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Mark9473
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/21/05
Posts: 2703
Loc: 51°N 4°E
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Re: Is aperture king? Does aperture rule?
12/18/06 03:16 AM
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Magnification rules, however you need aperture for a pleasing brightness of the view.
While not exactly the same magnification, in comparing my 7x50 and 8x42, I found that - contrary to what I had expected - the 7x50 is significantly brighter under my sub-urban skies at home, but under a truly dark sky there is actually less difference. To me, it seemed that the very dark sky allowed the 8x42 to catch up to the 7x50, rather than allowing the 7x50 to "take advantage" of its exit pupil. On a selection of large faint nebulae, it was a tie between the two which showed the best view. See this thread for details.
I also found - again contrary to my expectations - that under my typical mag 4 to 5 skies, there's absolutely nothing against using a 7x50. The view is not annoyingly bright, rather it matches the sky background I see with the naked eye. I find this very pleasing and aesthetical. See this thread for some of my impressions.
Also, I think Kenny coined it when in a recent thread he pointed to the difference between astronomy and 'just' stargazing. For astronomical performance, I'd choose the highest magnification and make compromises on exit pupil; for stargazing I'd want a large exit pupil and would make compromises on magnification.
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Mark
Leica 8x20; Vixen 8x42; Swift 8.5x44, 10x50 and 20x80; TS 7x50; Orion 15x63
WO Megrez II 80 FD + Baader 90° T2 Amici
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