8x vs. 10x - my take

[Newtosavage]

Like many folks, I've vascillated between 8 and 10 power binoculars for a long time. 8x42's always have a wider field of view and are always brighter than their 10x42 counterpart. But 10's are better at resolving detail especially fine detail at a distance, and there are times when that is more important than field of view or even light gathering.

This past year I've indulged myself in an all-out binocular orgy, buying selling and trading over 25 pairs from $150 Bushnell Legend M's up to $1500 Swarovski SLC's. Most have been 10's but many have been 8's. I've used these in all sorts of situations, from glassing the mountains of Colorado during an elk hunt (handheld, on a window mount and on a tripod mount), to birding in dark coastal woodlots before sunrise trying to ID warblers at 12 feet.

Here's what I've learned -

For handheld use, 8's are just plain better in almost every way. Reason being, there is a limit to the amount of detail our eyes can resolve when an image is in motion. Hand-holding a pair of binoculars or riflescope means it's always in motion. Most of us have seen, for example, that cranking our rifle scopes up to 9, 10 or 12x doesn't always guarantee we will be able to aim better if we don't have a rest that is able to compensate for the increase in power. The image may be bigger, but it also appears to be moving around more so there is no net gain in our ability to make out detail.

I've found that when what my eyes can resolve at a certain magnification, is combined with what I can hold still enough to take advantage of AT that magnification, the sweet spot is at about 8 power. The brighter images helps my aging eyes resolve more detail as well.

Now, if I can get those binoculars on a tripod, the 10's really take over. I can gain a "little" more detail with the 8's, but I can resolve noticably more detail with the 10's - so long as they are tripod mounted. In decent light, a good set of 10x binoculars on a tripod is a thing of beauty and it's nothing short of incredible how much detail you can resolve once that image stops moving. Last year, I was able to call legal bulls on a mountainside at a measured 2.3 miles with nothing more than my 10x binocs on a tripod mount. That is incredible to me!

Having said that, there is one more scenario to consider. As the amount of light decreases, the advantage of even a tripod mounted 10x binocular starts to slip until at some point (about the time you can barely make out with the naked eye what you're looking at), the 8's actually catch back up because they deliver a brighter image to your eye, which as I said, helps you resolve more detail.

So at least for now, it's 8's for situations I expect to hand-hold my binoculars (birding, hiking, still hunting) and the 10's will get the nod when I'm near the truck or if I plan to glass from a vantage point on a tripod mount for a good portion of my day.

Well that's enough ramblings from this binoholic. I hope you found it useful.

 

[Newtosavage]

Okay, one more rambling for now...

My advice to anyone trying to decide what to buy first or in what order to buy or upgrade their optics would be this:

1) Start with the best 8x binoculars you can afford because you're likely to use them the most often and have them the longest. This IMO should be your "alpha" glass or as close to it as you can justify.

2) Add a lightweight spotter - for those glassing sessions when you've located something in your 8x that you need more information on. Lightweight spotters work great on the mountain but can still be very useful at the truck.

3) Add a good 10x - for open country in bright areas and when you ONLY want to carry one optic and expect to spend extended periods of time glassing during the day.

4) Add a large objective spotter - for judging trophy animals or ID'ing game from the truck or base camp.

I'm sure everyone's choices will vary depending on their hunting style, budget, preferences, etc. but this is what I've learned through my optics journey the past few years.

BTW, I'm between step 3 and 4.

 

[Blue72]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

I went through the same journey. Buying multiple binoculars and scopes.

I had the same conclusion on 8x vs 10x. However, when I tried 7x with even wider field of view then 8x, with even more stable and brighter views. 7x was the clear winner for handholding, plus using a monopod was like using a tripod. 7x didn’t move at all.

I agree with you, 10x are amazing when mounted. They are a great compromise of all the binocular magnifications lower and higher of its rating. But with that said, big views start at 15/16x. Once your binoculars are mounted there is no reason of not going with stronger power. If your impressed with 10x mounted, 15/16x is just as good as a 20-25x (maybe more) spotting scope with the benefits of two eyed viewing.

