In short........NO.

Here's why.
Leupold VX-III 3.5-10x50......$549.95
Leupold VX-L 3.5-10x50.....$699.95

Being able to mount your scope a little lower is not worth $150.00...at least to me its not.

Then take into acount that the VX-L is not a true 50mm lens. Sure the horizontal diameter is 50mm but take the actual surface area and compare it to the VX-III. The VX-III has more objective glass, which will increase the light transmission and exit pupil.

You would be better off understanding that a 50mm scope is NOT brighter than a 40mm scope or a 36mm scope......all has to do with the "exit pupil"............................... and what'sexit pupil,you ask????
Now the long version:

Exit Pupil - The size of the column of light that leaves the eyepiece of a scope (usually measured in millimeters). The larger the exit pupil, the brighter the image, with 6-7mm considered to be prime for the average user.

To determine the size of the exit pupil, divide the objective lens diameter by the power of the optic. IE: A Stiener 7x50 binocular. 50/7=7.14mm exit pupil.

Your eye gathers more or less light as conditions change. The pupil is controlled by the iris which allows it to change in size from 2mm - 8mm depending on the light. As we grow older the maximum diameter that our pupil will dilate decreases. Most eyes dilate to about 7mm or 8mm at age 20, but only to about 5mm at age 50. An exit pupil of 7mm is consider to be optimum.

Let's take two Leupold scopes for instance;2.5-8x36 and 3.5-10x40 will both transmit the exact same amount of light to your eye, IF you place them on the correct power.

40mm scopes are not brighter than 36mm scopes. It is all relative to what power the scope is on. Rember the formula, if not let's look at it agian with a fixed power scope. Leupold 6x42, 42/6=7mm. A 6x42 Leupold transmits a perfect 7mm exit pupil (that's why they make scopes and binoculars in strange numbers like 8x56, 6x42, and 9x63.

The formula is a little different for a variable scope, you would take the objective lens size and divide it by 7 to determine what power to put your scope on for a 7mm exit pupil (the most your eye can handle). ie: a 3.5-10x40 would need to be set on 5.7x to produce the desired 7mm exit pupil. A 2.5-8x36 would need to be set on about 5.1x to get a 7mm exit pupil. You see, these two scopes 40mm and 36mm are just as bright, they just do it on different powers.

A larger objective allows you to use your scope on a higher power and still have perfect light gathering. A 3-12x56 transmits perfect light on 8x. A 1.5-5x20 does it on 2.9x. First decide what power you need for what you are doing, then multiply that by 7 and the answer will be the size of objective lens you will need.

All of these formulas for producing the same light with different powered scopes are only relevant if you are comparing scopes from the same manufacturer and the same models. ie: Leupold VariX-III. You can't get a BSA 3-9x50 and set it on 7x and expect it to be just as bright as a Leupold 3-9x50, because it is the glass and coatings that primarily determine the scopes ability to transmit light to your eye efficiently.

Take all this into account and buy the scope that fits your need.

Hope this helps,
Chris Farris


Leupold 4.5-14x40