X resolution chart.............but only 8% could CORRECTLY count the lines with a handheld 10X bino on a 10X resolution chart. All of the binos had at least a 5mm exit pupil. The test group were required to use both hands, could sit, stand, or kneel, steady themselves in any way against any part of their own body but were not allowed to lay prone or use any foreign object to help steady themselves or the bino. The test group were between the age of 18-27.
Bino's by design are handheld, so it only makes sense to use a binocular that gives you the best possible options while using them handheld. If most of your glassing is from a bluff overlooking a huge expands of land and you glass while sitting then by all means get a tripod and buy a 15X or use a spotting scope. But for that peice of glass that hangs around your neck that you use in MOST hunting conditions..... what's the best option? BTW I love those answers along the lines of "well I hunt out west were you can see for miles"?????? Well I live on earth and I can see for millions of miles with my naked eye completely through our atmosphere and see Mars. How many of you know that you can clearly see the rings of Saturn with only 20X. ..... (the larger the exit pupil the better the resolution.) By the way I live in New Mexico and can clearly see with as much detail as you can.... the same thing you're looking at with 10X...... because I use an optic that gives me excellent resolution and I CAN HOLD IT STILL ENOUGH to take advantage of that resolution.
Lets talk about hunting conditions. How many of you all are going to tell me you never use your bino with ONE hand. How many of you are going to tell me you can't "see" your heart beat or your breathing cycle when looking through your binos. How many of you are going to tell me you are as steady as a rock with a pack on your back and a bow or gun in one hand as you top a ridge and see movement on the next ridge over. How many of you are going to tell me you are as calm as a lamb when you see a tangled web of antlers on top of that buck or bull. Movement is your enemy when looking through any optic and the more power you try to handhold the more that movement is magnified. You see the question is NOT will the 10X or 12Xbino produce good resolution. With most decent optics made today the answer is almost certainly YES they will produce good resolution. The question IS can you hold them steady enough to take advantage of that resolution?
Just some food for thought for those of you looking to buy a new pair of binos. And seewe haven't even touched on FOV, matched optics, coatings, or any brand names.
[/blockquote]
[blockquote]
Ok....I purposely didn't mention anything in my original post about the size of the objective lens or exit pupil. I'm glad to see most of you understand the relationship between the two. Multiply the power into the size of the objective and you get the size of the exit pupil. 8 divided by 42 is 5.2....a 5.2 mm dot of light coming out of the eyepiece will more than cover your pupil even under poor light conditions, on an 8X42 bino . 10 divided by 42 is 4.2mm on a 10X42 bino. Give me the choice between an 8X25 with a 3.1 mm exit pupil and a 10X42 with a 4.2mm exit pupil and I'd be a fool to choose the 8X25.....of course I'd choose the 10X42....but are either of those choices ideal. When you couple a smaller exit pupil with magnified movement do you think you're going to get ideal resolution????? Now give me the choice between an 8X42 with a 5.2 mm exit pupil and a 10X42 with a 4.2 mm exit pupil I'll take that big dot of light every time. That bigger dot of light not only covers all of your pupil under almost any hunting condition but also allows for movement and misadjustment of interpupilary distance. You all ALWAYS have your binos set at the perfect interpupillary distance don't you????????
The US military has studied the human body as it relates to optics. The average maximum that the human pupil will open up to is 7mm. So designing an optic with an exit pupil of 7mm would meet ANY viewing condition thus the military standard 7 X 50. They also found that 97% of the test group could HANDHOLD a 7 X bino well enough to CORRECTLY count the lines on a 7X resolution chart.............but only 8% could CORRECTLY count the lines with a handheld 10X bino on a 10X resolution chart. All of the binos had at least a 5mm exit pupil. The test group were required to use both hands, could sit, stand, or kneel, steady themselves in any way against any part of their own body but were not allowed to lay prone or use any foreign object to help steady themselves or the bino. The test group were between the age of 18-27.
