Top 10×42 Binoculars – But What’s The Difference?
Short On Time?
Our Recommended Best 10×42 Binocular Is The Nikon “Monarch 7”!
- Dielectric high-reflective multilayer prism coating ensures superior transmittance uniformity across the visible range resulting in brighter images and more natural colours, All lenses and prisms are multilayer-coated for the brightest images
- Scratch-resistant coating is applied to the outside surfaces of objective and eyepiece lenses, Phase-correction-coated roof prisms for high resolution
- High-eyepoint design provides a clear field of view even for eyeglass wearers
- Waterproof (up to 1m/3.3 ft. for 10 minutes) and fog-free with O-ring seals and nitrogen gas
- Turn-and-slide rubber eyecups with multi-click to facilitate easy positioning of eyes at the correct eyepoint
Just the word “binoculars” always seems to cunjore up images of a captain of a battleship, or a plucky, outnumbered band of soldiers scanning the horizon for their respected foe just before the “last battle”.
“Bins” or “binos” are not the exclusive property of war time heroes, far from it, in fact. Binoculars are used by all sorts, from the armed forces to the innocuous little old lady looking at the birds feeding in her garden.
Just as a quick refresher or as a quick first lesson into binoculars, the first number shows the magnifying power and the second shows the diameter of the front or objective lens. So 10×42 means a magnification of 10 and a front lens diameter of 42mm.
With technology comes improvements and modern binoculars, provide sharper, more colourful, lighter views than they did less than a decade ago.
Five of the best rated binoculars for sale in the UK, whether in Harrods or the binoculars argos sell, are featured in this review, to see which are the best binoculars in terms of :
- Value for money
- Quality build.
- Features
Nikon “Monarch 7” 10×42 Binoculars.
Nikon are world renowned for their cameras and the quality of their lenses. Their binoculars use the same lens technology, making them possibly the most recognised ” non german” binocular brand in the world.
The “Monarch 7” 10×42 are what would be called a general use binocular, suited for spectator sports, marin sports, wildlife and outdoor viewing.
All the lens elements within the polycarbonate body are dielectically multi layer coated. In short the internal reflection when light passes through a lens is reduced to a minimum, making the resulting image much brighter and sharper.
Dielectric application is when the layered coatings are applied incredibly accurately, making the image much sharper than normal.
The Nikon “Monarch 7” binocular is coated with an additional anti-scratch coating to minimize lens damage and safeguard image quality.
With an objective lens of 42mm and an exit pupil of 4.2mm, the Nikon “Monarch 7” loses very little light making them ideal binoculars for low light conditions.
With a wide field of view of 6.7° these 10×42 binoculars provide just the right magnification for bird watching. Powerful enough to have a close up image but not too powerful to lose the subject as the view is too narrow.
The Nikon “Monarch 7” uses the roof prism system with great effect, their extra low (ED) dispersion glass allows the same, if not better performance than the bulkier and heavier porro prism layout.
Using such a layout allows the polycarbonate body and lenses to be sleeker and lighter, however, they still weigh in at a substantial 660g. The Nikon “Monarch 7” 10 x 42 has a tough rubber layer to protect it from knocks.
Combined with the rubber armour is the nitrogen gas filled interior making these binoculars, resistant to internal mold, fogging through moisture, and waterproof to a depth of 1 metre (with an immersion time of 10 minutes). Making them ideal for all weather conditions.
With 10x magnification of an image comes the unfortunate magnifying of everything else, especially body movement. The best solution is to use a tripod adapter, which attached the binoculars to a stable base, ensuring that the view is clear and crisp.
Nikon produces such an adapter as an extra.
Focusing is through a centrally located knurled wheel which is dampened so that the image won’t become blurred through slippage.
Nikon haven’t forgotten those who wear glasses either. Each eyecup can be rolled down for either comfort or to reduce the annoyance of vignetting. Eye cup adjustment is possible for customized eye relief to ensure the best view according to personal preferences.
The right eyepiece is where the dioptre adjustment will be found, to really perfect focus.
A soft neoprene and velvetine lined carrying case is supplied with these Nikon “Monarch 7” 10×42 binoculars along with a cleaning cloth.
However, when they’re out and being used there are front lens caps and a cover for the rear eyepieces. All lens caps are either attached to the binocular body itself or to the to the neck strap provided.
Nikon have so much faith in their “Monarch 7” 10×42 binoculars that they give a life time limited warranty.
There’s no doubt that Nikon have produced an élite class of binoculars in the “Monarch7”. Such quality however, does come at a price. For those whose livelyhood or favourite past time depends on binoculars, then “Monarch 7” binoculars are an easy choice.
To those who want “a decent pair of binos” then they may be just a little too dear. However, having a pair of these binoculars may earn an envious stare or two!
