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steiner 8x30 nighthunter vs steiner 210’s

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Exoman View Drop Down
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    Posted: October/15/2006 at 17:36
i really dont want to go over $500 and am trying to find a good hunting binocular with good low light performance, most of my viewing will be in excess of 100 yards and as murphy will have it I am sure most activity will be at dawn and at dusk although there will be a good bit of daytime glassing as well.
im starting to realize $500 will get me a higher quality porro than roof which has led me to the steiners.


while the 8 x 30 nighthunters boast a special lense coating, the military 10 x 50's have a larger exit pupil and higher twilight factor and luminosity.

the question here is which has a stronger influence on low light performance?


Also will the night hunters Have a funny hue?
from what I have read the predators work by filtering out greens and blues to alllow more reds and browns to be seen, which results in an inherently dimmer glass.
I can only assume the night hunters have a coating in similar theory that will have some affect on glass tint. (am I wrong here?)

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Roy Finn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/15/2006 at 17:47
The Nighthunters feature a broadband lens coating and is the brightest of all their lens coatings. A word of caution if I may. Using luminosity (relative brightness) and twilight factor to determine a binocular performance is ill advised. These are simply mathematical figures that do not take into consideration a binoculars glass/coatings quality and stray light management. An example would be to compare a 8x42 Tasco and a 8x42 Zeiss FL. Both will have identical relative brightness and twilight factor numerics.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Exoman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/15/2006 at 20:29
Originally posted by Roy Finn Roy Finn wrote:

The Nighthunters feature a broadband lens coating and is the brightest of all their lens coatings. A word of caution if I may. Using luminosity (relative brightness) and twilight factor to determine a binocular performance is ill advised. These are simply mathematical figures that do not take into consideration a binoculars glass/coatings quality and stray light management. An example would be to compare a 8x42 Tasco and a 8x42 Zeiss FL. Both will have identical relative brightness and twilight factor numerics.


Thanks  for your input,  I agree that  twilight factor and luminosity dont mean  much  when  comparing  different  classes  of binoculars.
And I  know  it would  be  ludicrous to  assume  the  low light performance of  a tasco 8 x 42 exceeds that and  a  zeiss 8 x 32 merely  because  of  twilight factor.
However  I am comparing  one steiner to  another steiner which are  complete  equals in design and craftsmanship, the only  variables being aperture  size  and  coating.

this  is  why I  ask if this  nighthunter  coating is effective   enough  to make  a bino  with  a  3.75 exit pupil  and  a 30mm objective brighter  than  a non coated same class bino  with  a 5mm exit pupil and  a 50mm objective.

as  a  side note  I am kinda stumped  why steiner  didnt go ahead  and throw in  a   10x50 210 style model into the night hunter lineup.  they  go  from 8 x 30   to  8 x 56  with extnded objective,  the  10x50  seems like  a shoe-in.






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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Roy Finn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/15/2006 at 21:07
Check out item # 510. It is a 10x50 Nighthunter XP. It was also made in the previous Nighthunter models bearing the same catalog number. It would probably be unlikely that the coatings alone could make-up for that big of a difference in exit pupil. The Nighthunter series use  higher resolution glass as well compared to the Military/Marine series. I'm not trying to sound vague, but it is difficult to compare two different bino's altogether. I can tell you that I own a 8x30 Hunting series bino and they are surprisingly bright for their class. Also, you must take into consideration that the chassis is smaller on the 8x30 Night hunter which means that a smaller prism system is being utilized than that of a 10x50 bino. Lastly, the Nighthunter series uses a different stray light management system than the MM series. So, in this comparison, you have different grade glass, coatings, stray light management and prisms.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Exoman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/15/2006 at 21:25
Originally posted by Roy Finn Roy Finn wrote:

Check out item # 510. It is a 10x50 Nighthunter XP. It was also made in the previous Nighthunter models bearing the same catalog number. It would probably be unlikely that the coatings alone could make-up for that big of a difference in exit pupil. The Nighthunter series use  higher resolution glass as well compared to the Military/Marine series. I'm not trying to sound vague, but it is difficult to compare two different bino's altogether. I can tell you that I own a 8x30 Hunting series bino and they are surprisingly bright for their class. Also, you must take into consideration that the chassis is smaller on the 8x30 Night hunter which means that a smaller prism system is being utilized than that of a 10x50 bino. Lastly, the Nighthunter series uses a different stray light management system than the MM series. So, in this comparison, you have different grade glass, coatings, stray light management and prisms.

I didnt  realize  they used different grade glass as well  as different  stray  light management.
Also   i didnt  realize  how much larger the  210  chassis  is in comparison to  all the other 8 x 30's.

As much as the  510's appeal to my senses  they arent jiving with my wallet :(

Judging  by the price  difference  from the  MM  8x30's to the MM 10 x50's  it  would be  fair to say if they did  offer the 210 style in the night  hunter line it would be out of my price range anyways.