Bino's by design are handheld, so it only makes sense to use a binocular that gives you the best possible options while using them handheld. If most of your glassing is from a bluff overlooking a huge expands of land and you glass while sitting then by all means get a tripod and buy a 15X or use a spotting scope. But for that peice of glass that hangs around your neck that you use in MOST hunting conditions..... what's the best option? BTW I love those answers along the lines of "well I hunt out west were you can see for miles"?????? Well I live on earth and I can see for millions of miles with my naked eye completely through our atmosphere and see Mars. How many of you know that you can clearly see the rings of Saturn with only 20X. ..... (the larger the exit pupil the better the resolution.) By the way I live in New Mexico and can clearly see with as much detail as you can.... the same thing you're looking at with 10X...... because I use an optic that gives me excellent resolution and I CAN HOLD IT STILL ENOUGH to take advantage of that resolution.
Lets talk about hunting conditions. How many of you all are going to tell me you never use your bino with ONE hand. How many of you are going to tell me you can't "see" your heart beat or your breathing cycle when looking through your binos. How many of you are going to tell me you are as steady as a rock with a pack on your back and a bow or gun in one hand as you top a ridge and see movement on the next ridge over. How many of you are going to tell me you are as calm as a lamb when you see a tangled web of antlers on top of that buck or bull. Movement is your enemy when looking through any optic and the more power you try to handhold the more that movement is magnified. You see the question is NOT will the 10X or 12Xbino produce good resolution. With most decent optics made today the answer is almost certainly YES they will produce good resolution. The question IS can you hold them steady enough to take advantage of that resolution?
Just some food for thought for those of you looking to buy a new pair of binos. And seewe haven't even touched on FOV, matched optics, coatings, or any brand names.
[/blockquote]
[8D]Thanks for the good info...guess I got lucky when I bought my 8x....
11-04-2008, 04:54 PM
#27
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Oct 1998
Location: Hughesville, PA USA
Posts: 18,322
RE: Stirring The Pot 8X vs 10X
ORIGINAL: vichris
[blockquote]
Ok....I purposely didn't mention anything in my original post about the size of the objective lens or exit pupil. I'm glad to see most of you understand the relationship between the two. Multiply the power into the size of the objective and you get the size of the exit pupil. 8 divided by 42 is 5.2....a 5.2 mm dot of light coming out of the eyepiece will more than cover your pupil even under poor light conditions, on an 8X42 bino . 10 divided by 42 is 4.2mm on a 10X42 bino. Give me the choice between an 8X25 with a 3.1 mm exit pupil and a 10X42 with a 4.2mm exit pupil and I'd be a fool to choose the 8X25.....of course I'd choose the 10X42....but are either of those choices ideal. When you couple a smaller exit pupil with magnified movement do you think you're going to get ideal resolution????? Now give me the choice between an 8X42 with a 5.2 mm exit pupil and a 10X42 with a 4.2 mm exit pupil I'll take that big dot of light every time. That bigger dot of light not only covers all of your pupil under almost any hunting condition but also allows for movement and misadjustment of interpupilary distance. You all ALWAYS have your binos set at the perfect interpupillary distance don't you????????
The US military has studied the human body as it relates to optics. The average maximum that the human pupil will open up to is 7mm. So designing an optic with an exit pupil of 7mm would meet ANY viewing condition thus the military standard 7 X 50. They also found that 97% of the test group could HANDHOLD a 7 X bino well enough to CORRECTLY count the lines on a 7X resolution chart.............but only 8% could CORRECTLY count the lines with a handheld 10X bino on a 10X resolution chart. All of the binos had at least a 5mm exit pupil. The test group were required to use both hands, could sit, stand, or kneel, steady themselves in any way against any part of their own body but were not allowed to lay prone or use any foreign object to help steady themselves or the bino. The test group were between the age of 18-27.
