usogood 12x50 Bird Watching

Is the usogood 12x50 Bird Watching worth buying?

Yes, the usogood 12x50 Bird Watching is worth buying at £30.49 if you watch from a hide, a balcony or a garden chair and you want the tripod in the same box. It gives a 4.2 mm exit pupil, a 374 ft field at 1,000 yds and a body of 160 g, and 6,014 owners rate it 4.5.

This is a pair for still, long sessions rather than a fast walk: the tripod takes the shake out at 12x, the phone adaptor lets you keep a record, and the same setup works for stargazing after dark. If you want a pair you never have to steady, a 10x or 8x model is the easier companion.

What does a 4.2 mm exit pupil mean on the usogood 12x50?

Take the 50 mm objective, divide it by the 12x magnification, and you get the 4.2 mm shaft of light that leaves the eyepiece and enters your pupil. That circle measures about 13.9 mm² of collecting area, while a 3.5 mm pair such as the Kylietech 12x42 at £25.99 gives about 9.6 mm², so £4.50 more buys 4.3 mm² of extra glass at the eye.

Phase coated 16.5 mm BaK-4 prisms and fully multi-coated optics push transmission to 99.9 per cent, which is what keeps breast markings distinct instead of smeared at range. The price of 12x is a narrower window: 374 ft of scene at 1,000 yds, where an 8x pair sweeps in far more of the hedge.

What comes in the box with the usogood 12x50?

A tripod and a phone adaptor come with the pair, and the tripod thread is a 1/4"-20 BSW fitting, the standard photographic bolt, so any head you already own will take the usogood body. The adaptor clamps most handsets over the eyepiece for stills and video of what you are watching.

It weighs 160 g and measures 15.3 cm by 13.2 cm by 5.6 cm, so it hangs on a neck strap without dragging. The eye spacing slides from 55 mm to 75 mm for different faces, the eyecups twist up for glasses, eye relief runs to 15.7 mm, and each eyepiece adjusts +/-5 dioptres. The rubber armour is waterproof and fog proof, and a two-year warranty comes with 7 days and 24 hrs technical support.

What are the downsides of the usogood 12x50?

At 12x every heartbeat shows in the view, so the tripod is not optional for a long watch; hand-held, the usogood only works when you can lean on a gatepost or a window frame. The closest focus is 5 m, which puts insects, pond life and a feeder at 2 m out of reach and leaves them to a pair that focuses nearer.

The shell is plastic, which is how the body stays at 160 g, and it puts the pair behind the magnesium Nikon PROSTAFF P7 at £189 for a decade of rough handling. Eye relief of 15.7 mm is also tighter than the Celestron Outland X's 17.8 mm, so some spectacle wearers will lose part of the 374 ft field.

How does the usogood 12x50 compare with the Celestron Outland X and the Nikon PROSTAFF P7?

The Celestron Outland X 8x42 costs £85, which is £54.51 more, and gives a 5.25 mm exit pupil against 4.2 mm here. That wider shaft of light holds colour and detail roughly half an hour longer at dusk and needs no tripod at 8x, so the Celestron is the pair for dark winter afternoons and all-day walking, while the usogood is the better buy for still, distant work on a rest.

The Nikon PROSTAFF P7 10x42 costs £189, which is £158.51 more, and matches the 4.2 mm exit pupil exactly; the extra money buys a magnesium body, waterproofing to 1 m for 10 minutes and 15 mm or more of eye relief, against 15.7 mm here. Choose the Nikon if one pair has to last a decade, and the usogood if you want that light gathering now for under a sixth of the price.