Hunting Binoculars in Australia: How to Choose 8x42, 10x42 or 8x32

Magnum Sports — NSW Firearms Dealer Licence No. 413159984, 19 Babbage Road, Roseville Chase NSW 2069. Last reviewed: 19 October 2026.

For most Australian hunting, 8x42 is the right first binocular. Eight power is steady enough to hold in your hands without a rest, a 42 mm objective gives you a 5.25 mm exit pupil for the last twenty minutes of legal light, and the wider field of view finds animals faster than 10x does. Move up to 10x42 only if you spend your time glassing open country at long range from a seated or prone position. Binoculars need no licence of any kind in New South Wales, so unlike a rifle you can walk in, compare half a dozen pairs and take one home the same day.

What the numbers on binoculars actually mean

Every binocular carries two numbers, like 8x42 or 10x50. The first is magnification: an 8x makes an animal at 400 metres look as it would at 50. The second is the diameter of the front lens in millimetres, which governs how much light the binocular can gather.

Divide the second number by the first and you get the exit pupil in millimetres — the width of the beam of light leaving the eyepiece. An 8x42 gives 5.25 mm. A 10x42 gives 4.2 mm. A 10x25 compact gives 2.5 mm. In daylight your own pupil is around 2 to 3 mm, so all three look much the same. At dusk your pupil opens to 5 to 7 mm, and anything with an exit pupil smaller than that is now the bottleneck. This is the single most useful piece of arithmetic in optics and almost nobody at the counter has heard it.

8x or 10x: it is about your hands, not your eyes

People buy 10x because more sounds better. What they get is more shake. Magnification multiplies your own pulse and sway along with the image, and the honest truth is that most people cannot hold a 10x steady enough, standing, to pick a bedded fallow doe out of grey timber. An 8x of the same quality will show them more.

Choose 8x if you hunt scrub, timber, gullies or river flats, walk more than you sit, or want one pair that also does the job at the range and on the boat. Choose 10x if you glass big open country — western plains, tablelands, high alpine faces — and you are usually sitting against a pack or lying prone with your elbows down. If you go 10x, buy a way to brace it. Over a pack, over a fence post, over your knees, anything.

Objective size and the twenty minutes that matter

Australian hunting lives in low light. Deer, goats, pigs, foxes and rabbits all move hardest in the half hour either side of legal shooting light, which is exactly when cheap glass gives up.

• 32 mm — light and genuinely packable, excellent in daylight, noticeably behind at dusk. A fine second pair or a stalking pair for someone who already owns a bigger set.
• 42 mm — the sensible default. Big enough for first and last light, small enough to carry all day on a harness.
• 50 mm and up — measurably brighter in the dark, and heavy. Worth it if you glass from a vehicle or a fixed position, a burden if you walk.

If you are choosing between a 42 mm with better glass and a 50 mm with worse glass at the same money, take the 42. Coatings and glass quality move low-light performance more than ten millimetres of aperture does.

Glass, coatings and what ED really buys you

Three things separate a pair that costs a day's wage from a pair that costs a fortnight's.

Prism type. Roof prisms give you the straight, slim barrels almost everyone now wants. Porro prisms — the old stepped shape — are optically efficient and cheap to make well, which is why a budget Porro can beat a budget roof.

Coatings. “Fully multi-coated” means every air-to-glass surface is treated, and it is the minimum worth owning. Phase correction on a roof prism and a dielectric mirror coating both lift contrast, and contrast is what lets you see an ear flick in shadow.

ED or HD glass. Extra-low-dispersion elements reduce the purple and green fringing you see on a dark branch against bright sky. On a goat on a skyline at midday it is subtle. On a sambar in wet timber at last light it is the difference between an animal and a shape. This is the one upgrade people never regret, and it is exactly what the letters on premium glass are describing — our guide to what the Swarovski Optik letters actually mean unpacks the naming in detail.

Field of view, eye relief and spectacles

Field of view is how much country you see at once, usually quoted in metres at 1,000 metres. More is better for finding animals and for following them through timber; it is one of the quiet reasons an 8x beats a 10x for walking hunters.

Eye relief is how far your eye can sit behind the lens and still see the full circle. If you wear glasses you want 16 mm or more, and you want eyecups that twist down and stay down. Buying binoculars without trying them in your own glasses is how people end up with an expensive pair that shows them a dark ring.

The pair you will actually carry

A binocular left in the ute has no optical performance at all. Two things decide whether it comes with you: weight and how it hangs.

Under about 700 grams you stop noticing it. Over about 900 grams you need a proper chest harness rather than a neck strap, or by mid-morning it will be swinging at your waist and banging your rifle. A harness is the cheapest upgrade in optics and the one most people skip. Ask us to fit one before you leave.

Check the focus wheel with cold hands or gloves on, too. A stiff, fiddly wheel that is fine in the shop is a genuine problem on a frosty morning in the tablelands.

