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Swarovski 8x25 CL-P best compact binocular? (1 Viewer)
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Theo98
Eurasian Goldfinch
GREAT Little Binos!
Got to handle the CL pocket 8x25 alongside the CL 8x30's. I really preferred the optical clarity, resolution, contrast and color of the 8x25's. They present a very pleasing and wide FOV with a nice seductive DOF. I also found the pocket ocular eye pieces more comfortable than the 8x30's and overall, felt I could spend less and get more with the CL 8x25's...Very, Very Nice Compacts! :t:
Got to handle the CL pocket 8x25 alongside the CL 8x30's. I really preferred the optical clarity, resolution, contrast and color of the 8x25's. They present a very pleasing and wide FOV with a nice seductive DOF. I also found the pocket ocular eye pieces more comfortable than the 8x30's and overall, felt I could spend less and get more with the CL 8x25's...Very, Very Nice Compacts! :t:
In defense of the CL 8x30's they are quite a bit brighter and with the bigger exit pupil they have easier eye placement than the CL 8x25's. I think most would agree the CL 8x30's have better ergonomics also. For pocket binoculars though the CL 8x25's are the best available.
Theo98
Eurasian Goldfinch
I found just the reverse. The 8x25's were easier to get behind (to my eyes), found them just as bright (daylight-not unusual) and I really did like their overall handling better (for "pocket binos")...of course, just my .02 cents!
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you will join us
When the porro revival has begun.
Great what you're doing for the scouts. I guess that shows how much interest has increased in birding over the past century. I don't think we had a birding merit badge when I was a Cub Scout or a Boy Scout, but I did learn to tie lots of knots, which could have come in handy if I ever became a sailor. I could tie myself to a mast after shore leave so I didn't end up in the drink after a long visit with Captain Jack. B
I assume that one of your kids is in the scouts. Does he think it's a little weird for his dad to be teaching birding to his fellow scouts? "Yeah, um...he's my dad, he likes birds, what can I say?"
What your kids need and deserve is an affordable college education. Send them to Canada so they don't have to spend 20 years after they graduate paying back their student loans and so you can start buying alphas again. Plus while they're up there, they can learn how to play hockey!
Canuck U.
Brock
Now that I've sold my 550xxx Nikon 8x32 SE's, I no longer car about optical quality. From now on, 'mediocre' in fine with me. This includes my Swaro 10x32 SV's, the Canon 10x36 II stabilized, the totally rebuilt and modernized Swaro 8x30 SLC WB's, and the Nikon 8x20 Premiers. I do miss the SE's though. I don't know what got in to me, sold them to a birder in MN, have not gotten so much as a 'thank you'. Well, he does live in St. Paul, so what can be expected? <#sarcasm>
HighNorth
Well-known member
The binocular the world needs, but not the one it deserves? :-O (Sorry, couldn't resist the Batman reference!)
NDhunter
Experienced observer
Theo:
I have experience with many of the pocket binoculars both 8x20
and 10x25, and was also wanting to try out the new Swarovski 8x25 CL.
I have tried the new 8x25 CL in a store setting, and I still got the same
problem that I have with all pocket binoculars. I do not wear glasses and
while I did find the eyecups a bit larger on these, I still have to hold them
in the MOLCET method to get a nice view of things.
That is why I like the 8x30 CL, I just pick it up and the view is perfect
and right at hand.
Most all pocket types that I have found require extra finicky effort to use.
The 8x25 CL is included in that list.
For those with experience the small compact 8x30's on the market are better optically, and much easier to use.
Jerry
The slightly larger exit pupil of the CL 8x30's help with eye placement quite a bit. They have to be a little brighter than the the 8x25 CL-P's with the 30mm aperture especially in low light assuming their both being Swaro's they would probably have equal quality coatings. The CL 8x30 is also easier to set the IPD. The CL 8x30's does have advantages but the big advantage of the 8x25 CL-P is it's pocketable size so you have to decide which is more important to you. You have to give up some things to get that small size. I have went back to 30 to 32mm apertures because I can't tolerate anything much smaller and they seem to be a good compromise for birding.
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Nikon Monarch 7 8x30 or Swarovski CL 8x25?
The Nikon is very compact to be an 8x30 and is just slightly larger sized than the Swarovski.
I am not a fan of dubble hinged design so here Nikon has the advantage.
