Re: Advice on Nikon 8x40 Action?

I've just gone through the same exercise. Please look at my "Thank You..."
posting from yesterday and, if still available to you, my original request
for advice on September 1 and all of the replies. If you have access to the
October Sky & Telescope, look at the article on page 86.

My first intention was to replace my old 7x50s which had fallen apart, with
better quality 7x50s. But in doing some homework, I found that 7x50s would
not be particularly effective for someone my age (72) because eyes at my age
usually dilate only to 5mm or less. The exit pupil of 7x50s is (50/7) 7.1mm
and would not fit into the eyes. I had not considered this before and in
fact often wondered why I could not see much better with my 7x50s than my
8x30s.

I had not originally considered 10x50s for the same reason you are steering
away from them. But when I considered the rating factor of aperture times
magnification and saw that 10x50=500 and 8x40=320 I decided to give the
10x50s a try. As I mentioned in yesterday's posting, I feel I made a good
choice. They are not significantly different in weight than the old 7x50s
and I have found that I can hold them steady enough for what I am doing.

I hope this helps more than it confuses.

Charlie

"Kinney Baughman" <baughmankr@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:fgduck$vm5$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dennis Woos wrote:
YOu might want to go for a bit more magnification and a larger
aperture -- look at the Action 10X50.

I have a pair of Action 10X50 and a pair of Nikon Monarch ATB 10x42 --
the Action binos are larger and heavier and I tend to use the ATB's
because they are lighter and more compact.


Many folks can't hold 10x binos steady. My advice is to try them out at
night, or be prepared to mount them.

That's what I'm afraid of. After much soul-searching, I've decided I
want to err on the side of caution for my first pair of binoculars. For
this stage of the hobby, I need a lot of work on just identifying stars
and other objects and star-hopping to get to them. I was also told in
the early stages it's fun to just do some casual browsing of the Milky
Way. I don't want my arms to get so tired that I have to give up before
I'm ready finished with a night session.

Having said that, I'm no wimp! I'm still above average in strength for
my age. I run 4 or 5 miles a day. And a couple of days ago I was sold
on the idea of some 10x50's. But after reading, probably too much, I
fell back on the idea of 8x40's today, again as a first all 'round,
all-purpose buy.

That's why I decided to post here to you veterans who have probably
tried both and see how you came down on the equation.

Your first post seemed to confirm my suspicions. You say you tend to
use the 8x42 because they're lightweight. That's what I keep reading.

What a dilemma!

Kinney


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