 

[Brooks]

I have a pair of 8x42.5 EL’s and use the heck out of them but also have a spotter when something is way off and I want a better look. It’s been working good for a long time but I do think about a good pair of 10x’s . Just can’t talk myself into dropping almost 3k on another pair of EL’s and not sure if a cheaper pair of 10x would be as good as Swarovski 8x42.5’s ?????

 

[yeti14]

I'm curious after trying 25 different binos, which ones did you keep?

 

[TomM]

I agree, 8x for handheld, 15x on tripod inlieu of a spotter. Granted I’m not counting rings on a Ram anymore.

Where I am currently struggling is 8x40 or 8x30ish? Since moving east, I hunt more timber than open space and am starting to lean towards an 8x32, for carryability.

 

[FlyGuy]

This has been my journey. My 1st alpha glass was 8x32 EL’s. I just love how light weight they are and are perfect for the vast majority of the hunting I do, which is always in the timber at closer ranges and I like the wide FOV. I then added a small spotter, some 15x, and a big spotter.

I just bought a 2nd hand pair of SLC HD 10x42 binos tho, which should arrive tomorrow. Hunting Aoudad last year and glassing at longer ranges in completely open country, I was underpowered and the FOV was of no benefit. This year I drew an archery elk tag in a unit that is wide open, an Aoudad tag, and an Ibex tag. All will require much more tripod work than I normally do, and finally necessitated the step up from 8 to 10 power for me.






You can’t cheat the mountain

 

[Brewski]

After hunting with 10's for many years I zoomed out to 8.5x42 EL's and much prefer the 8.5's because they are quicker to find target in timber, less hand shake, larger field of view to spot movement, and the detail is simmilar to 10's when tripod mounted.

Sent from my coral using Tapatalk

 

[Newtosavage]

I'm curious after trying 25 different binos, which ones did you keep?

Funny you should ask. I just came in from the garage where I was testing side-by-side my current favorite pair (Cabelas Outfitter HD 8x42's) against a pair of Zeiss Conquest HD 8x42's, a pair of Bushnell Legend M 8x42's (my wife's favorite) and a pair of Bushnell Engage 10x42's.

Honest to God, I can't let go of those stupid Cabelas Outfitter HD's. I mean they just work so darn well for my eyes, the alignment is literally perfect (zero eye strain no matter how long I look through them) and they are brighter and have a wider field of view than the Conquests. The Conquests edge them out ever-so-slightly on contrast, but not resolving power, and the brighter image and wider field of view more than makes up for that to me. So yea, call me crazy but after all those bins I'm rocking a pair of discontinued Cabelas Outfitter HD 8x42's. Having said that, they are made in the Kamakura plant in Japan, which also happens to be where the Zeiss Conquest are made (on good intel from the Bird forum folks) and I would not at all be surprised if they were nearly the same optical formula because their dimensions and controls are almost identical. Those Outfitter HD's were also sold under the Celestron and Opticron brands, and maybe a few others. I've owned 2 pairs now (both 10's and 8's) and literally the only fault I can find with them is the oversized eyecups, but that's only because I don't wear glasses, and I have a big nose bridge.

 

[Newtosavage]

I agree, 8x for handheld, 15x on tripod inlieu of a spotter. Granted I’m not counting rings on a Ram anymore.

Where I am currently struggling is 8x40 or 8x30ish? Since moving east, I hunt more timber than open space and am starting to lean towards an 8x32, for carryability.

I really like my Sightron 8x32's - had them for about 6 years and they are stupid sharp for $180 bins. Having said that, they just don't gather light well enough compared to my x42's and neither has any x30/32's I've ever tried. So while I have owned a lot of 8x30's and 8x32's in my life (including Swaro CL's and SLC's), I may be done with them. My eyes need more light now than they used to.

