Brightness rating question

[BDB]

I saw a link in here a while back about a couple of sites that really discuss all the various components of binocs and what to look for unfortunately I cannot find it right now. I am in the market for a pair now and I had a question about the relative brightness rating.

What does it really mean (what is the scale) and what is a good rating. One pair I looked at were the Nikon Monarch's since they seem to get good reviews here for glass in the $200-$400 range. The specs I saw listed for relative brightness are:

10*40 - 16
10*42 - 17.6
8*40 - 25
8*42 - 28.1

I can see the trend obviously but I don't knwo what to compare it to. Thanks for any info (especially to the link that I could not find)

 

[_droptine_]

BDB

Try this link. It talks about the brightness factors and other things about binoculars as well.

http://www.betterviewdesired.com/BirdW.html

 

[Speckmisser]

Steve,

There's also a good review in this month's Outdoor Life where they test optics and talk about how they're tested and what the results actually mean... in layman's terms. Good stuff.