Binoculars with Range Finders-10x versus 12x

[Bitterroot Elk hunter]

I'm looking hard at the new Bushnell Fusion ARC 1600 binocular with range finder.

I have several good 10x binoculars already and am considering the 12x50 instead of the 10x42 because of my new interest in long range shooting/hunting.

My questions are:
Is the increased magnification beneficial enough to warrant an extra $200-300?
Can the 12x be hand- held (bracing it of course) stable enough to function well?

Any other comments or input are welcomed.

 

[shorty]

Um...well, first I would have to question even buying a range finder/bino combo. Reason being that if the rangefinder takes a crap you are left with an expensive set of bino's.

I would like to lay personal claim to this bit of wisdom, but this is what a salesman told me... the advice is probably worth what it cost you.

 

[Bitterroot Elk hunter]

Hey Shorty,

Thanks for taking the time to reply, but I was actually interested in the comparison of 10x vs 12x. If one was to follow your reasoning, why buy anything if there is a "chance" it might break or fail?

I suppose the reason I personally am considering these is 1- convenience, 2- this particular bino/RF combo has a LOT of features (including BDC, ARC, and rifle/bullet ballistic input), ALL of which COULD fail!

New technology----you pays your money you takes your chances!

 

[BuffaloBillCody]

Shorty: Sorry to dredge up an old discussion but I'm looking at a similar comparison but what I'd like to know is if 10x or 12x is just too much magnification for a useful shorter range rangefinder? I was goign to go with 8x just so that I can use them effectively for 100yds as well as 1000yds.

Cheers,

Cody

 

[R.Morehouse]

I have the 12x Fusion. They work just fine at 50yds and I ranged a cow at 1600+ on the 3rd try. They are large as most full sized 12x bino's. A good product I have not regreted picking up. They fully work as claimed.gun)

 

[BuffaloBillCody]

Thanks for the reply.

Cody

 

[bruce_ventura]

Personally, I would not invest in a bino/LRF combo for hunting that had such a small exit pupil. The exit pupil is about 4 mm for all three 1 mile Fusions. Even my 55 year old eyes have at least 5 mm pupils in low light. That means the Fusion has about 65% of the brightness of a bino with a 5 mm exit pupil, like an 8x40. That's a pretty big hit in binocular performance just to get a bino/LRF combo.

For hunting you would be much better off with an 8x40 bino and a separate LRF. For other applications that don't require good low light performance, the Fusions are a viable option.