BIG 5 Posted March 3, 2015 Report Share Posted March 3, 2015 I'm thinking of buying some new binoculars 10 x 42's, but can not decide which make to go for. I have been told Zeiss and Swarovski lenses are made in the same factory but I'm not sure of this. WHAT WOULD YOU BUY AND WHY? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDaveO84 Posted March 3, 2015 Report Share Posted March 3, 2015 I'm in the same situation as you in needing a decent set of bins, Just to throw another spanner in have you looked at Leica? On the paid stalks I've been on all the guides have used Leicas and in low light they're absolutely amazing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moose man Posted March 3, 2015 Report Share Posted March 3, 2015 I use the Swarovski 10 x42 e l's , they are superb & Swarovski's after sales service is second to none .Mine went back to the factory last year after 9 years hard work & being dropped from a highseat , they had a total refurbish & came back as new two weeks later at a cost of £220 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grrclark Posted March 3, 2015 Report Share Posted March 3, 2015 I have the Swaro 8.5x42 EL bino's and they are quite simply brilliant. I spent a good hour or more at the Scottish game fair a few years ago looking through Zeiss, Lecia and the Swaro bin's and these were the ones that suited me best. There is not a bad buy amongst any of those choices so the best thing to do is to handle them and see what works best for you. They may have slight differences in the exit pupil diameter and one might work better for you than the others because they just suit your eyes better, likewise with chromatic or spherical aberration. No matter what you choose you will have brilliant glass and construction. The best way i can describe using the Swaros is that they transport my eyes to whatever i'm looking at, the other models just didn't quite feel so natural and effortless to look through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seeker Posted March 3, 2015 Report Share Posted March 3, 2015 Ive had older Zeiss and Leicas and at that level i would not buy without a good look n see which suits me. I spent some time at one of the Bird Watch shops comparing them side by side and replaced my old Leicas with ... another set of leica. Why... I found the Swaro excellent but too colourful, the new Zeiss were probably the best picture but were fussy about pupil/ eyepiece position and just did not come to my eye without a bit of a fiddle, the Leica had slightly more contrast and appear sharper as the light fades ... All 3 make top end glasses but it will be personal preference in style and handling ... Last time I asked L. Z. Sw each made their own glass and I saw a difference between them. I Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewartward Posted March 3, 2015 Report Share Posted March 3, 2015 I have a pair of Swarovski 10 x 42 and think they are brilliant really clear and bright even in low light Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootgun Posted March 3, 2015 Report Share Posted March 3, 2015 All my optics are Zeiss, i would use anything else only if i couldn't afford the Zeiss... I've got the Zeiss Conquest HD 8x42, brilliant binos for the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotslad Posted March 3, 2015 Report Share Posted March 3, 2015 Really pesonal preferrence and seeker and grr have summed it up pretty well will depend wot suits ur hands/eyes etc. The only problem u find at game fairs etc is the fact usually bright daylight (unless its a scottish game fair and horzontal rain) so even cheaper binos look fairly good, but its twilight or full moon when these binos will really come into there own. I have a set of 2nd hand swaro's and really can't fault them. Great on light full moon nights can see far more with ur bino's than naked eye, bloody amazing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oliver90owner Posted March 3, 2015 Report Share Posted March 3, 2015 7x50 or 8x56. Was always the advice years ago. Exit pupil size of 7mm. Roof prism if affordable. Not bought any for years as my pair will outlast me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m3vert Posted March 4, 2015 Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 Swaro's Zeiss Leica. I would say your splitting hairs. Go for what you feel are the most comfortable to use. I have Swaro Bino's and Leica Rangefinder both have excellent glass, I am sure Zeiss would be equally as good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeadWasp Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Swaro's Zeiss Leica. I would say your splitting hairs. Go for what you feel are the most comfortable to use. I have Swaro Bino's and Leica Rangefinder both have excellent glass, I am sure Zeiss would be equally as good. absolutely agree here - at this level it comes down to personal choice. Zeiss Victory's don't have lockable diopters (Swaro and Leica do) which were supposed to be top of my shopping list but to be honest I found Victorys to be MY OWN personal choice in the end, and the diopter is away from the eyecup and doesn't shift. Another brand to look at are the Miopta HD's but I'm pretty sure they are heavier although their optical quality is right up there. Miopta make glass for the big names. Try them all if you can before you buy - if you are near the M5 I would recommend Clifton Cameras in Dursley. Step out of the shop and there is a woodland fringe 300yds away to try them on. Go after 4pm! Very helpful store, very good prices. Alternatively