Understanding Magnification Factors

[dieseltwitch]

So I've been buying some new optics lately and one thing I've noticed is that I totally don't understand magnification factors. At least not the way I would like to.

For example I have a spotting scope that will do 32 to 416x Magnification. What I want to know is not how many times larger the object will look but rather, at what distance will an object appear to be at, at a give magnification. to me this is more valuable then how many times larger an object will look. any ideas how I might calculate this?

 

[bruce_ventura]

Divide the actual object range by the magnification to get the apparent range. For example, at 10X magnification, an object will appear 10 times larger and one tenth as far away.

 

[dieseltwitch]

Divide the actual object range by the magnification to get the apparent range. For example, at 10X magnification, an object will appear 10 times larger and one tenth as far away.

Ok that makes great sense!

let me check it here.

If I have an object at 1000 yrds and I have a scope with a zoom factor of 100x then it would 1000/100=10x its normal size. Or in other words would appear to be 100 yrds away?

 

[bruce_ventura]

No. An object 1,000 yds away would appear to be 1,000 yds/100X = 10 yds away when viewed through a 100X telescope.

 

[dieseltwitch]

Divide the actual object range by the magnification to get the apparent range. For example, at 10X magnification, an object will appear 10 times larger and one tenth as far away.

No. An object 1,000 yds away would appear to be 1,000 yds/100X = 10 yds away when viewed through a 100X telescope.

Thanks, I shouldn't do math late at night, even simple math