PatrickJr Report post Posted June 5, 2015 I'm not sure what everyone is talking about with clarity issues in the 15's. Unless it's with less quality optics. Swaros are the only route I have gone. My 15's are as clear as any of the 10's I have looked through. I haven't looked trough the 12's though. I carry my 15's in a Bino harness on my chest. Haven't ever had a problem. They are a little shaky if your busting brush and breathing hard but when I see something I wanna shoot there's no second guessing. Plus having walking sticks and trees to lean against can always get more stable. Sometimes it's a bummer when your glassing close stuff cause it takes a little longer but I'm a firm believer in being able to see through brush. Higher power has paid off more times then not. 15's around my neck and big eyes in the pack.......watch out!!!! This reminded me of what some guy said on Jay Scott's podcast..... it actually was my favorite podcast too! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZbowhntr Report post Posted June 5, 2015 I haven't looked through the 12s but I recently bought the Meopta 10X50s and absolutely love them. I think they are much better glass than the Vortex. But like a couple others have stated I wouldn't get rid of your 15s if you don't have to. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OpticNerd Report post Posted June 5, 2015 If saving weight is your main concern then you should be happy with the 12s. I think the difference is just over a pound between your Minox and the 12s your looking at. Pretty good weight savings by going to the 12s. On the other hand if you will be doing majority of your glassing at long distances combined with a lot of slow methodical glassing taking apart every piece of cover you can find then you might be a bit disappointed going from 15x to 12x but I feel this assumption probably applies more to coues than elk IMO. For a deep wilderness elk hunt I think you should be happier with the 12s. I'm not sure what everyone is talking about with clarity issues in the 15's. Unless it's with less quality optics. Swaros are the only route I have gone. My 15's are as clear as any of the 10's I have looked through. I haven't looked trough the 12's though. I carry my 15's in a Bino harness on my chest. Haven't ever had a problem. They are a little shaky if your busting brush and breathing hard but when I see something I wanna shoot there's no second guessing. Plus having walking sticks and trees to lean against can always get more stable. Sometimes it's a bummer when your glassing close stuff cause it takes a little longer but I'm a firm believer in being able to see through brush. Higher power has paid off more times then not. 15's around my neck and big eyes in the pack.......watch out!!!! Just a guess but some of it might have to do with heat waves. There's times when I feel my lower powered glass appears clearer when compared to my higher powered glass due to the higher powered glass magnifying the atmospheric disturbances more. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AverageJoe Report post Posted June 5, 2015 The 12's are fine coues hunting til you get to about 600 yds. That is where the 15's simply take over. Also if you are used to the 58mm objective the 12's will feel a little tunnel visioned. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OpticNerd Report post Posted June 5, 2015 The 12's are fine coues hunting til you get to about 600 yds. That is where the 15's simply take over. Also if you are used to the 58mm objective the 12's will feel a little tunnel visioned. I'm a bit confused with the second part of this post. What are you referring to when you say tunnel visioned? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AverageJoe Report post Posted June 5, 2015 The 12's are fine coues hunting til you get to about 600 yds. That is where the 15's simply take over. Also if you are used to the 58mm objective the 12's will feel a little tunnel visioned. I'm a bit confused with the second part of this post. What are you referring to when you say tunnel visioned? Referring to the feeling of my eyes feeling constricted while glassing and the feeling as I was looking through a tube. The 15x56 seem to feel more natural as if they were an extension of my eyes. Everyone's eyes are different though so someone else might not notice the difference. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OpticNerd Report post Posted June 5, 2015 Got it. Normally when I hear the term tunnel vision used to describe binos or spotters it is in reference to the optic having a narrow apparent field of view hence my confusion because technically all the 12x50s being discussed should have at least the same or even a slightly wider AFOV when compared to the Minox 15x58. With the Minox having an estimated AFOV advertised at 61.42 degrees while the Cabelas/Meotpa 12x50s estimates are listed just a bit wider with the Cabelas at 62.85 degrees and the Meotpa at 63.08 degrees and lastly the Vortex 12x50 being advertised as the widest at 65.14 degrees. Advertised numbers have been known to be wrong from time to time but if these advertised numbers are in fact correct or even somewhat close a guy would be very hard pressed to notice a difference between all these binos in terms of AFOV. When it comes down to FOV in ft/1000 yards the 12s are listed between 275-285 ft while the Minox 15s are listed at only 215 ft so with the 12s you'll obviously be seeing quite a bit more country at any giving time while viewing through them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AverageJoe Report post Posted June 5, 2015 Got it. Normally when I hear the term tunnel vision used to describe binos or spotters it is in reference to the optic having a narrow apparent field of view hence my confusion because technically all the 12x50s being discussed should have at least the same or even a slightly wider AFOV when compared to the Minox 15x58. With the Minox having an estimated AFOV advertised at 61.42 degrees while the Cabelas/Meotpa 12x50s estimates are listed just a bit wider with the Cabelas at 62.85 degrees and the Meotpa at 63.08 degrees and lastly the Vortex 12x50 being advertised as the widest at 65.14 degrees. Advertised numbers have been known to be wrong from time to time but if these advertised numbers are in fact correct or even somewhat close a guy would be very hard pressed to notice a difference between all these binos in terms of AFOV. When it comes down to FOV in ft/1000 yards the 12s are listed between 275-285 ft while the Minox 15s are listed at only 215 ft so with the 12s you'll obviously be seeing quite a bit more country at any giving time while viewing through them. I do agree and the field of view is indeed larger with the 12's. The field of view wasnt too small all I can contribute it to was the flat lenses and 50mm objective. I am not an optics expert so not sure what the appropriate terms are. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
