10x42 vs 10x50 Binoculars - Which is Best?

in this video I'm going to go over the main differences that you can expect from similar quality 10 by 40 to binoculars and 10 by 50 binoculars both in their physical characteristics as well as their optical performance in this way you will be able to decide which configuration is exactly right for your specific needs and requirements and we're going to start right now [Music] hello and welcome to basse [ __ ] reviews my name is Jason having just finished testing and reviewing these excellent quality kite links HD+ 10 by 50 binoculars they reminded me how for some users and indeed they're for some users combining slightly larger fifty millimeter objective lenses with a 10 times magnification makes for more sense and indeed could be a better choice than the default option of a 10 by 42 binocular yet they hardly ever considered however this choice won't be right for everyone so in this video I'm going to go through the main differences between the two so that the end of it you'll be able to choose which configuration is exactly right for your specific requirements before we begin it is important that you understand what it means when we refer to a 10 by 40 2 or a 10 by 50 configuration if you're unsure please first take a moment to watch my video and what the numbers on a binocular mean link up above or down in the description below it stands to reason that in order to accommodate the larger objective lenses the barrels on a 50 millimeter binocular need to be larger than those on a 42 millimeter one this has a bearing on the instruments overall dimensions and thus most 10 by 50 binoculars came to be greater in size than 10 by 42 as you would expect 50 millimeter lenses are 8 millimeters larger in diameter than 42 millimeter ones and thus the ends of the barrels where the objective lenses are set reflect this difference by roughly the same amount as you move down towards the ocular lenses however they taper down in size as most 10 by 50 binoculars would incorporate the same eyepieces as they're used by the 42 millimeter versions and thus the rear ends of these two binoculars are roughly about the same size 10 by 50 binoculars also tend to be a little longer than the 42 millimeter counterparts however the difference here is usually fairly minimal and by that I usually mean about less than 10 millimeters therefore as you can see the overall difference in size between a 10 by 42 binocular and that of a 10 by 51 is really not that great indeed I would go as far as to say that unless you have them side by side most users would probably not guess the difference if you were to swap out their binoculars without them knowing glass is a reasonably heavy material and thus once again the extra glass needed to make the larger lenses and the extra material needed for the slightly larger body results in a 10 by 50 binocular being a little heavier versus a 10 by 40 to model using the same level of materials just as the large windows in your house are able to let in more light than the small ones the greater surface area on these 10 by 50 panelist means they have the potential to capture more light than the smaller ones on these 10 by 40 to binoculars more light means more information and therefore assuming everything else remains equal these 10 by 50 binoculars have the potential to be huge brights are higher-quality views than these 10 by 40 to binoculars although here it is important to stress there just having larger lenses and thus the ability to capture more light does not automatically result in brighter better quality views firstly as much of the captured light as possible needs to pass through the entire optical system and get transmitted on to your eyes and this is where the differing levels of glass optical coatings and the build quality do play a really important part on top of this and even if the level of optics used between these two sizes of Banaras was identical there is a good chance that during the day and in reasonably good light conditions that the view between these ten by forty two binoculars and the ten by fifty would look to be the same this is because a really good quality 10 by 42 binocular is easily capable of capturing enough light and passing it on to your eyes for you to perceive a bright high-quality image however it is in situations where light conditions are not optimal like just before dawn or just after the Sun is set or even in a thickly forested area this is where the extra capacity of the larger lenses comes to the fore and this is where you start to notice the difference in brightness between these two binoculars much of this difference can be explained by the correlation between the size of the shaft of light exiting the ocular lenses known as the exit pupil and the size of the pupils in your eyes ten by forty two binoculars produce four point two millimeter exit pupils roughly and ten by fifty binoculars produce five millimeter exit pupils when there is plenty of light your pupils constrict to a size smaller than both the exit pupil on the ten by fifty and the ten by forty two and thus they both supply you with more than enough light for you to perceive a bright view however as the conditions get dimmer your pupils begin to expand until a very low conditions the pupils in some people's eyes it does very can read seven millimeters in diameter thus in these situations the amount of light your eyes are receiving is suboptimal and therefore the team by fifty due to its large exit pupil will look to produce a brighter better quality view for more information on this please take a look at my complete guide to the exit pupil which I will link to you in the description below it is also worth noting that as well as an improvement in low-light performance a larger exit people also makes a binocular slightly easier to use this is because the largest shaft of light exiting the ocular lenses is makes it easier for you to line up your eyes with it and therefore you don't have to be as precise to achieve an image without any black rings forming on the edges of the view ten by 50 binoculars are usually a little more expensive than the 10 by 42 alternative in the same series from the same manufacturer so why is this well whilst it is true you need more glass and a fraction more material to make a 10 by 50 the real reason they are more expensive is down to the economies of scale you see the 10 by 42 is a much more popular configuration on top of this it will share many of the parts including the chassis and with that over the even more popular 8 by 42 binoculars therefore manufacturers can afford to order in many more and make many more of these parts than they do with the less popular 10 by 50 just how more expensive they are depends on the brand what price range of binoculars you are looking at and where in the world you are shopping but in general I have found that the price difference tends to be about between 5 to 20% more for a 10 by 50 compared to the equivalent 10 by 42 ten by 42 10 by 50 indeed 8 by 26 8 by 40 - 10 by 26 you know which is best you know for me there is no singular right answer to this question it just basically comes down to you what's best for your specific needs and requirements therefore to sum up I would say that the 10 by 42 option is best for you if you must operate during daylight hours in really good light conditions then you will also gain the added benefit of a slightly lighter more compact device that cost a little less however should you also operate in low light situations be there in thick forest areas or you know before sunrise or just after sunset then the 10 by 50 with its low light performance that almost matches that of an 8 by 42 would be a better option to go for so there you have it I do hope this video has cleared up a few things for you and that you now know which version to get for your specific needs if you did like this video I'd appreciate it very much if you could just press the thumbs up and indeed if you could subscribe to my channel this is something that would really helps me to produce more and more content for you guys so anyway thanks very much for watching and I'll see you again next time cheers for now [Music]

Channel: Best Binocular Reviews

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Id: o1KxiEnjrPo

Length: 8min 26sec (506 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 13 2019