I use binoculars a lot to watch hawks, birds, read wind flags, & spotting. Instead of guessing what might work I used my binoculars & borrowed some from friends & family. I sat in my car & read licenses for 2hrs before sunset in overcast conditions & in the dark. The cars were driving away from me 25-40mph so I read the back license plates. I used a maven b3 8x30, viper hd 8x42-12x50, conquest hd 10x42, forge 15x56, maven b5 18x56. I had no window mount so I handheld everything. My road has no lights & goes about 400 yards then you have to turn left or right & it curves a little bit. I could read with both 56mm but they were heavy & I would not use them if I had to use them all day. At night I could use both 56mm because the license plates are lit up so darkness did not affect readings unless the vehicle had no lights by the plates. Inside a 100 yards the 56s were good but as the cars got beyond 200 yards it was very difficult to keep steady. The 12x50 vipers were a little better & with a window mount with pistol grip ball head I’m guessing they would be perfect. 12x50s are also difficult to read due to steadiness beyond 200 yards. The 8x30, 8x42, & 10x42 were all much easier to track & read licenses. I was in overcast conditions & brightness was not a problem with any binoculars even at night because most cars license plates had lights making it easy to see. The cars that don’t have lights would be impossible to see even with the brightest binoculars. At night it’s difficult to read beyond 100 yards for even the most experienced bino users like my uncle who could make out plates to 150 yards for max distance. We both had no trouble at night inside 100 yards. One advantage to the conquest hd was the fast smooth focus made it the best for tracking cars as they got further away. The maven b3 8x30 were very good too, surprisingly bright, & they are light at only 16oz. The viper 8x42 were also very good & eye position is easier than the mavens given 30mm vs 42mm but I would take the maven b3 over both vipers. For me weight would be a big consideration here because of fatigue. I would use a light 8x42 like the Nikon hg because they only weigh 23oz, they are bright, have a smooth focus that’s fast enough, & they handle great. I would love to try a window mount or try to position a tripod inside the car somehow. The viper hd 12x50 is a good choice too because it’s one of the lighter 12x50s but handheld 8x is better. So if it were me I would buy a Nikon hg 8x42 for handheld & I would get a viper hd 12x50 or swaro 12x50 with a window mount.
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