Bino's by design are handheld, so it only makes sense to use a binocular that gives you the best possible options while using them handheld. If most of your glassing is from a bluff overlooking a huge expands of land and you glass while sitting then by all means get a tripod and buy a 15X or use a spotting scope. But for that peice of glass that hangs around your neck that you use in MOST hunting conditions..... what's the best option? BTW I love those answers along the lines of "well I hunt out west were you can see for miles"?????? Well I live on earth and I can see for millions of miles with my naked eye completely through our atmosphere and see Mars. How many of you know that you can clearly see the rings of Saturn with only 20X. ..... (the larger the exit pupil the better the resolution.) By the way I live in New Mexico and can clearly see with as much detail as you can.... the same thing you're looking at with 10X...... because I use an optic that gives me excellent resolution and I CAN HOLD IT STILL ENOUGH to take advantage of that resolution.
Lets talk about hunting conditions. How many of you all are going to tell me you never use your bino with ONE hand. How many of you are going to tell me you can't "see" your heart beat or your breathing cycle when looking through your binos. How many of you are going to tell me you are as steady as a rock with a pack on your back and a bow or gun in one hand as you top a ridge and see movement on the next ridge over. How many of you are going to tell me you are as calm as a lamb when you see a tangled web of antlers on top of that buck or bull. Movement is your enemy when looking through any optic and the more power you try to handhold the more that movement is magnified. You see the question is NOT will the 10X or 12Xbino produce good resolution. With most decent optics made today the answer is almost certainly YES they will produce good resolution. The question IS can you hold them steady enough to take advantage of that resolution?
Just some food for thought for those of you looking to buy a new pair of binos. And seewe haven't even touched on FOV, matched optics, coatings, or any brand names.
[/blockquote]
[blockquote]
Ok....I purposely didn't mention anything in my original post about the size of the objective lens or exit pupil. I'm glad to see most of you understand the relationship between the two. Multiply the power into the size of the objective and you get the size of the exit pupil. 8 divided by 42 is 5.2....a 5.2 mm dot of light coming out of the eyepiece will more than cover your pupil even under poor light conditions, on an 8X42 bino . 10 divided by 42 is 4.2mm on a 10X42 bino. Give me the choice between an 8X25 with a 3.1 mm exit pupil and a 10X42 with a 4.2mm exit pupil and I'd be a fool to choose the 8X25.....of course I'd choose the 10X42....but are either of those choices ideal. When you couple a smaller exit pupil with magnified movement do you think you're going to get ideal resolution????? Now give me the choice between an 8X42 with a 5.2 mm exit pupil and a 10X42 with a 4.2 mm exit pupil I'll take that big dot of light every time. That bigger dot of light not only covers all of your pupil under almost any hunting condition but also allows for movement and misadjustment of interpupilary distance. You all ALWAYS have your binos set at the perfect interpupillary distance don't you????????
The US military has studied the human body as it relates to optics. The average maximum that the human pupil will open up to is 7mm. So designing an optic with an exit pupil of 7mm would meet ANY viewing condition thus the military standard 7 X 50. They also found that 97% of the test group could HANDHOLD a 7 X bino well enough to CORRECTLY count the lines on a 7X resolution chart.............but only 8% could CORRECTLY count the lines with a handheld 10X bino on a 10X resolution chart. All of the binos had at least a 5mm exit pupil. The test group were required to use both hands, could sit, stand, or kneel, steady themselves in any way against any part of their own body but were not allowed to lay prone or use any foreign object to help steady themselves or the bino. The test group were between the age of 18-27.
Bino's by design are handheld, so it only makes sense to use a binocular that gives you the best possible options while using them handheld. If most of your glassing is from a bluff overlooking a huge expands of land and you glass while sitting then by all means get a tripod and buy a 15X or use a spotting scope. But for that peice of glass that hangs around your neck that you use in MOST hunting conditions..... what's the best option? BTW I love those answers along the lines of "well I hunt out west were you can see for miles"?????? Well I live on earth and I can see for millions of miles with my naked eye completely through our atmosphere and see Mars. How many of you know that you can clearly see the rings of Saturn with only 20X. ..... (the larger the exit pupil the better the resolution.) By the way I live in New Mexico and can clearly see with as much detail as you can.... the same thing you're looking at with 10X...... because I use an optic that gives me excellent resolution and I CAN HOLD IT STILL ENOUGH to take advantage of that resolution.
