Thread: 12x binoculars

Anyone run 12x binoculars for tops hunting, pretty keen to look at getting a pair..obviously top brands have the best glass, are there any good mid range price
wise binoculars that anyone could recommend, Cheers

I run 15x Leupold BX5 Santiums. Get LR bino. Upgrading to NL pure soon so try will be up for sale.

Leupold 12x50, i like them alot, good glass, a little heavier than 10x obviously, a bit harder to use one handed or standing especially when puffing from a climb though. I have a tripod mount and use it for glassing kms away frequently, then swap outbfor a spotting scope when I want to assess an animal. I have to say though, 10x binos would probably suit just fine when paired with a spotter

Originally Posted by Tuckerbox

I run 15x Leupold BX5 Santiums. Get LR bino. Upgrading to NL pure soon so try will be up for sale.

Let me know if your gonna sell the santiums mate����

Not sure greater than 10x is necessary, especially if you are only hand holding the binos.

With my 10x binos on a tripod I can easily spot big animals past 1km and can easily spot magpies and other smaller varmint out to around 800m.
Hand holding binos the ability to spot anything/see detail I greatly reduced.

Unless you routinely need to find very small things I think the best quality you can afford 8x binos would actually be the best way to go if you aren't going to carry a tripod/ome sort of stability aid.

I've got 6.5x, 10x and 12x binos and for general hunting the 6.5x will always be my go to bino.

Originally Posted by Beetroot

Not sure greater than 10x is necessary, especially if you are only hand holding the binos.

With my 10x binos on a tripod I can easily spot big animals past 1km and can easily spot magpies and other smaller varmint out to around 800m.
Hand holding binos the ability to spot anything/see detail I greatly reduced.

Unless you routinely need to find very small things I think the best quality you can afford 8x binos would actually be the best way to go if you aren't going to carry a tripod/ome sort of stability aid.

I've got 6.5x, 10x and 12x binos and for general hunting the 6.5x will always be my go to bino.

Yeah thanks for the info mate, I was up in the south island high country just recently I struggled to pick up animals my mates could see with there 10x bino, eyes are not what they used to be like, so then wondering if 12x might help me out haha, all glassing would be tops hunting and sitting, so holding them still shouldn't be to bad

I can't think of anything worse than 12x, even 10 are like looking through a tube to me. Quite a few years ago I bought a pair of high end Minox binos, after years of fairly cheap varieties. My spotting of game went way up, and suddenly cobbers who were used to saying "there's one" to me were getting it back in spades. The difference was the alpha quality glass which makes animals "pop". They were only 7x and I still have them. Later I went to Lieca Geovids for thier rangefinding capability and they were a step up again, best hunting tool I ever bought. 8x.

PS - all Sth Is high country hunting

The only difference you will notice between 10x and 12x is they're farkin hard to hold still

Originally Posted by MattyR

Yeah thanks for the info mate, I was up in the south island high country just recently I struggled to pick up animals my mates could see with there 10x bino, eyes are not what they used to be like, so then wondering if 12x might help me out haha, all glassing would be tops hunting and sitting, so holding them still shouldn't be to bad

What binos were you using? Quality of glass may have been more of a factor than magnification.

I run 8x42 Steiner Observers which are a good mid-range option. I regularly spot animals before my mates with 10x Deltas, which are still fair but definitely on the lower end of the price spectrum. Clarity, brightness & colour contrast all contribute to your ability to spot game in addition to magnification.

Something to bear in mind is that going up in magnification reduces light-gathering unless you also increase the aperture, hence higher magnification binos being typically bigger & heavier. I wouldn't recommend anything less than 50mm or the extra magnification will be useless in the magic minutes at dawn & dusk.

Originally Posted by mopheadrob

What binos were you using? Quality of glass may have been more of a factor than magnification.

I run 8x42 Steiner Observers which are a good mid-range option. I regularly spot animals before my mates with 10x Deltas, which are still fair but definitely on the lower end of the price spectrum. Clarity, brightness & colour contrast all contribute to your ability to spot game in addition to magnification.

Something to bear in mind is that going up in magnification reduces light-gathering unless you also increase the aperture, hence higher magnification binos being typically bigger & heavier. I wouldn't recommend anything less than 50mm or the extra magnification will be useless in the magic minutes at dawn & dusk.

Swarovski slc 10x42, very clear and bright, but I wasn't picking animals up as easy as the boys were..we Everyone's vision is different i guess, but I'll try some 12x out next hunt and see what happens

I’d have a crack with a tripod and bino mount , I use a aziak clamp that goes on one barrel of my swaros . When your binos arent moving you’ll be amazed at what you pick up when it moves. Absolute game changer .