Pros:
- “Extra low” (ED) dispersion glass increases both apparent and real field of view, making the image sharper and easier to see.
- Additional anti scratch layer on the objective lenses to preserve lens integrity.
- Waterproof, mold proof and will not fog internally, due to nitrogen purging and “O” ring sealing.
- Very little light lost internally considering the “Monarch 7” are considered high magnification binoculars.
- Impressive low light performance.
- The “Monarch 7” comes with a lifetime limited warranty.
Cons:
- The price. These are the most expensive binoculars on test. However, the quality is superb.
- The Nikon “Monarch 7” weigh in at 660g, despite advanced optics and roof prisms being used.
The Nikon “Prostaff” 75 Binocular.
The Nikon “Prostaff 75”, like the Nikon “Monarch7” a 10 x 42 binocular. Apart from looking very similar to each other, that’s where the similarity ends.
The “Prostaff” 75 uses the famous nikon quality multi-coated optics with a roof prism configuration to reduce the size and weight of the binoculars, with pretty impressive results.
These 10 x 42 binoculars have a relative brightness of 17.6% against the universal 18% Grey Card. Translating that to practical terms means that very little light indeed is lost internally in the binocular due to internal reflection and the magnifying effect of the optical elements. The result: a very clear, bright and properly focused image.
The “real” field of view is 6.2° ensuring that the viewer is able to focus in on the image without losing it due to the effect of magnification.
This pair of binoculars has a robust polycarbonate frame using roof prisms for more compactness. The interior is filled with nitrogen gas to stop mold forming and prevent internal fog.
The body is sealed with “O” rings making the binoculars waterproof to the standard 1 metre depth.
A tough rubber armour casing to protect from additional knocks and bangs, the Nikon ” Prostaff” 75 is at home in most weather conditions, and is recommeneded for ornithology, marine sports and hiking.
Focusing is by a dampened focus wheel, and dioptre adjustment is on the right hand eye piece.
The Nikon “Prostaff”75 weighs in at 660g, which after just a couple of minutes of holding can cause hand shake which affects the image quality. Nikon’s tripod adapter is fully compatible with these binoculars.
As for spectacle wearers, a twist and click mechanism will remove the eyecups and reduce vignetting.
Eye relief differs from one person to another, whether “high or low” view, the twist and click of the eye cups will cater for all forms of eye relief.
Nikon has such faith in the quality of their optical products that they issue a limited lifetime warranty on all their binoculars, the Nikon “Prostaff” 75 is no exception.
As per the norm with Nikon, all lens caps are included and can be attached to the body and to the neck strap.
The “Prostaff” 75 comes with a canvas style carry case for storage and a microfibre lenscloth for care
The “Prostaff”75 uses Nikon’s “eco-glass” with impressive results. A high quality pair of binoculars which is at home both at sea or in rugged uplands.
A great contender for best binoculars.
Pros:
- Excellent brightness and resolution.
- Very little loss of light due to high magnification factor.
- Impressive use of Nikon’s “Eco-glass” providing excellent field of view of 6.5°.
- Comes with Nikon’s lifetime warranty.
Cons:
- The weight. These are a heavy pair of binoculars by any standard.
The Celestron Nature DX 10 x 42 Binocular.
Green in colour, the Celestron “Nature DX” 10 X 42 are designed for the outdoors.
Originally from China, Celestron have an extremely high reputation for quality at a reasonable price.
Celestron make good use of their multi-coated optics in these “Nature DX” 10×42 , with the image being crisp and clear without any chromatic aberration or flare.
Unlike many binocular makers from the orient Celestron use genuine Bak4 glass for their roof prism and lenses.
The “real” field of view of is 5.8° which while still respectable, makes it much easier to lose the image, which with high magnification binoculars is common.
The Celestron “Nature DX” 10×42 has a lightweight polycarbonate shell that is nitrogen filled and sealed to prevent moisture internally forming, making the binoculars resistant to fogging and to mold formation. With “O” rings sealing the shell making the body waterproof.
To prevent damage from knocks and bangs, a robust rubber armour houses the sealed body making these binoculars a master of the outdoors.
Celestron use a simple twist up system to accomodate eye relief up to 14mm as well as allowing spectacle wearers to view with minimal vignetting.
Focusing these Celestron “Nature DX” is by the standard centrally located dampened knurled dial. Some may feel the damping may be too much on these binoculars, but this review found it to be the best out of the binoculars on test.
As is standard, there is a dioptre adjustment on the right hand eyepiece, to optimize focusing.
For protection when not in use, the Celestron “Nature DX” is supplied with objective lens caps which attach to the body and an eyepiece cap which attaches to the supplied neck strap.
Along with the end caps, a canvas style carry pouch and a lens cloth are included.
