So,what does "1x magnification" mean ?

[MIL-DOT]

I've always been mostly into old school iron sights, or very traditional scopes, with much less exeperience with the battery-operated,holographic stuff.
But, I've been casually looking into them the lately, and I keep running into the seemingly contradictory term, "1x magnification".
As I understand, anything multiplied by 1, is what ever it started out as.
44x1= 44.
And if "1x" means the same as normal vision, then where does the term, "magnification" fit in?

 

[WestKentucky]

I agree, it's confusing terminology. It does not magnify the field of view, it only adds the dot. I think the term just carries over from most optics which do magnify field of view so rather than saying unmagnified they simply do it in shorthand as 1x. That is consistent with everything else since everything else is a 3x or a 4-12x or whatever it may be.

 

[FL-NC]

In this case it means nothing. Literally, 0.

 

[newfalguy101]

1X takes less space on the optic than "non-magnifying"

 

[MaterDei]

Pretty self-explanatory to me, not sure where the confusion is.

 

[badkarmamib]

Except that with most low-power variable scopes (e.g. 1-4x), the 1 is actually magnification of 1.4x, rounded to 1.

 

[jmr40]

The actual magnification of all scopes is rounded off. Some have the actual numbers hidden somewhere in their catalogs or websites but it is pretty close to the advertised numbers. The actual magnification will also vary with individual users depending on how they focus the scope. A typical scope advertised as 3-9X may be 2.9-9.2X with me using it. Someone else who focuses it differently may get 3.1-9.3X.x

But most 1X scopes are a lot closer to 1X than 1.4X. Leupold offers a 1-4X as well as a 1.5-5X, 1.75-6X, and 2.5-8X. There would be no reason to round off that much.

All of the 1X scopes I've used did not magnify enough for me to notice. It is just like looking through a tube with a reticle mounted inside. I've owned 1.5X and 2X. Even the difference between those and 1X is noticeable. I find that I'm more accurate and faster using a 1x optic than irons or dot sights up close. Especially in poor light. The dots are easy to see in poor light, but the target is almost impossible to see. Sorta defeats the purpose.

 

[GRIZ22]

The advantage of a 1x scope is it puts the target and sight (crosshairs) on the same plane.

 

[gillmeister692]

The scope manufacturer could have inscribed "PLANO", but that would require a shooter to have passed high school physics.

 

[Bobson]

The scope manufacturer could have inscribed "PLANO", but that would require a shooter to have passed high school physics.

So that's what I've been missing all these years.

 

[rcmodel]

That ain't nothing.

I thought PLANO was a plastic tackle box all these years.

rc

 

[chicharrones]

But most 1X scopes are a lot closer to 1X than 1.4X. Leupold offers a 1-4X as well as a 1.5-5X, 1.75-6X, and 2.5-8X. There would be no reason to round off that much.

Yet, those 1-4x Leupolds are actually 1.4x, as listed in the specs on their website. I can see the 1.4 in my only Leupold and it isn't as effortless on my eye as a red dot, but it's not bad either.

 

[chicharrones]

That ain't nothing.

I thought PLANO was a plastic tackle box all these years.

rc

Me too!

Geez, I barely remember the basic physics I took back in the day.

 

[Jim Watson]

I had a 1-4 Leupold that was really about 1.4 at the low end.

My Redfield 1-5 was just barely magnified, maybe 1.1X. The only scope I could shoot with both eyes open.

 

[herrwalther]

The "magnification" value is rounded with scopes and red dots, as mentioned. Red dots do magnify field of vision to a virtually negligible amount. So it makes more sense to put 1X on the box and site instead of 1 followed by a ton of zeroes.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

Why "1X"?

In an optical sight like a "red dot" it lets you know there is no magnification to contend with.

In a vari-focus device it allows one to adjust the optic to the firer's particular vision.

Without a "dot" or variable focus, it's just an expensive tubular window.

They used to have it noted with regards to holographic sights to let folks know there was no magnification to contend with.

For folks like me that often shoot with both eyes open, 1x or zero mag is something we want to know.

I recall when I bought one of the early Docter sights that they went out of their way to comment on the limited though noticeable magnification which they presented.


Todd.

 

[agtman]

The advantage of a 1x scope is it puts the target and sight (crosshairs) on the same plane.

Yeah, but when I fly I prefer to be in the plane, not on it.

 

[doubleh]

I always thought "Plano" was a town in Texas. Maybe where the tackle boxes are made.

Actually Plano is a Texas town but the tackle boxes are made in Illinois.

 

[Skribs]

I think it's just to fit the nomenclature of {maginification}X {objective lens diameter}mm.

So an ACOG at 4x with a 32mm objective would be 4x32. Similarly, a Trijicon Reflex may be a 1x24 or a 1x42, where you get a 24 or a 42mm objective lens.

My understanding is a 1x scope is just a shortening of "1x32" or whatever the objective is. I kinda wish they would put the objective diameter in the name more often like Trijicon does.

 

[Nature Boy]

Actually Plano is a Texas town but the tackle boxes are made in Illinois.

Now I'm confused. Which is the state I'm most comfortable in, since I spend most of my time there.

 

[dogtown tom]

doubleh

I always thought "Plano" was a town in Texas. Maybe where the tackle boxes are made.

Actually Plano is a Texas town but the tackle boxes are made in Illinois.

<----Resident of Plano (ninth largest city in Texas)

 

[WardenWolf]

1x means no magnification. However, it's impossible to have true 1x with a traditional zoom lens. How Vortex solves the problem is they actually have a secondary flip-up lens that comes up at 1x, and cancels out the magnification of the main lens. As a result, Vortex scopes are the only variable scope with a true 1x setting.

 

[PabloJ]

I don't know what it means, but 1-4x is among the best close to mid range sights once can get. My 1-4x20 Nikon with glued in lenses is as rugged as rifle it is mounted on. The Fov is >90ft at 1x and with #4 reticle it can be used on shotgun, assault rifle and DGR. I found nothing more compact, light and more versatile than this.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

And if "1x" means the same as normal vision, then where does the term, "magnification" fit in?

Normal vision has a level of magnification. It is 1. You can also go into fractional numbers where the level of magnification makes things appear farther away, such as 0.5 magnification.

Your argument would be the same if you called it 1 Power instead of Magnification. Where does the 'Power' come in? Normal is 1.

It isn't just a nomenclature thing, but a mathematic thing.