Translations:Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Health and Science/Optics/72/en
From Pathfinder Wiki
The higher the first number, the larger things appear, but the harder it is to hold the binoculars steady. Above 10x most people need a tripod to hold it steady enough to be useful. The higher the second number, the more light gathering power, which allows you to continue to see even in low light conditions, but the binoculars are much heavier as well.