 

[Newtosavage]

Something I tested again this evening, was the 8x bin/ LW spotter combo. I am confident this is what I'm going to use moving forward. I was trying to read some writing on a tag on a natural gas riser about 100 yards from my garage. I could easily resove the larger writing, and could tell there were 8 lines of smaller writing, but with my Nikon 50ED zoomed to 25X, I could read all those smaller lines of writing with no problem at all. Last fall, that little Nikon was a champ in the mountains and I carried it everywhere because it only weighs 22 oz. - lighter than my binoculars! And it's as small as a water bottle, so it's a no-brainer to bring it.

I may add a 12 or 15x pair of bins next, but I sure would like a full-size 65 or 80mm spotter. I lead bird walks as well as hunt the mountains and being able to give folks great looks at shorebirds with a full sized spotter is something I've wanted to do for a while now.

 

[FlyGuy]

Something I tested again this evening, was the 8x bin/ LW spotter combo. I am confident this is what I'm going to use moving forward. I was trying to read some writing on a tag on a natural gas riser about 100 yards from my garage. I could easily resove the larger writing, and could tell there were 8 lines of smaller writing, but with my Nikon 50ED zoomed to 25X, I could read all those smaller lines of writing with no problem at all. Last fall, that little Nikon was a champ in the mountains and I carried it everywhere because it only weighs 22 oz. - lighter than my binoculars! And it's as small as a water bottle, so it's a no-brainer to bring it.

I may add a 12 or 15x pair of bins next, but I sure would like a full-size 65 or 80mm spotter. I lead bird walks as well as hunt the mountains and being able to give folks great looks at shorebirds with a full sized spotter is something I've wanted to do for a while now.

If you aren’t doing a ton of glassing, 8’s and a 50mm spotter with a granite peak 6oz tripod is tough to beat! It’s always in my pack for about any hunt. I only hump in the big spotter - or 15x, but not both - and the outdoorsmans tripod when I plan to spend hours and hours behind glass as my primary method of locating game.


You can’t cheat the mountain

 

[Newtosavage]

I've only done "a ton" of glassing (meaning more than 3 hrs at a time) a few times. Usually, I'm glassing at first and last light while I'm scouting the week before season. I can see how someone who is trying to spot bedded animals mid-day, might have a need to glass more than 3 hours/sit would want something else.

 

[deerkiller]

when I was "younger" I could use pretty much any binocular, even relative "cheapies" worked fine but as I found myself getting a bit older I also realized I needed to be more picky, fast forward to '96 when I had "radial keratotomy" eye surgery for astigmatism (not to be confused with lasik, it predates that type) - I ended up with "starburst syndrome", a common occurrence well known to pilots I found out post surgery - night time vision became a "real treat" especially where bright oncoming lights were concerned but another "surprise" was that most binocular use gave me a deep dull headache within 35-45 seconds, you can see where this is going … I was in a panic - In those days I had quite a few friends working at Leupold Stevens in Beaverton and coincidentally I got invited to the annual employee sale at Leupold where I found an 8X Gold Ring binocular (not made for a long time now) that for the limited chance I had to try them seemed way better than anything else I'd had to my eyes, killer deal too so I bought 'em and took them to AK that fall on a 10 day DIY river float for moose/caribou - They worked great but for me, 8x felt lacking so by the time I returned I was thinking "10X", shopped hard (for the times anyway) and could not find anything, including Swaros and the like that didn't give me that blasted headache, then I found a "by phone" optics dealer, "Rockstad" if I remember right, he traveled often to Europe and bought up "deals" on German and Austrian optics and offered very good prices, he swore I'd love a pair of Zeiss Classic 10X, sent them to me with the promise to buy them back if I didn't want them - Tried them and they were my constant companion for many years, all the while ALWAYS trying anything new that came along - I only use others now because of rangefinding binoculars and my Leica 10x42 are as good as the Zeiss were for me - Caveat: EVERYONES' eyes are different

 

[CApighunter]

I went from 8s to 10s then back down to 9s. I couldn’t be happier with my 9x45s, I feel like that’s about the perfect magnification for my style of hunting. Easy to glass free hand, but a tad bit more power when you need to focus in on something. Also I made a significant step up in quality going from the 10s to the 9s so I’m sure that has something to do with it.