Celestron “Nature Dx” 10 x 42 binoculars come with a 2 year warranty.
The Celestron “Nature DX” are not light. Weighing in at 900g, they will very quickly cause “shake”, even in the strongest arms. This will be magnified by the binocular.
The best solution is to purchase a Celestron tripod bracket which is available as an extra.
Apart from a couple of little weaknesses the Celestron ” Nature Dx” 10 x 42 binocular is in fact a good solid performer, really aimed at an experienced beginner or intermediate user especially in bird spotting.
Pros:
- The Price.
- Uses genuine BaK4 grade optical glass. There is no discernable chromatic aberration or flaring around the image.
- Respectable “real” field of view of 5.8°.
- Generous eye relief of 14mm.
- Twist down eye cups allowing variable settings. An excellent feature for spectacle wearers
- Well dampened focusing, avoiding unintentional de-focusing of the image. Possibly the best focusing mechanism in the review.
Cons:
- The weight. As far as modern day binoculars are concerned these are not light. Will cause shake after a very short while.
- “Real” field of view. While still respectable, was adisappointment for such a highly regarded brand.
- Only 2 years warranty.
Eyeskey “Classic” HD 10×42 Binoculars.
Eyeskey’s “Classic” HD 10X42 binoculars are modern day roof prism streamline designed binoculars.
A strong polycarbonate body encases phase correctional multi layered coated BAK4 lenses.
While sounding technical and impressive, it was obvious that while optical grade glass was used, it may not be genuine Bak4 grade.
The “real” field of view was 5.6° which implied that there was substantial light loss from objective lens to eyepiece. This light loss was confirmed by its relative brightness test figure being 16.81% against the 18% of the Universal Grey Card.
With such a demonstrable loss of light, the image although free of flare and chromatic aberration, was noticeabley darker than it should be.
The Eyeskey “Classic” is made with a strong nitrogen filled polycarbonate body sealed with “O” rings. Optical elements are free from mold or fog internally and waterproof to 1 metre for 10 minutes immersion.
Focusing is by centre-located dampened focus wheel, with a dioptre on the right hand eyepiece for “fine tuning”.
These Eyeskey 10×42 binoculars are not lightweight. Coming in at 920g, they may be too heavy for many people’s liking.
With a 10x magnification and such a weight will, and does lead to image shake, even for the most experienced and strongest among us.
The only remedy is to have the Eyeskey tripod adapter as an extra.
When not in use Eyeskey include “captive” lens covers for the objective lenses as well as for the eyepieces, attached to the binocular body and neck strap respectively.
Also included is a sturdy canvas style carry case and cleaning cloth.
The Eyeskey “Classic” HD 10 x 42 binoculars carry a life time warranty.
While not the best binoculars in this review, the Eyeskey 10×42 “Classic” HD binoculars is a solid performer aimed firmly at the beginner.
Pros:
- Comes with a lifetime warranty.
- The price. Good value for beginners.
Cons:
- The weight. Weighing 920g these binoculars will cause image shake within a very short time.
- Substantial light loss internally, measured by 5.6° of “real field of view” and poor reading of 16.8% against the 18% Grey Card standard, making the image darker than it should be.
HD 10×42 Binoculars By NOCOEX.
At such a low price, most people would not expect much in terms of performance. However, these HD 10 x 42 binoculars from NOCOEX are extremely popular.
On first sight they look like a premium pair of binoculars, with coin edge and matt gun metal finishes to focusing dials, and rugged clean lines throughout.
The roof prism designed polycarbonate body is purged with nitrogen and “O” ring sealed to prevent mold formation on the fully multi coated optics, as well as stopping any fog from internal moisture forming.
It also makes the NOCOEX HD 10 X42 waterproof( up to 1 metre immersion), ideal for all weather conditions.
The “real” field of view was found to be 5.8°, again a very pleasant surprise, considering the price! While light was lost internally, a sharp, colour saturated image is seen. Darker than perhaps it should be, but still impressive.
There is no flare or chromatic aberration confirming that BaK4 optical glass is used in the lenses.
Focusing was smooth and damped nicely, giving a quality feel. The dioptre adjustment, is on the right eyepiece for optimal focus.
NOCOEX employs “twist and click” for eyecup adjustment with an eye relief of 14mm. Complete retraction is possible, to reduce vignetting.
The weight of these NOCOEX “Classic” HD 10X42 binoculars are 670g, certainly not lightweight. With such a high viewing magnification comes magnification of body movement, which leads to image shake.
As with all the binoculars in this review the NOCOEX “Classic” can be tripod mounted.
A canvas style pouch is included as well as eyepiece cover, lens caps, cleaning cloth to store and care for, when not in use. Not forgetting a wide comfortable neck strap.
