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compared to the magnifi cation. A 10x32
for example or an 8x24 with respective
exit pupils of 3,2mm and 3mm will never
make you get the utmost out of your own
pupils light gathering capacity. Th ere is a lot
going for 32mm objective lenses in stalking
binoculars, compactness and light weight for
one. Th ey will only serve you well though
with an 8x magnifi cation. With a 42mm
objective lens diameter, both 8x and 10x can
be picked, depending on what’s important to
you: more fi eld of view (8x) or more detail
(10x).
RANGEFINDERS
Taking the guesswork out of range
estimation, every stalker really needs
binoculars with a built-in rangefi nder. With
the simple click of a button you know the
distance between yourself and your quarry.
It goes without saying that knowing the
distance to your target is a vital part of
shooting accurately. Except for heavily
wooded areas where shooting distances
tend to be short to mid-range, rangefi nders
come in to their own in wide-open spaces
like fi elds, moors, mountainous regions
and grasslands. Binoculars with built-in
rangefi nders allow to observe and measure
distances simultaneously, off ering speed
and ease-of-use in one compact package.
Rangefi nder binoculars are available in
diverse price ranges but mostly feature
42mm objective lenses.
GET THE BEST
Quality is key when picking a new pair of
stalking binoculars, be they with our without
a built-in rangefi nder. In optics you really
get what you pay for. Bright, razor-sharp
images come at a price. Keep in mind a €200
8x32 might share the same characteristics
as a 8x32 costing ten times the initial
amount, in terms of image quality and light
transmission the former will be far below par
compared with the latter. To get the most
out of your stalking trips, it is absolutely
vital to invest in quality optics as far as your
budget allows you to.
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too bulky for stalking. Diameters of 32mm
or 42mm are far more versatile. Th ese two
diameters are perfect for daytime stalking.
EXIT PUPIL AND DILATION
When considering binoculars, the
exit pupil is the business end
where we look through. Th is
is the aperture where the
image (and the light) exits
an optical device. Th is
aperture, better known as
the exit pupil, is measured
in millimetres as well. Th e
diameter of any binoculars exit
pupil is easily calculable. Simply
divide the objective lens diameter by
the magnifi cation. An 8x56 for example
has an exit pupil of 7mm, a 10x50 has an
exit pupil of 5mm, a 7x42 has an exit pupil
of 6mm and so on. For comparison a pair
of 8x24 binoculars only has an exit pupil of
3mm. Obviously the larger the exit pupil of
a pair of binoculars, the more light can exit.
Th e maximum diameter you can make use
of depends on your age. Th e pupils in our
eyes automatically enlarge or narrow with
the light in our surroundings. Th is process
is called dilation. When in the bloom of
youth up to an age of twenty-something,
human pupils dilate to a diameter of up to
7 millimetres. Th e dilation ability of our
eyes however diminishes with age. Form
an age of 60 and over, the pupils can only
enlarge to a maximal diameter of only
4mm.
PERFECTLY PAIRED
One’s own pupil capacity is best paired with
the exit pupil of the binoculars. It simply
does not make sense to use binoculars
with too small an objective lens diameter
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