Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Binoculars 10x30 vs 10x42

I blind hunt and use binocs alot
I used for years Nikon Monarchs 10x42 made in Japan

For my 50th Birthday the Lovely MS Peggy got me some Swarovskis
Maybe I hinted for a while but

I thought she bought the wrong ones but of course they were a large purchase and I didnt want to be a dink so I was very gratetful

I wanted 10x 42s but she bought what she thought was what I wanted and bought 10x30s

Well that was Mayand hunting started in November and I kept my mouth shout and started using them that season ( a few years ago)
This season I started with them but then pulled out my Nikons and I started to get accustom to the Swarovskis and like them quite a bit

My question what do you give up with the 30s vs the 42s?
The nice thing is weight and size but any true noticable diff optically?

What say you?

Honestly I dont think the green ones are worth 3x the price but I have grown to like them for them not the name

Hank

I use 10x32EL Swarovski exclusively for all my hunting. That includes tree stand white tail, mountain sheep and elk, African plains game, predator calling etc. I do a lot of different hunting, mostly archery.
If I hunted exclusively where hours of glassing to fine a a distant animal were necessary, I might want 10x 42, For all around use and for weigh and compactness, I’ll stay with the 10x32EL.

A high end 30 or 32mm objective binocular can allow an image in dimmer circumstances than an average quality 42mm objective. A Swarovski 30mm vs the older style Nikon Monarch I believe you'll see more with the Swarovski

How much real performance difference there is between the EL 10x32 and the EL 10x42, I have no idea, but I would guess it's less than some claim. For some years, I've used an EL 10x42 with complete satisfaction for what seems like endless glassing in big country while elk hunting. This glass is not burdensome and I have never felt fatigued at the end of a long day because of it. If I did, I would likely get an EL 10x32 and would probably be giving up very little.

With quality glass, you’ll only see the difference in low light. I recent spent a weekend comparing 8x32 Zeiss HD with non sawarovision EL 8.5x42 and 8x42 Tracts. Other than the first and last 15 minutes of light, the 8x32 lacked nothing. If you asked which I’d like to glass with for many hours a day picking aside a distant hillside, I’d pick the larger objective lens every time. For deep woods or small plots, I’ve found a real winner with the 8x32s. By the way, for the $, the Tracts are outstanding.

Not sure if you're referring to the Swaro 10x30 Companions or 10x32EL's--big difference in optical quality.

Quality of the binos being the same, 42mm will beat out smaller objectives in low light and resolution. Difference in resolution is small, difference in low light is more obvious. For stand hunting a 42mm makes sense, for the kind of hunting I do 42mm's are too bulky and heavy.

There is also usually a difference in the quality of view in the same line of binos in different magnifications and objective size. Just because a bino may have a great view in 10x42, doesn't mean it's as great in 8x42. Or the same line binos may be great in 42mm and not so good in the 32mm line.

It will be significant in the 10x, less so in the 8x. I would not want a 10x30 binocular, but an 8x30 is a different animal.

Exactly.

A 10x32 has a pretty small exit pupil, narrower field of view, more handshake, and generally are just more demanding to look through. Personally I wouldn't own a 10X with less than a 40 mm objective.

Same here. For me, the 10x32 is about as chock-full of compromises as a binocular can get.
But some guys like them and if it works for them, that's all that matters.

A number of years ago a guy who'd worked for years in the optics industry told me that more 10x binoculars were sold than any other magnification, whether "pocket" or full-sized models. He said surveys indicated that most people know zip about optics, so figure more magnification is always better, even a 10x20. I have also yet to look through a 10x30 that was as good as the same brand/model binocular in 8x30.

However, even in top-grade 8x30 binoculars I've often seen a drop-off in performance after sunset compared to 8x40 and 8x42's. It's not much in really good glass, but still there.