When it comes to birding travel, choosing the correct binoculars is, for me, always a balancing act; magnification, brightness, field of view, and portability all play an important role.

I almost always travel as lightly as I can, and so, on most occasions, I will pack a compact 8×32 or even an 8×30 for an overseas wildlife and birding trip, especially when limited to hand luggage. A good quality mid-sized binocular offers, for me, a good balance between optical performance and reasonably decent low light capabilities, while still being easy to pack and then carry about all day.

But this time, as I prepared for an extended birding trip along the Zambezi River and Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe, I eventually decided to take something a little different: a full-sized 10×42 binocular.

Here’s why I think that decision made perfect sense for this trip and why I feel it may be the right choice for many birders going to certain parts of Africa:

Understanding the Environment: Bright Light, Open Spaces

Birding is most certainly not the same everywhere you go, and thus most people settle on something like an 8×42 or perhaps an 8×32 for more portability, as these configurations are kind of like the Swiss Army knives of binoculars; they will perform in a very wide range of situations.

Along the Zambezi and around parts of Lake Kariba, you’ll find a mosaic of open woodland, riverine scrub, and broad floodplains. On the lake, the views are completely wide open. It’s visually stunning. It also means that many birds are seen at greater distances.

Kingfishers and bee-eaters perch across stretches of water. Fish eagles call from tall trees on the opposite bank. Herons, storks, and ibises feed on the far edges of sheltered bays. In these situations, a little extra magnification can make a difference.

That’s where a 10x binocular comes into its own. The extra reach helps reveal more plumage details: the delicate chestnut edging on a Carmine Bee-eater’s wing, or the pale eyes of an African Fish Eagle, that are just that bit harder to pick out through 8x optics.

Balancing Act

However, using binoculars with higher magnifications has many downsides. More Image shake, the view is narrower, and unless you increase the size of the lenses, the image brightness (especially in low light) can take a hit:

 A 10×32, for instance, only offers a 3.2mm exit pupil (the small shafts of light exiting the eyepiece lenses), which can lead to a dimmer view, especially when the ambient light conditions are not at their best, such as in thick forests or in the early mornings or late afternoons, when birds are most active.

By choosing a 10×42, I gain a larger 4.2mm exit pupil, which is actually larger than the 4.0mm of an 8×32 that I would normally travel with, whilst at the same time adding that bit of valuable extra reach.

And yes, I know that I could take an 8×42, for an even larger exit pupil (5,25mm) and better low light performance, but I feel this balance means I won’t be too disadvantaged on early morning outings, but still get the added detail in open-country birding, when the light is still sub-optimal but my surroundings are alive with bird activity.

Which 10×42 Binoculars for Birding?

As for the specific binocular I took, I opted for the GPO Passion SD 10×42.

I could have taken one of my very high-end 10x42s, but for this trip, but when asked about this type of trip, I find that most people’s budgets don’t extend up to the alpha level, especially when this is not going to be their primary instrument. I also am not always comfortable traveling with very expensive equipment, as there is just a greater chance of breakage or loss. 

So, I wanted to take binoculars that are more widely attainable, but at the same time, they still offer a very good level of performance. 

The Passion SD sits comfortably in the mid-range price category, but its overall look, build, and optical quality definitely suggest otherwise. Designed in Germany, it’s lightweight yet robust, and features a very good level of optics, and my first impressions of it are excellent. Take a look at my article on the GPO Passion HD 15×50 vs GPO Passion SD 10×42 Binoculars

Note that this trip is part of the testing I am doing on these binoculars; a full review of the GPO Passion SD 10×42 will follow on my return. 

For birding, the image has proven excellent so far: vivid, but well-balanced color reproduction, sharp edges, and impressive brightness for a 10x binocular. 

Quick Specs: GPO Passion SD 10×42

• Magnification: 10x
• Objective Lens: 42mm
• Field of View: 314ft @ 1000 yards
• Eye Relief: 16.1mm
• Inter-Pupillary Distance: 56-78mm
• Weight: 24.6oz
• Optics: Fully multi-coated, dielectric mirrors
• Prisms: Schmidt-Pechan Roof
• Chassis: Magnesium alloy
• Waterproof / Fogproof: Yes (Nitrogen-filled)

Further Reading:

10×42 Binoculars for Bird Watching (Sometimes!)

• If your birding involves open habitats, wetlands, coastal areas, or anywhere you often find birds (often larger ones, with more predictable movements) at medium to long distances, a 10×42 binocular can most certainly be a good option.
• It provides just enough extra magnification to study plumage details without the stability issues or brightness loss that often come with compact or much higher-powered optics.

As well as binoculars, for this trip I also took a spotting scope, digiscoping adapter, a monopod, and a thermal monocular (mostly for nocturnal wildlife) – you can read more about that here: Choosing Optics for African Safari & Birding Trip – My Decisions & Why