Lets talk about hunting conditions. How many of you all are going to tell me you never use your bino with ONE hand. How many of you are going to tell me you can't "see" your heart beat or your breathing cycle when looking through your binos. How many of you are going to tell me you are as steady as a rock with a pack on your back and a bow or gun in one hand as you top a ridge and see movement on the next ridge over. How many of you are going to tell me you are as calm as a lamb when you see a tangled web of antlers on top of that buck or bull. Movement is your enemy when looking through any optic and the more power you try to handhold the more that movement is magnified. You see the question is NOT will the 10X or 12Xbino produce good resolution. With most decent optics made today the answer is almost certainly YES they will produce good resolution. The question IS can you hold them steady enough to take advantage of that resolution?
Just some food for thought for those of you looking to buy a new pair of binos. And seewe haven't even touched on FOV, matched optics, coatings, or any brand names.
[/blockquote]
I am now slightly smarter and thankful I chose the 8 x 42 Nikon Monarchs after using 10X's for 15 years plus. I like these 8x42's better.
11-04-2008, 05:08 PM
#28
Typical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Panhandle of Texas
Posts: 596
RE: Stirring The Pot 8X vs 10X
Good information and it makes sense to a layman such as myself.
I bought 10X42 Swarovski this past summer and have been quite happy. Maybe I would have been happier with the 8.5X42 but at around $1800, I guess I'll live with what I have.
If I am not mistaken, Swarovski sells more 10x instead of 8.5x. So at least I'm not the only sucker/idiot/embarrassment to humanity/etc/etc.
I bought 10X42 Swarovski this past summer and have been quite happy. Maybe I would have been happier with the 8.5X42 but at around $1800, I guess I'll live with what I have.
If I am not mistaken, Swarovski sells more 10x instead of 8.5x. So at least I'm not the only sucker/idiot/embarrassment to humanity/etc/etc.
11-04-2008, 05:18 PM
#29
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Kodiak, AK
Posts: 2,877
RE: Stirring The Pot 8X vs 10X
ORIGINAL: vichris
You all ALWAYS have your binos set at the perfect interpupillary distance don't you????????
[blockquote]
How many of you all are going to tell me you never use your bino with ONE hand. How many of you are going to tell me you can't "see" your heart beat or your breathing cycle when looking through your binos. How many of you are going to tell me you are as steady as a rock with a pack on your back and a bow or gun in one hand as you top a ridge and see movement on the next ridge over? The question IS can you hold them steady enough to take advantage of that resolution?
[/blockquote]
You all ALWAYS have your binos set at the perfect interpupillary distance don't you????????
[blockquote]
How many of you all are going to tell me you never use your bino with ONE hand. How many of you are going to tell me you can't "see" your heart beat or your breathing cycle when looking through your binos. How many of you are going to tell me you are as steady as a rock with a pack on your back and a bow or gun in one hand as you top a ridge and see movement on the next ridge over? The question IS can you hold them steady enough to take advantage of that resolution?
[/blockquote]
They always get used: a.) with two hands locked against the sling for a quick glance at short distance (or off the top limb using the bow as a monopod), b.) from a sitting position off both knees while glassing or getting a better look c.) prone, off a pack or rock if I really need to count growth rings on horns, points on antlers or check a distant bear for rubs.
Everything you say is accurate about the physics of binoculars but you assume too much in how they are used to paint your broad generalization that 8x is always better than 10x. It depends on their application and the user's knowledge of the inherent limitations so that they can be used to their highest efficiency.