Rangefinding binoculars: one device or two

A rangefinding binocular puts a laser in the same housing as your glass, so you find the animal and range it without putting anything down. For anyone shooting past about 250 metres in steep country it is the single biggest practical improvement available, and it halves what is hanging off your chest.

The trade is cost, weight and a battery you now depend on. Plenty of hunters are better served by good 8x42 glass and a separate handheld unit — we set out when each makes sense in our guide to laser rangefinders for Australian hunting. Both approaches sit under rangefinding optics.

Matching the binocular to the country

• Scrub, timber and gullies — 8x42, or 8x32 if you are counting grams. Field of view beats reach.
• Open plains and tablelands — 10x42 with something to brace against, or 8x42 plus a spotting scope if you are picking apart distant country.
• Alpine and steep faces — 10x42 with a rangefinder, because the shot will be angled and the range will not be what it looks like.
• Night pest work — daylight glass is the wrong tool. That is a thermal job, and our guides to choosing a thermal scope and thermal for pest control cover it.
• Range and competition — a spotting scope on a tripod, not binoculars, once you are reading holes in paper.

What is on the shelf at Roseville Chase

We hold over 370 lines across binoculars, so this is a short walk through the shapes rather than a list. Everything named here was in stock when this guide was last reviewed.

• Bushnell Banner R3 8x42 and the Banner R3 10x42 — the honest entry point, and the pair we hand to people who have never owned binoculars. Both are deep in stock.
• Burris Signature HD 8x42 — a serious step up in contrast for a sensible number, and our most common recommendation for a first proper hunting pair.
• GPO Passion 8x42 ED — ED glass in a light body; the one to pick up if last light is when you hunt.
• Zeiss Conquest HD 8x32 — compact alpine glass with performance well beyond its size. See the rest of the Zeiss range.
• Blaser 10x42 and the Telson EDGE-PRO 10x42 flat field — for open-country glassing where edge-to-edge sharpness earns its keep.
• Vortex Diamondback HD 8x28 — the pocket pair, plus Vortex’s unconditional warranty. More under Vortex binoculars.

You can also compare Leupold, Bushnell, Steiner and Burris side by side. The best thing you can do is bring your glasses, come to Roseville Chase and look at a tree two streets away through three pairs. Fifteen minutes out the front of the shop settles it better than any review.

Frequently asked questions

What do the numbers on binoculars mean?

The first number is magnification and the second is the front lens diameter in millimetres. An 8x42 magnifies eight times through a 42 mm objective. Dividing the second by the first gives the exit pupil — 5.25 mm here — which is what determines how well they perform at dawn and dusk.

Are 8x42 or 10x42 binoculars better for hunting?

8x42 for most Australian hunting: steadier in the hands, wider field of view, brighter at last light. 10x42 if you glass open country at long range from a braced position.

How do I focus binoculars and set the diopter?

Cover the right barrel, and using the centre wheel only, focus on something 40 or 50 metres away with your left eye. Now cover the left barrel and bring the same object sharp with the diopter ring on the right eyepiece. Note the setting. From then on the centre wheel is the only thing you touch, and both eyes will be sharp together.

Are 10x25 compact binoculars any good?

In daylight, yes — they are a good glovebox or travel pair. For hunting they fall short: a 2.5 mm exit pupil is dim at the times you most need to see, and 10x in a light body is hard to hold still. An 8x32 is a far better compact for hunting.

Do I need a licence to buy binoculars in NSW?

No. Binoculars, rangefinders and spotting scopes are unregulated — no licence, no permit, no waiting period. Firearms are different: they require the appropriate licence and a Permit to Acquire, and since 1 July 2026 a satisfactory safe storage inspection must be confirmed before a PTA application can even be submitted. Ammunition is sold for collection at our counter only and we do not ship it. Magnum Sports holds NSW Firearms Dealer Licence 413159984.

Where can I buy hunting binoculars near me in Sydney?

At our shop at 19 Babbage Road, Roseville Chase, about twenty minutes from the Harbour Bridge up the Pacific Highway. We keep the glass out where you can handle it, and we would rather you compared three pairs for twenty minutes than bought the first one.

Where to next

Once the glass is sorted, the rifle on top of it matters just as much: start with how to choose a rifle scope, and if you are still settling on a cartridge, the best calibre for deer in Australia works through the species minimums. Hunting public land in New South Wales needs an R-Licence, and if foxes are the job, calling, timing and the right rifle setup is the place to start. Keeping good glass alive in Australian dust and heat is covered in cleaning, storage and field care.

Protect native wildlife. Perfect your shot. Magnum Sports is Impact Sports AU Pty Ltd, ABN 80 680 499 852, NSW Firearms Dealer Licence 413159984. Call (02) 9882 2689 or email sales@magnumsports.com.au. Information here is general in nature; confirm current firearms law with the NSW Firearms Registry.