The value of std::numeric_limits::digits10 is the number of base-10 digits that can be represented by the type T without change, that is, any number with this many significant decimal digits can be converted to a value of type T and back to decimal form, without change due to rounding or overflow. For base-radix types, it is the value of digits() (digits - 1 for floating-point types) multiplied by (\small \log_{10}{radix})log10(radix) and rounded down.
An 8-bit binary type can represent any two-digit decimal number exactly, but 3-digit decimal numbers 256..999 cannot be represented. The value of digits10 for an 8-bit type is 2 (8 * std::log10(2) is 2.41)