The NOCIEX “Classic” 10×42 comes with a 1 year warranty.
All in all the NOCOEX 10X42 “Classic” is exceptional value for money and explains their popularity. They are one of the best binoculars in this review, and ideal for beginners.
Pros:
- The price. Excellent price for the beginner.
- Genuine BaK4 glass used in the optical elements.
- Very respectable image quality without chromatic aberration or flare.
Cons:
- The weight. These are not lightweight binoculars; magnification magnifies everything, The weight and the power will result in image shake very quickly.
- Carry only a 1 year warranty.
Apeman HD 10×42 Binoculars.
Apeman have produced a lightweight and compact 10 x 42 binocular, ideal for beginners.
Weighing only 440g, the Apeman 10×42 are suitable for those who find it hard to hold heavier binoculars. The weight also significantly reduces shake.
Complete with smartphone adapter to share photos with others, these higher magnification binoculars are aimed at the “social media” generation.
However, lightness comes at a price, the field of view is only 5.4 meaning significant light loss has happened. While roof prisms are used, they may have been made with Bak7 optical glass.
There was a clear aberration and flare free image, which means full multi layer coating was on all the optical elements.
The polycarbonate body and rubber armour, while protecting the optics from knocks, is only water resistant and not waterproof.
The Apeman 10 x 42 binoculars HD has a very generous 15.5mm eye relief and peal back eyecups to reduce vignetting.
A carry case, lens, eyepiece caps, neck strap and cleaning cloth complete this ensemble.
The Apeman 10 x 42 HD carries a 1 year warranty.
Pros:
- The Price.
- The weight. Excellent for reducing shake.
- Smartphone adapter for photography.
Cons:
- Water-resistant and not waterproof.
- Poor field of view at only 5.4°.
Which is the best?
With the original criteria very much in mind, the best 10×42 binoculars are the Nikon “Monarch 7 10×42 binoculars”.
- The price. Good value for the beginner.
Cons:
- The weight. Weighing 920g these binoculars will cause image shake within a very short time.
- Substantial loss of light internally, measured by 5.6° of “real field of view” and poor reading of just 16.8 against the definitive 18° Grey Card standard, making the image darker than it should otherwise be.
HD 10×42 Binoculars By NOCOEX.
At such a low price, most people would not expect so much in terms of performance. However, these HD 10 x 42 binoculars from NOCOEX are extremely popular.
On first sight they really look like a premium pair of binoculars, with coin edge and a matt gun metal finishes on the focusing dials, and rugged but clean lines throughout.
The roof prism designed polycarbonate body is purged with nitrogen and “O” ring sealed to prevent the growth of mold on the fully multi coated optics, as well as stopping any fog from internal moisture forming.
It also makes the NOCOEX HD 10 X42 waterproof( up to 1 metre immersion), ideal for all weather conditions.
The “real” field of view was found to be 5.8°, again a very pleasant surprise, considering the price! While light was lost internally, a sharp and well colour saturated image is seen. A little darker than perhsps it should be, but still very impressive.
There is no flare or chromatic aberration confirming that BaK4 optical glass has been used in each lens.
Focusing was smooth and the action damped nicely to give a quality feel. The dioptre adjustment, as usual is on the right eyepiece ensuring optimal image focus.
NOCOEX employs “twist and click” for eyecup adjustment with a generous eye relief of 14mm. Complete retraction is possible, reducing vignetting for spectacle wearers.
The weight of these NOCOEX “Classic” HD 10X42 binoculars are 670g, certainly not light weight. With such a high viewing magnification comes magnification of body movement, which will lenevitably lead to image shake.
As with all the binoculars in this review the NOCOEX “Classic” has the facility to be tripod mounted.
A rugged canvas style pouch is included as well as eyepiece cover, lens caps, cleaning cloth to store and care for the binoculars when not in use. Not forgetting a wide comfortable neck strap.
The NOCIEX “Classic” 10×42 comes with a 1 year warranty.
All in all the NOCOEX 10X42 “Classic” binoculars are exceptional value for money and it is clear why they are popular. They are one of the best binoculars in this review, and ideal for the new birdand wildlife watcher.
Pros:
- The price. Excellent price for the beginner.
- Genuine BaK4 glass used in the optical elements.
- Very respectable image quality without chromatic aberration or flare.
Cons:
- The weight. These are not lightweight binoculars; magnification magnifies everything, The weight and the power will result in image shake very quickly.
- Carry only a 1 year warranty.
Which is the best?
The best binoculars must excel in magnification, image sharpness, colour saturation and angle of view, but in quality of components, weight and after sales service (warranty).
With these criteria very much in mind, the best 10×42 binoculars are the Nikon “Monarch 7 10×42 binoculars”.