I did a test that I thought that I would share with the board members. There is from time to time many discussions as to 40 vs 50 mm and 1" tube vs 30mm tube.
Also, old lens coatings vs new lens coatings.
Much of the light transmission depends on the quality of the lens coatings and the quality of the lenses.
I did a test using the following scopes:
Leupold Vari-X III 4-14 in 40 mm
Leupold Vari-X III 6-20 in 40mm
Leupold Vari-X III 4-14 in 50 MM
Leupold Vari-X III in 6-20 X 50mm
Leupold Vari-X III 6-20 in 30mm tubex 50mm Objective
Pentax Light Seeker 3x9x42mm
Dr. Optics 3x9x40mm
Bushnell 4200 4-16 x 40 mm
Bushnell 4200 4-16x 50mm
I put up a target of a pig at 100 yards on a target frame along with a front page of a news paper. I wanted to do a simple test, how long can I see the outline of the pig, and can I see the cross hair in the scope well enough to place the shot.
I made a cradle that would hold all the scopes, and I had it to where I could swivel the cradle slightly to center each scope on the targets to evaluate each.
I set up the experiment to check out the scopes as the sun went down, with the targets facing Due South at 100 yards.
I set all the variables on 9x.
As the sun went down, I looked at the pig target and the newspaper print, trying to see the outline of the pig and trying to read the headlines on the newspaper as the sun went out of sight. As the sun went completly out of sight, the only light was a street light that was 100 yards away from the target and there was No moon out at all.
As the light started to disappear, the first scope to darken out was one of my favorites, the 4-14 Leupold 40 mm. It became obvious as the light dimmed that this was no scope to be using in dim light, in fact, I would say that this scope has very poor light gathering ability. Just as bad was the Leupold 6-20 x40mm which was no shock.
Both the Leupold VariX-III 4-14x50mm and the Leupold 6-20x50mm were Brighter than their 40mm counter parts.
I could not tell the difference between the light gathering ability of the Leupold 4x14x50mm, the Leupold 6-20x 50mm, and the Leupold 6-20 with the 30mm tube and 50 mm objective.
Both of the 3x9's were exceptionally bright, and the Contrast with the Dr. Optics was surpurb. However, the cross hair in the Pentax Lightseeker was more condusive to shooting in low light conditions vs the cross hair in the Dr. optics.
None of the Leupold scopes have a cross hair that is condusive to shooting in low light conditions, it is just too fine.
The surprise of the test was the Bushnell scopes. The Bushnell scopes were new to me, being a die hard Leupold man. It became very obvious that the coatings on these scopes are allowing a lot of light to pass throught the scope. The bushnell 4200 also has an extra lens in it vs the 3200 Model. They were without a doubt the brightest of all the higher powered scopes and they also have a great cross hair for low light shooting.
Another thing about the Bushnell 40mm Vs 50mm, I could not tell the difference in light gathering ability between the two sizes, they were both brighter than the Leupold 4-14x50mm. When I turned the power up and down on the 40 & 50 MM Bushnell 4200's, I still could not tell the difference between the light gathering ability of them.
There was another shock in the test, the Leupold 6-20 30mm with 50mm objective was no where near as bright as the Bushnell 4200's. It was obvious that I had been carrying a lot of extra weight for nothing.
My test was by no means sceintific. To my eyes, the Dr. Optic 3-9 was the brightest scope in the test but the cross hair is too thin for low light shooting. The 4200's are the hands down winners in both the light gathering ability with a cross hair that is usable.
It is all to obvious that quality of lenses and the quality of the lens coatings are more important than the size of the objective lens on 40 & 50 MM front objectives, and there was little if any advantage that the 30mm tube gives on this model of Leupold scope.
After this test, I called Leupold and gave them the results, I spoke to their head technician. He said that the brightest scope that Leupld makes is their 2-7!!! He said that the public has accepted misinformation concerning the 30mm Tube and the 50 mm front objective and Leupold has to cater their marketing to what the publics accepts as truth, even though the generally accepted truth is a lie.
Leupold tec also related to me that Leupold's best model scopes have better lenses and coatings vs the Varix-III.