Nikon has significantly larger FOV. The question is if performs enough good with eyeglasses.
Nikon is around half the price of the Swaro. The question is how big is the perceived difference of optical quality.
I will try the Nikon and find out if I find this model enough good for my desire(because I like the design and the format). Otherwise the Swarovski CL 8x25 may be my next binocular purchase.
The Nikon is very compact to be an 8x30 and is just slightly larger sized than the Swarovski.
I am not a fan of dubble hinged design so here Nikon has the advantage.
Nikon has significantly larger FOV. The question is if performs enough good with eyeglasses.
Nikon is around half the price of the Swaro. The question is how big is the perceived difference of optical quality.
I will try the Nikon and find out if I find this model enough good for my desire(because I like the design and the format). Otherwise the Swarovski CL 8x25 may be my next binocular purchase.
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I had them both and I would go with the Swarovski 8x25 CL-P. The Nikon Monarch 7 8x30 for me was a "Glare Monster."
Yes, I have read a lot about the glares with the Nikon. Also, there are so different opinions about this issue so I really wonder if it was a problem with the first batch but Nikon then did some adjustment to solve the problem?
Does anyone from Germany know this particular store? I think they have a business storefront too. The price is almost too-good-to-true... a good $200 off retail prices in the USA.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SWAROVSKI-Binoculars-CL-Pocket-10x25-B-sandbrown-NEW-in-box-/351025722116
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SWAROVSKI-Binoculars-CL-Pocket-10x25-B-sandbrown-NEW-in-box-/351025722116
binostore has them for $661:
https://www.binostore.com/en/binoculars/compact-binoculars/cl-pocket-10x25/
https://www.binostore.com/en/binoculars/compact-binoculars/cl-pocket-10x25/
No. I had an early issue Nikon Monarch 7 and I just lately tried another current model from Amazon. They were both the worst binoculars I have ever seen at handling glare. I call them "Glare Monsters". HaHa.
The-Wanderer
Well-known member
Has anyone compred the current Swaro pockets with their predecessors, the Tyrols?
I am interested in the 10x models. Some are still available, and i might just be able to afford them!
I am interested in the 10x models. Some are still available, and i might just be able to afford them!
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I've come to the party a bit late but here's my take on the Swaro 8x25's
In a word.........extraordinary. I have had compacts from all the big boys but these behave more like a good 8x32
The image is bright, colours natural. Very sharp, even at the edges. Chromatic aberration is very low. I'm very fussy about optics having spent my whole working life in the film industry ( camera department ) so used to the best from Panavision, Nikon, Leica, Zeiss and Canon.
My other current bins are Swarovski 8.5x42 SV, Nikon EDG 8x32, Leica Ultravid 8x32 BR
In a word.........extraordinary. I have had compacts from all the big boys but these behave more like a good 8x32
The image is bright, colours natural. Very sharp, even at the edges. Chromatic aberration is very low. I'm very fussy about optics having spent my whole working life in the film industry ( camera department ) so used to the best from Panavision, Nikon, Leica, Zeiss and Canon.
My other current bins are Swarovski 8.5x42 SV, Nikon EDG 8x32, Leica Ultravid 8x32 BR
Kammerdiner
Well-known member
Welcome aboard RTFM!
The 8x25 Pocket is really the only compact I use anymore and I've been using it for 1 1/2 years or so. I tried/used a couple dozen before that.
One thing I've noticed is that the lenses seem to get dirty pretty quick and aren't as easy to clean as the SV's. Curious, I went to Swaro's website where they pointedly state that SV's and SLC's have "Swaroclean" coatings. Guess what? No mention of it for the CL's.
It's either an oversight or an explanation for what I've experienced. I tend to use the Pocket in rough-and-ready situations (backpacking, kayaking, trips to the city) so it might be that I'm just getting them dirtier. But it sure doesn't seem like that's the explanation. They are harder to keep clean it seems to me.
Otherwise, I'm set for life for a compact.
Famous last words,
Mark
Hi RTFM and Mark. I tried the Swaro 8x25 recently in a store and was impressed. They're cheaper than Ultravids 8x20 (a pair of which I have, but in need of potentially expensive re-collimation). They're heavier than 8x20 compacts obviously, but small enough for any pocket, except (and herein lies my problem) a cycling jersey. But they fill a niche between tiny compacts and 8x32 binos, and at a very reasonable price.
