Brightest Rifle Scope

nutcracker

What is the brightest rifle scope.What I mean which scope gathers the most light at dawn & dusk?And is there any reviews or reports to back it,other than the manufactures?I know that big objectives,coated lens,and setting on low power helps.But what I would like to know which one make model etc.actually is the best at light gathering,cost does not matter.Thanks

Nwcid

#1, http://www.atncorp.com/ThermalNightVision/ThermalWeaponSights/FlirThermoSight50RS170A

#2, http://www.atncorp.com/NightVision/NightVisionWeaponSights/ATNMars6x-4

Again, "cost does not matter"

TooBig

I didn't want a whole case of them, OMG those are pricy Hello Hello I guess I will have to pass.[}:)]

cpermd

The bigger the tube and objective, the more light will be collected and transmitted to your eye.

http://www.premierreticles.com/Products.html

CP

sandwarrior

nutcracker,

For years the brightest, un-assisted, scope was Swarovski. They grind them by hand and they are made of crystal so I'm told. The light gathering properties along with the clarity is next to none. Next is S&B, followed by anything that uses Schott made glass, i.e IOR, Zeiss, Meopta. Coatings have helped all of them increase their ability to transfer light to your eye so you can see better in the dark.

Of course as Nwcid pointed out the assisted scopes have the ability to translate much less light into something visible. The 'starlight' technology, as we called it in my hayday, has come a long way. Light amplification now can even give you the feeling of three dimensional. That wasn't so when I used NOD's a lot in the Army. It always felt two dimensional and we were constantly slowing down for fear of having a wreck while using them.

shooter10

Trijicon is a huge US military supplier. I really like the Trijicon "Accupoint" 3x9. It uses no battteries but instead uses fiber optic/tritium to light the reticle during day or night. Outstanding manufacturer making top quality optics.

cahas

quote:Originally posted by cpermd
The bigger the tube and objective, the more light will be collected and transmitted to your eye.

http://www.premierreticles.com/Products.html

CP
I once had an ITT optics engineer tell me, given two scopes of the same quality,one being 32mm the other being 50mm, the brightness would be the same. Yes, in the 50mm you would be seeing a greater area of light, but would be no brighter in a scope of the same quality. Look at it this way-look through a tin can with the ends cut out, then look trough a stovepipe. Same amount of daylight per inch,only a larger area of daylight.

cpermd

Your optics engineer is incorrect.

CP

Hawkshaw

There is a rule of thumb (mabey more than that), that says divide the objective lense diameter by the power setting. Any time that number is greater than 5mm + -, It is immaterial. The reason is that the human eye pupil can only open to about 5mm. Therefore: A 4X x 20mm scope equals a 5mm exit pupil, as does a 8X x 40 have a 5mm exit pupil. Any thing over about 5mm, is wasted. The human eye cannot use the excess. Consider predators that hunt at night, owls, cats, etc. Their pupils are way bigger than yours. Can anybody verify what I remember here. Let me know

tsr1965

It is all very complex, with two contributing factors for NON ASSISTED optics. One is that in the human eye, the pupil will dialate to a maximum of 5-6mm. Anything above that (dividing the objective lens diameter by the power gives exit pupil), is un usable.

The next thing is the amount of light transmitted. If the lens only transmits 65 percent, and reflects 35 percent of the available light, it will not be as bright as another that transmits 90 percent and only reflects 10 percent, at maximum exit pupil.

The two key factors are henceforth maximum exit pupil equal to 5mm, and highest percent of transmitted light.

Best

tocamoha

Last week I was watching deer at my feeder 100 yds.away.When it got so dark I could just make out fuzzy shapes with the naked eye ,my binoculars showed that they were deer but couldn't determine sex or rack size.Then I looked through my Pentax Gameseeker 3x9x40 and I couldn't believe how bright it was .I could easily count the points and could have shot one confidently had I wanted to.

nononsense

nutcracker,

I wanted to add this just for the sake of giving you a broader coverage of the subject.

Scopes Light Transmission

Coated Optics

Coatings on lens surfaces reduce light loss and glare due to reflection for a brighter, higher-contrast image with reduced eyestrain. Some brands of riflescopes are coated with a microscopic film of magnesium fluoride to enhance and improve light transmission. More coatings lead to better light transmission.

Coated - A single layer on at least one lens.

Fully-Coated - A single layer on all air-to-glass surfaces.

Multi-Coated - Multiple layers on at least one lens and all surfaces are coated at least once.

Fully Multi-Coated - Multiple layers on all air-to-glass surfaces.

Light transmission is also affected significantly by the number of glass surfaces not just the air-to-glass surfaces. Every additional glass surface reduces light transmission and the glue used between layers of glass further reduces the amount of light that makes it to your eye.



Pentax was the first optics company to employ coatings on their lenses. Their line of Light Seeker scopes will surprise most folks with the brightness.

Best.