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Do you want to know what the difference between 10×42 and 12×50 monoculars is?
Let’s find out.
What is the Difference between 10×42 and 12×50 Monoculars?
The main differences between 10×42 monoculars and 12×52 monoculars are that the former has a shorter eye tube and the latter has a longer one. These two factors mean that the former allows you to see more of what‘s in front of you than the latter, but they also require your eyes to be closer together.
It doesn’t really make any difference whether you’re looking at something up close or far away, but if you’re using binocular vision, then it might be important.
Monoculars 10×50 vs 12×50 vs 10×42
Handheld monoculars are some of our most commonly used optical instruments. They’re designed to provide a magnifying and enhanced viewing experience for distant objects.
monoculars are essentially two small telescopes attached to one long tube. They’re designed to be used together so they can both see at once.
When buying monoculars, you may feel confused by their differences in physical aspects, types, features, and optical performances.
For instance, 10×42, 10×50, and 12×50, 10× and 12× refer to magnification whereas 42 and 50 are the sizes of the objective lenses.
What Is Difference Between 10×42 and 12×50 Monocular?
What Is Magnification Power and Objective Lens
Magnification Power
To determine the difference between monoculars lenses, one way to start is by looking at their descriptions. You might see 10×42, 10X50, and 12X50 binocular lenses. The first number in the name indicates the magnification power of the lens.
A 10×42 lens brings an image 10 times closer than when viewed with the naked human eyes whereas, a 12×50 lens brings it 12 times closer.
You can safely assume that a larger number will result in better photos. But that isn’t always true.
Steadiness
A higher magnifying power makes it harder for users to keep an image steady in their field of vision. Therefore, a higher magnifying power is only recommended when you’re stationary and viewing small objects from a great distance.
If you plan to move around with quick focus using your monoculars, choose devices with low magnifications.
Objective Lens
The second number indicates the size of the lens; both 10×50 and 12×50 monoculars lenses have a diameter of 50 millimeters while 10×42 binocuÂlars have a diameter of only 40 millimeters. The larger the lens the lighter the instrument will allow light into its field of view.
Larger optics can make binoculars heavier and harder to carry.
If you’re shooting indoors, larger lenses are better than smaller ones.
Size
Barrels
To accommodate larger objectives, the barrel sizes on 10×50 and 20×50 monoculars must be increased as well.
These factors affect the instrument’s overall size and so 10×50 and 12 x 50 monoculars telescopes are bigger than 10×42 monoculars.
Because the diameter of 10×50 and 14×50 lens barrels is 50 millimeters (about 20.5 inches), they are 8 millimeters (0.3 inches) longer than 42 millimeters (1.7 inches). The ends of the barrels where the objectives are mounted reflect this difference by about 0.3 inches.
Long
Furthermore, 10×50 and 20×50 monoculars usually have slightly longer barrels than their 10×42 counterparts. However, this slight difference is not significant enough to affect image quality.
As far as differences go, there aren’t any huge ones between 10×42,10×50, and 12×50 monoculars. Most people wouldn’t notice the differences if they swapped them out.
Weight
10×50 monoculars have twice the magnification power of 10×42 monoculars made from the same materials. However, they weigh twice as much because of the additional parts required to produce them.
You may want to consider buying monocular lenses made from plastic rather than glass if you’re looking for something lightweight. Plastic lenses tend to be lighter than their glass counterparts.
Optical Differences
Like how bigger windows allow in more light, the greater size of 50mm lenses compared to 42mm lenses means that they “captured” more light.
A brighter and better quality image could be obtained from 10×50 and 12 x 50 binoculars than from 10 x 42 binoculars.
Optic and Coatings
If you use instruments made from low-quality materials, they won’t be able to provide as good results as high-quality instruments.
However, capturing more light doesn’t necessarily mean that the resulting photo will be brighter and better quality. It depends on the level of glass, optical coatÂings, and building quality along with how much of the light is actually reaching your eyes.
Image Quality
For example, when using monoculars at night, a pair of 10×42 monoculars are capable of capturing enough ambient lighting to provide a clear, high-resolution picture, but if you were to compare the resolution of 10×42, 10×50, and 12×50 monoculars, you’d see no difference.
Whereas, in places with poor lighting conditions such as before sunrise or at night, you might want to use an instrument with bigger optical lenses.
Exit Pupil
This can be explained because of the ratio between the light that is transmitted through the ocular lens and the size of the pupil of your eye.
- 10×42 monoculars produce a 4.2mm exit pupil (42/10)
- 10×50 monoculars produce a 5mm exit pupil (50/10)
- 12×50 monoculars produce a 4.1mm exit pupil (50/12)
When there is lots of daylight, your pupils contract so they’re smaller than the exit pupils on 10×42,10×50, and 12×50 binoculars, which means you perceive more brightness for a brighter view.
However, your pupil size begins to increase when you’re exposed to low levels of light. For some people, this can even reach a 7 mm diameter. Therefore, you might need larger lenses, such as 20×100 and 24×70, for an optimal and improved view.
Conclusion
Monoculars are an excellent choice for sightseeing, bird watching, and hunting because they offer powerful magnification, comfortable designs, and easy and fast focusing.
You can buy monoculars lenses of any specification and preference on the market. If your instrument needs to be as small and light as possible, choose 10×42 binocular lenses with good light-gathering ability, an excellent view, and consequently, a high-quality picture.
For low light conditions, if you want a detailed and enhanced view through your monoculars, then you should opt for either 10×50 or 12×50 binocular lenses.
If you have any questions feel free to comment below.
