r h clark, thats apples to oranges in this case. you are correct about quailty does matter over obj size,BUT the zeiss diavari 2.5x10x42 is a 1700 dollar scope. that is well out of the price rang he stated. the scope i was taling about were 600- 800 dollar range. both scopes we are talking about are 30mm tubes. with 56mm lenses in stead of 42 you get more light gather in capablity and a wider field of view. i get your point on max exit pupil and under stand it well. but if two cars got 10 mpg and 1 was 400 hp and the other was 500 hp , i will take the 500 hp. and every human eye cant be the same. my thing would be let him look threw several scopes and choose the best one four his price range