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What would you do....got the Ultravid's ???

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cbm View Drop Down
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    Posted: July/15/2008 at 14:14
I have only had one set of binoculars.........a 25 year old or so set of Zeiss Dialyt 7x42b T*. My father in law gave them to me about 10-12 years ago and I have hunted with them ever since.
 
I am not very knowledgeable about optics and still trying to learn about all this stuff. But I "really" believed that getting a new set of high end 10x42's would be the next big step up in my hunting gear. I read and read and decided the Ultravid BR's were about the best bang for the buck right now. So I got a set and they came in yesterday.
 
I sat outside last night comparing them to my old binoculars till I got tired of looking throught them at 10:15 . I had a 3-d deer target set up about 75 yrds behind my house on the edge of the woods . To my suprise..........my old binoculars were nearly as sharp and clear......and were even a hair brighter . The leicas feel better and have nice adjustments........and a little sharper image but are not quite as bright as my old binoculars.
 
Now I do not know if that has to do with the exit pupil or not...........but if I go down below 10 power , I should just keep my Zeiss IMO. So to get a brighter set of binoculars what do you do ???
 
Should I look into 10x50's ? Should I look into Zeiss FL's ? Or do I just need to face the fact that my 25 year old binoculars are about as good as it gets ?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Roy Finn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/15/2008 at 14:44
Unless you really need a 10x binocular, you should hang onto the 7x42 BG/A's. I have a pair of them and they are about as good as it gets, especially the later ones you have with the T coatings.

Roy
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote silver Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/15/2008 at 18:20
You are starting to understand the exit pupil thing.  For the same exit pupil and quality the one with more magnification will appear brighter.  Other wise for the same quality the one with the larger exit pupil will appear brighter. 

Edited by silver - July/15/2008 at 18:24
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cbm View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cbm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/15/2008 at 19:08
Yeh...........I think I am getting a glimpse into it . I guess the newby in me expected the "newer" optics to overcome the exit pupil issue. But I guess I got 2 things going on...........first the exit pupil "is" what it "is" .....................and second..............the old Zeiss are better than I would have thought !! I know it sounds kinda stupid............but I really thought the newer binoculars would be a ton better !! But I guess you can only take in "so" much light and evidentally Zeiss was close to as good as it get's back in the 80's with these binoculars !!
 
There is still a side of me wondering if there is a better (in low light) set of bino's ............but now I am wondering if there really can be "that much" better of a set...........given the amount of light your eye can take in !! And I am 38 years old and have worn glasses most of my life.............I imagine I am in the middle age aspect of exit pupil !!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Roy Finn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/15/2008 at 19:52
cbm, I don't think you are going to find a 10x42 that will be so superior optically as to overcome the exit pupil advantage you have with the 7x42 you currently have (and glass quality). You would probably have to go to a top tier 10x50 to start seeing brightness advantages and that is going to cost you at least a grand to find out. IMO, that 7x42 BG/A is a sleeper. Perhaps you could somehow borrow a set of top end 10x's from someone if curiosity is getting the better of you.

Roy
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lucznik Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/15/2008 at 20:29
Originally posted by cbm cbm wrote:

I read and read and decided the Ultravid BR's were about the best bang for the buck right now.
The Ultravid is a lot of things.  It is perhaps even the best binocular on the market today.   It is not however, a "best bang for the buck" kind of binocular.  It is premium glass for which you pay a true premium price. 

As to the other issues you bring up, the others are steering you correctly; there is no way a 10x42 (with its 4.2mm) binocular is going to overcome the 6mm exit pupil of a high quality 7x42.  I would doubt even the 10x50 Ultravid could do that.
What if the hokey pokey really is what it's all about?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cbm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/16/2008 at 05:47
Well..........I just mean that comparing a set of new Ultravid HD's @ $2300, Swarovski EL @ $1700-$1900 , Zeiss FL @ $1700-$1900 ..........the BR's seemed like the best bang for the buck @ $1300-$!500 !
 
I appreciate all the help fella's ..............looks like I'll just keep what I have and chalk this one up to "another" learning experience !!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mike650 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/16/2008 at 08:46
Originally posted by cbm cbm wrote:

Well..........I just mean that comparing a set of new Ultravid HD's @ $2300, Swarovski EL @ $1700-$1900 , Zeiss FL @ $1700-$1900 ..........the BR's seemed like the best bang for the buck @ $1300-$!500 !
 
I appreciate all the help fella's ..............looks like I'll just keep what I have and chalk this one up to "another" learning experience !!


Keep yours sounds like a great idea and maybe take a look at Vortex Razors if you still want 10x binos. The Razors are great "bang for buck" package and optically they perform quite well against the big three.  I like the idea of having at least a couple of bino's to choose from depending on the hunting situation. 
“A hunt based only on trophies taken falls far short of what the ultimate goal should be.” – Fred Bear
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tahqua Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/17/2008 at 21:15
Originally posted by Roy Finn Roy Finn wrote:

Unless you really need a 10x binocular, you should hang onto the 7x42 BG/A's. I have a pair of them and they are about as good as it gets, especially the later ones you have with the T coatings.

Roy


I have the T coated version and they are "as good as it gets".
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote koshkin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/20/2008 at 13:55
Keep in mind also, that if you are not used to 10x binoculars, minute hand tremors will have an impact on the image quality (if you were handholding them).

I do not have the steadiest hands in the world and I look through a lot of binoculars.  I routinely see more detail with 8.5x binoculars than with 10x binoculars if I handhold them.  If I mount them on a support of some sort, the situation reverses and high magnification extracts more detail for me.  

ILya
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