Its  funny  when i began looking for binoculars I started out looking  at  some  $279  leupolds and  have  worked my way  up to  $500 steiners , whichever ones I go with I hope they  are  worth  it
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Roy Finn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/15/2006 at 21:39
I feel your pain. I bought my first pair of Steiner's almost 20 years ago, a pair of 7x50 Military/ Marines. Since then, I have owned 7x50 Whitetails (discontinued), 6x30 Whitetails, 8x30 Hunting, 8x42 Predators, 8x42 Peregrines and a pair of 8x56 Nighthunter XP's. It doesn't get any easier. I guess that answers your question regarding satisfaction with Steiner's. Yep, I like um.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bird Watcher Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/16/2006 at 12:23
Roy suggested that you look at the Steiner Nighthunter 10x50 & your response was that it was out of your price range($500). Unless I missed something the Samplelist shows the Nighthunter 10x50 at $499.95.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Exoman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/16/2006 at 15:28
Originally posted by Bird Watcher Bird Watcher wrote:

Roy suggested that you look at the Steiner Nighthunter 10x50 & your response was that it was out of your price range($500). Unless I missed something the Samplelist shows the Nighthunter 10x50 at $499.95.


wow  I never  looked at the samplelist til today. i may go  for some 8x56 or 10x50's.

so do  these  samplelists binoculars maintain  some kind of  warranty? are they  subject  to  the same swfa return
policies?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bird Watcher Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/16/2006 at 16:00
Ten day return policy & 5 yr. warr. for Steiner refurbished Nighthunter binoculars.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote NDhunter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/16/2006 at 20:32

I bought a set of the Steiner 10x50 Nighthunter XP's earlier this summer off the sample list, and I must say that I am impressed

with the low light ability, and when I have been scouting for deer in the late day to dark I have been reaching for these first.

The other pair that I carry along is my Kahles 8x42's which I like very much.

I would get the 10x50's,  I like the extra magnification.  These are light in weight, but are a little bulky.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Exoman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/19/2006 at 17:40
Originally posted by NDhunter NDhunter wrote:

I bought a set of the Steiner 10x50 Nighthunter XP's earlier this summer off the sample list, and I must say that I am impressed

with the low light ability, and when I have been scouting for deer in the late day to dark I have been reaching for these first.

The other pair that I carry along is my Kahles 8x42's which I like very much.

I would get the 10x50's,  I like the extra magnification.  These are light in weight, but are a little bulky.



I think I am definately  going  with  a  10 x 50 or an 8 x 56 off of  samplelist.   are  your 10x50 nightunters brighter than your  kahles  at night?  how do they compare optically?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bird Watcher Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/19/2006 at 21:57
Keep in mind that the 8x56 has an exit pupil of 7mm,
and the 10x50 has an exit pupil of 5mm.
The 8x56 will be best for those low light situations at dawn or dusk, which is what you were looking for in the first place.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Exoman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/19/2006 at 22:34
Originally posted by Bird Watcher Bird Watcher wrote:

Keep in mind that the 8x56 has an exit pupil of 7mm,
and the 10x50 has an exit pupil of 5mm.
The 8x56 will be best for those low light situations at dawn or dusk, which is what you were looking for in the first place.

My  ranges     vary from  100-400, and while  I  definately  want the  best   light  transmission possible,  im not sure at  what  range  its  advisable  to step from  8x to 10x
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bird Watcher Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/19/2006 at 22:38
From past experience, what distance are the majority of your shots? 200yds & under/200yds & over?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Exoman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/19/2006 at 23:36
Originally posted by Bird Watcher Bird Watcher wrote:

From past experience, what distance are the majority of your shots? 200yds & under/200yds & over?


well so far  the majority  have been under  100 yards  because I have been hunting the forests. this is my   first  year  to actually  have    some long range    shots.   I have  noted some  hot spots  at  170, 220  and   some further.  theres  a  couple  of     60-100 yard  opportunities.   but I know Ill see this one group at  170 yards.  ill definately  want to glass the whole area regardless of  whether  I decide  to take  a longrange shot in low light conditions.  there are  ta handful  of  300  yard spots  as  well as  420 yards.

http://www.photodump.org/stored8/tripod14.jpg
http://www.photodump.org/stored8/tripod11.jpg
http://www.photodump.org/stored8/tripod12.jpg
http://www.photodump.org/stored8/tripod8.jpg
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http://www.photodump.org/stored8/tripod6.jpg

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bird Watcher Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/20/2006 at 12:02
This is obviously why so many of us have more than just one binocular. Nobody makes one binocular that does everything.
Just as a matter of conversation, the only thing that comes to mind is the Leica Duovid in either 8+12x42 or 10+15x50. Of course these are both way out of your price range.
As Roy Finn says, "I feel your pain".
Myself, I prefer the extra magnification of the 10x50's.

Advice is free, solutions are expensive.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Exoman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/20/2006 at 12:22
Originally posted by Bird Watcher Bird Watcher wrote:

Advice is free, solutions are expensive.


Aint that the  truth :)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bird Watcher Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/29/2006 at 16:27
I had an experience, a few days ago, at BassProShops that I thought was noteworthy. I was looking through different binoculars & one was the Steiner Nighthunter 12x56. The hinge in the middle was extremely loose & the binocular wouldn't stay in place. I told the salesman about it & he said that this particular binocular had been in the display case approx. six months. I know that this "one" binocular does not represent the entire Steiner line, but, it was not a very good representation of this particular model. I was also told that they were all marked down & were being phased out of the store.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote claytonkolb Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/05/2006 at 23:57
Ok I'm new here, what is the samplelist?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bird Watcher Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/06/2006 at 00:33
www.samplelist.com
See for yourself.
Products for sale by SWFA.
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