Everyone knows that Leupold warranty is second to none.
Hope this helps!
Also, old lens coatings vs new lens coatings.
Much of the light transmission depends on the quality of the lens coatings and the quality of the lenses.
I did a test using the following scopes:
Leupold Vari-X III 4-14 in 40 mm
Leupold Vari-X III 6-20 in 40mm
Leupold Vari-X III 4-14 in 50 MM
Leupold Vari-X III in 6-20 X 50mm
Leupold Vari-X III 6-20 in 30mm tubex 50mm Objective
Pentax Light Seeker 3x9x42mm
Dr. Optics 3x9x40mm
Bushnell 4200 4-16 x 40 mm
Bushnell 4200 4-16x 50mm
I put up a target of a pig at 100 yards on a target frame along with a front page of a news paper. I wanted to do a simple test, how long can I see the outline of the pig, and can I see the cross hair in the scope well enough to place the shot.
I made a cradle that would hold all the scopes, and I had it to where I could swivel the cradle slightly to center each scope on the targets to evaluate each.
I set up the experiment to check out the scopes as the sun went down, with the targets facing Due South at 100 yards.
I set all the variables on 9x.
As the sun went down, I looked at the pig target and the newspaper print, trying to see the outline of the pig and trying to read the headlines on the newspaper as the sun went out of sight. As the sun went completly out of sight, the only light was a street light that was 100 yards away from the target and there was No moon out at all.
As the light started to disappear, the first scope to darken out was one of my favorites, the 4-14 Leupold 40 mm. It became obvious as the light dimmed that this was no scope to be using in dim light, in fact, I would say that this scope has very poor light gathering ability. Just as bad was the Leupold 6-20 x40mm which was no shock.
Both the Leupold VariX-III 4-14x50mm and the Leupold 6-20x50mm were Brighter than their 40mm counter parts.
I could not tell the difference between the light gathering ability of the Leupold 4x14x50mm, the Leupold 6-20x 50mm, and the Leupold 6-20 with the 30mm tube and 50 mm objective.
Both of the 3x9's were exceptionally bright, and the Contrast with the Dr. Optics was surpurb. However, the cross hair in the Pentax Lightseeker was more condusive to shooting in low light conditions vs the cross hair in the Dr. optics.
None of the Leupold scopes have a cross hair that is condusive to shooting in low light conditions, it is just too fine.
The surprise of the test was the Bushnell scopes. The Bushnell scopes were new to me, being a die hard Leupold man. It became very obvious that the coatings on these scopes are allowing a lot of light to pass throught the scope. The bushnell 4200 also has an extra lens in it vs the 3200 Model. They were without a doubt the brightest of all the higher powered scopes and they also have a great cross hair for low light shooting.
Another thing about the Bushnell 40mm Vs 50mm, I could not tell the difference in light gathering ability between the two sizes, they were both brighter than the Leupold 4-14x50mm. When I turned the power up and down on the 40 & 50 MM Bushnell 4200's, I still could not tell the difference between the light gathering ability of them.
There was another shock in the test, the Leupold 6-20 30mm with 50mm objective was no where near as bright as the Bushnell 4200's. It was obvious that I had been carrying a lot of extra weight for nothing.
My test was by no means sceintific. To my eyes, the Dr. Optic 3-9 was the brightest scope in the test but the cross hair is too thin for low light shooting. The 4200's are the hands down winners in both the light gathering ability with a cross hair that is usable.
It is all to obvious that quality of lenses and the quality of the lens coatings are more important than the size of the objective lens on 40 & 50 MM front objectives, and there was little if any advantage that the 30mm tube gives on this model of Leupold scope.
After this test, I called Leupold and gave them the results, I spoke to their head technician. He said that the brightest scope that Leupld makes is their 2-7!!! He said that the public has accepted misinformation concerning the 30mm Tube and the 50 mm front objective and Leupold has to cater their marketing to what the publics accepts as truth, even though the generally accepted truth is a lie.
Leupold tec also related to me that Leupold's best model scopes have better lenses and coatings vs the Varix-III.
Everyone knows that Leupold warranty is second to none.
Hope this helps!