sometimes RSPB (********!!!!) reserves have optics 'days' when you can try most top end brands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG 5 Posted March 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Some fantastic advice there lads, many thanks for your advice and effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 I went through this recently, I had my heart set on a pair of Leica HDs, having read up quite a bit and looked through a few I bought second hand Zeiss Victory FL 8x42s. I was upgrading from a pair of Zeiss BGAT 7x42s, although old these were outstanding binoculars so the replacement needed to be extremely good. The only reason for change was I found I was needing just a touch more magnification but didn't want to go to 10x as that is too much for woodland stalking IMO. We 'tested' them alongside a friend's 10x42 Bushnell Elites and the magnification made no difference in real terms, reading signs in the distance in low light conditions. Even though they were not new I spoke to Zeiss at the game fair about them and they confirmed if they are still in warranty they will take them in and service them FOC. I sent them in and they came back like new, they even gave me new eye caps as mine were a little baggy. Incredible service. Have a read through this, it is slightly out of date now but it is impartial, so may be of interest. http://www.birdwatching.com/optics/2012highendbins/chart_2012.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnfromUK Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 +1 for Clifton Cameras. I have used them and they are good and convenient for me, but shopping around - they are not always best value. I have had excellent service from Harrison Cameras as well. My own preference is for Leica, but at this level, Leica, Swarovski and Zeiss and all very very good. It really doesn't get better and comes down to personal preference. For a glasses wearer - (don't know if you are), the longer eye relief is an advantage. When you try binoculars at this level, unless you push them to their limits in low light, you won't see much difference if any. As light fails, these will surpass 'lesser' makes, but it will still be hard to separate these three top level makes. Also important are weight, handiness, smoothness and speed of focus - and for some applications, close focus limits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 (edited) Hi Allbinos.com review most of the major binocular players products and provide (in my opinion) good information. However, at the end of the day it will be your eyes looking through them so use these to advise in your decision making. Decisions can grow legs when too much information is at hand..................... Pre-owned will probably provide best value for money. L Edited March 5, 2015 by Loki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotslad Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 (edited) Slightly off topic but why do bino's not follow the same standard sizes that scopes do? I was always told to go for an exit eye of 7, so u had ur classic 6x42,7x50's and 8x56's but bino's are rarely/never these 'classic' sizes. Is there a reason? Ps i made a mistake years ago, had a cheap pair of 7x50's but could not see anything like the detail my mate could with his better bino's, thought i needed more magnification so i ended up with a pair of binos usless at low light and still not very clear. Got a par of swario's 7x now and realise it's the clarity u want above all else. Edited March 5, 2015 by scotslad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grrclark Posted March 6, 2015 Report Share Posted March 6, 2015 Slightly off topic but why do bino's not follow the same standard sizes that scopes do? I was always told to go for an exit eye of 7, so u had ur classic 6x42,7x50's and 8x56's but bino's are rarely/never these 'classic' sizes. Is there a reason? Ps i made a mistake years ago, had a cheap pair of 7x50's but could not see anything like the detail my mate could with his better bino's, thought i needed more magnification so i ended up with a pair of binos usless at low light and still not very clear. Got a par of swario's 7x now and realise it's the clarity u want above all else. That's a good question. There is also some argument that as people get older a larger exit diameter becomes a disadvantage as much of the image circle is lost to the vision through eye muscle or retinal atrophy. I opted for the 8.5 Swaro's as they were much more natural to my eyes than the 10's, I had the notion that more magnification would have been better, but in practice it makes such little difference for my purposes and the 8.5 are simply stunning to look through. I really fancy one of the ATX spotting scopes, but cannot justify the cost as it would just be an indulgent purchase. The 95mm scope is amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortune Posted March 6, 2015 Report Share Posted March 6, 2015 It depends what you are using them for? 10x mag is too big for hand held because you will get hand / pulse shake unless you have a solid place to mount them. If you go out at night and look at a star with an optic it will shake all over the place. When I bought a new pair I went to small specialist optic dealer and spent about an hour and a half looking at three different pairs made by sw ze and le. Luckily he had a window along the corridor that looked out across some fields. I looked at all different distances with the 3 makes and In the end I came away with Leica because to me they looked a slightly