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Message: <blockquote data-quote="RAH" data-source="post: 1529639" data-attributes="member: 5834">My cousin and I finally had a chance to do our head-to-head comparison of 2 of the 50mm mini-scopes reviewed in the Bird Watcher's Digest review - the Yukon 50 x 12-36 (which I own) and the Minox 50 x 16-30 (which she owns). Bird Watcher's Digest rated the $80 Yukon higher than the $350 Minox. Could this really be true?My earlier posts in this thread concerning the Yukon confirmed what the Digest review said - that the focusing is superior - silky, smooth, and precise, and that it is quite nice physically, with very nice build quality. On the negative side, I thought it seemed to lack contrast (the Digest review does not say this), so I was very interested in comparing it directly to the Minox.We used an EIA Resolution chart, printed on a white 13x19 sheet. We used a magnification of about 25x. One objection I have to the Digest review is that they compared the 50mm scopes at 30x. Since 30x is the very top of the Minox zoom, this seemed to me to be unfair to that scope - even expensive scopes often do less well at their top magnification.We set up the scopes within a few feet of each other so we could look thru one and then quickly look thru the other. The IMMEDIATE thing we both noticed was that the Yukon does in fact have a lot less contrast than the Minox. It is quite a difference. They both seem about as bright, although the Yukon's contrast is so poor it looks dimmer.Sharpness-wise, both are very good. I thought the Yukon was somewhat sharper, while my cousin thought they were about equal.As far as chromatic aberration, I didn't notice any on either scope, but don't go by me - I usually don't even recognize it when I see it.The Minox we have has a moderately smooth focusing ring (unlike the Digest review sample which had a very hard-turning ring) - not nearly as good as on the Yukon, but still fairly good. Although it is hard to do fine adjustments because small turns make a big difference, this is good when you want to focus fast!The zoom control on the Minox was smoother and easier to turn than on the Yukon, which was very hard to turn although it is loosening some as I use it.So, bottom line - is the Yukon as good as the Minox? I would say definitely no. The areas where the Yukon is better (focusing and perhaps a little more sharpness) do not outweigh the Minox's much better contrast. The comparison, in truth, seems to be kind of what you might expect between an $80 scope and a $350 one. I think the really remarkable thing about the Yukon is that the focusing, sharpness, and look-and-feel are as good as they are.I do still think that the Yukon is a useful auxiliary scope, for times when you want to go light-weight. Later in the day we went to a nearbye harbor and scanned some far-away areas for a Sabine Gull that was reported on the Internet. The Yukon worked fine for this, even at long distance. Its sharpness is such that it was easy to ID gulls even at a great distance.</blockquote>

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