 

[100percent]

when I was "younger" I could use pretty much any binocular, even relative "cheapies" worked fine but as I found myself getting a bit older I also realized I needed to be more picky, fast forward to '96 when I had "radial keratotomy" eye surgery for astigmatism (not to be confused with lasik, it predates that type) - I ended up with "starburst syndrome", a common occurrence well known to pilots I found out post surgery - night time vision became a "real treat" especially where bright oncoming lights were concerned but another "surprise" was that most binocular use gave me a deep dull headache within 35-45 seconds, you can see where this is going … I was in a panic - In those days I had quite a few friends working at Leupold Stevens in Beaverton and coincidentally I got invited to the annual employee sale at Leupold where I found an 8X Gold Ring binocular (not made for a long time now) that for the limited chance I had to try them seemed way better than anything else I'd had to my eyes, killer deal too so I bought 'em and took them to AK that fall on a 10 day DIY river float for moose/caribou - They worked great but for me, 8x felt lacking so by the time I returned I was thinking "10X", shopped hard (for the times anyway) and could not find anything, including Swaros and the like that didn't give me that blasted headache, then I found a "by phone" optics dealer, "Rockstad" if I remember right, he traveled often to Europe and bought up "deals" on German and Austrian optics and offered very good prices, he swore I'd love a pair of Zeiss Classic 10X, sent them to me with the promise to buy them back if I didn't want them - Tried them and they were my constant companion for many years, all the while ALWAYS trying anything new that came along - I only use others now because of rangefinding binoculars and my Leica 10x42 are as good as the Zeiss were for me - Caveat: EVERYONES' eyes are different

Rockstar is what I called him! Maybe Jim??? Ha! I bought quite a few pieces from that guy! I don't know if he is still in business but, he had a good deal every time and like you said, he guaranteed HAPPY!

 

[5MilesBack]

For bowhunting elk I always use my 8x32's because I'm a timber hunter, and I rarely use them as it is. For everything else I use my 10x42's. Never once have I ever said to myself "I wish I had less power" when it came to bino's.......even on horseback. I'd carry my 15x56's if they were smaller and weighed under 30oz.

 

[NoWiser]

I started out with 8X Nikons. Bumped up to 10X Zeiss Conquests. I didn't like the higher magnification unless they were on a tripod so I sold them for 8X SLCs. I'm very happy with my decision. I'll never own 10X again. 8X with a spotter will do everything I ever need. If I ever have money burning a hole in my pocket I'll probably get some 12s or 15s.

 

[Thunder head]

For the most part it all boils down to what you need the binos to do for you.

I agree 100% on the tripod. Buying a tripod mount for my binos was one of my best purchase lately.

I use a pair of 8 x 42 Nikon Monarchs for my everyday binos here in the east. They will get the job done for whitetail hunting. No, they don't compare to my 10x Swaros. But they will make it past legal shooting light. And if someone were to steal them. It will cost a whole lot less to replace them.

If they ever crap out. I'm going to drop to 8 x 32s.

 

[Blockcaver]

"Last year, I was able to call legal bulls on a mountainside at a measured 2.3 miles with nothing more than my 10x binocs on a tripod mount. That is incredible to me!"

Binos that call elk, now that is incredible!! Made me laugh, even though I know what you meant.

As per your analysis, great job for your personal eyes, steadiness, etc. Everyone is different and some have better developed techniques to hold higher power binos steady....sitting, resting your elbows on your legs, resting over the truck as applicable, or of course best of all a tripod. I can hand hold 10x42s very well, but also love my 8x32s for tighter cover., shorter range. I'd spend the big $$$$ on 10x42s as that is what gives me the most benefit for my hunting., even though the 8's get carried equally as much over the year.

As per scopes, the Nikon ED50 w/13-30 eyepiece is very good glass and as very convenient to carry. Mine gets used some, but not as much as the Swaro 20-60x65.