sharper better colour than the other two but there wasn't much if anything between all 3. I bought the 8x20 Trinovid model because I wanted to put them in my top jacket pocket. Although they are small, the optics are world class and I can see anything that I am ever likely to encounter and when you see the top wildlife people they usually have Leica and you can tell that they are that good by the red dot Leica mark on all of their stuff. It just unobtrusive quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnfromUK Posted March 6, 2015 Report Share Posted March 6, 2015 Fortune's point above is a good one; If you have the budget to go for a top grade binocular, the small sizes are amazingly good (due presumably to best grade glass and optics) and can perform every bit as well as larger optics in good light - and very very nearly as well in lower light - whilst being MUCH lighter and easier to carry. The slightly restricted field of view is a bigger minus than the light level performance, but in many instances that doesn't matter so much. I use 8 x 20 Ultravid and they are simply superb in 99.9% of applications and SO much easier to have about you. The other very valid point made above is that as you get older, a large exit pupil probably doesn't help as much as it does for younger eyes ..... and the X x 50 and X x 56 etc binos are big, heavy and enormously expensive in the best grades. I doubt for older people (myself included) they have any advantage over X x 40 and X x 42 sizes - even in low light. I understand that exit pupils over 5mm are not usually beneficial with older eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malkiserow Posted March 6, 2015 Report Share Posted March 6, 2015 I spent silly time amounts trying binos and usually late in the day ..... did the usual top 3 suspects but I was alerted to the fact that one of the senior Leica chaps left to join Minox. I hadn't rated Minox highly before as they were midrange in my book. However, the Leica chap had free reign to design and build a new pair of their top of the range HD's. He used the same glass as Leica (so I am told) and they are 100% German made. I tried them up again the usual suspects and was very impressed. I saved a packet and have binos that blow me away in low light. They way way out perform my S+B scope so I can "bino" see beyond what I can shoot at dusk and even later. I chose the 8x43 HD and will not change them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted March 6, 2015 Report Share Posted March 6, 2015 Interesting, I have head good things about Minox recently too, a friend of mine bought a pair at Jagd und Hund for silly money, I 'look' forward to having a go with them. The other thing the OP should consider is when laying out mega money for bins these days, have a think about integrated range finder, when/if I ever change mine that will be the only thing I would do differently next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moose man Posted March 6, 2015 Report Share Posted March 6, 2015 Interesting, I have head good things about Minox recently too, a friend of mine bought a pair at Jagd und Hund for silly money, I 'look' forward to having a go with them. The other thing the OP should consider is when laying out mega money for bins these days, have a think about integrated range finder, when/if I ever change mine that will be the only thing I would do differently next time. Interesting, I have head good things about Minox recently too, a friend of mine bought a pair at Jagd und Hund for silly money, I 'look' forward to having a go with them. The other thing the OP should consider is when laying out mega money for bins these days, have a think about integrated range finder, when/if I ever change mine that will be the only thing I would do differently next time. I checked out the Swarovski ones with the built in rangefinder ....if only money never come into the equation !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garygreengrass Posted March 6, 2015 Report Share Posted March 6, 2015 +1 Clifton Cameras in Dursley first class service tried a few different pairs but came away with the swarovski. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted March 6, 2015 Report Share Posted March 6, 2015 I checked out the Swarovski ones with the built in rangefinder ....if only money never come into the equation !! Yes I know what you are saying, I am sure they have bit more to come in price and then that will be that. Having said that to borrow a Mungler saying with top end items like these you are only parking most of the money, it isn't gone forever. they drop a little second-hand, but if look after them you should able to get a good percentage of that back when you decide to sell. I think I 'lost' £100 on my BGAT's in 10 years, not bad value considering how much use I had out of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malkiserow Posted March 6, 2015 Report Share Posted March 6, 2015 Yes I know what you are saying, I am sure they have bit more to come in price and then that will be that. Having said that to borrow a Mungler saying with top end items like these you are only parking most of the money, it isn't gone forever. they drop a little second-hand, but if look after them you should able to get a good percentage of that back when you decide to sell. I think I 'lost' £100 on my BGAT's in 10 years, not bad value considering how much use I had out of them. Don't forget inflation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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