The emergent light at the eyepiece then fills the eye's pupil, meaning no loss of brightness at night due to using such binoculars (assuming perfect transmission).
In daylight, when the eye's pupil is only 4 mm in diameter, over half the light will be blocked by the iris and will not reach the retina.
The maximum pupil size of a human eye is typically 5–9 mm for individuals below 25 years old and decreases slowly with age as shown as an approximate guide in the table here.
[1] The exit pupil can be visualized by focusing the instrument on a bright, nondescript field, and holding a white card up to the eyepiece.
A clear vial of milky fluid can be used to scatter light rays exiting the eyepiece, making their paths visible.
Digital image sensors often have a limited range of angles over which they will efficiently accept light, especially those that use microlenses to increase their sensitivity.
[6] The closer the exit pupil to the focal plane, the higher the angles of incidence at the extreme edges of the field.
For this reason, many small digital cameras (such as those found in cell phones) are image-space telecentric, so that the chief rays strike the image sensor at normal incidence.