Maven and Tract seem to be doing very well. All the Tract's Toric's 10x42 are sold out till March. If you can produce an equivalent product for less money than a BIG company charges it will sell.
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Death Of The Alpha? (1 Viewer)
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Troub. You really should get your hands on a Maven or Tract. They feel great in the hand. Just as quality as an SF or SV. You have to get over that voice in your head that keeps telling you you need to have an alpha.
Good point.
Where is Charles at?
That is one reason I preferred the Maven B.2 9x45 over the SV 10x50. No RB and better panning and the Maven has a much better smoother focus. Overall I prefer the Maven B.2.(Never thought I would say that).I dunno about that Chuck
So alpha (love or hate the term) ultimately comes down to the holistic balance of cost, optical performance, and ergonomics, which boils down to a purely subjective user choice.
B
The Swaro's seem to hold their value fairly well but $1500.00 for a new SF. That is quite a drop from $2500.00.
15 posts in a row, are you high or what is it ? B
He is pumping his thread.
It's time to go somewhere else.
james holdsworth
Consulting Biologist
The words ''moderation'' and ''birdforum'' have no relation to one another.
So what are the sales numbers? You talk like you know.
FWIW, I seldom see hunters with a Leica around their neck anymore, and what few I see are the Geovid. We've seen a steady decline for years now.
I am glad I brought you out of your self imposed exile. Where have you been perterra? Good to hear from you!
I tried the 10x42 SF and it was very nice. Do you have a Zeiss now? I remember you liking Swaro's quite a lot!
If you liked the 10X42 you'll fall in love with the 8X42. I don't have one yet but that can change.I tried the 10x42 SF and it was very nice. Do you have a Zeiss now? I remember you liking Swaro's quite a lot!
Of course I can. Why do you think I kept my Swaros and Zeiss, and passed on the Mavens* that I could easily afford? The price of a used alpha (I seldom purchase new binoculars) isn't a tremendous amount over a new Maven (I have yet to see a Maven on the used market), so the extra cost is easily worth it to me.
You couldn't see the very slight artifacts that the Canon IS has, so it does not come as a surprise to me that you cannot see a difference in performance between an alpha and a non. Actually, I could easily believe that most people could not see the difference either, since the difference is small. But the difference is there, and to state that because you can't see the difference means the "death of the alpha" is quite an illogical stretch of the imagination.
*for anyone interested -- there is a dealer in S. Texas that is a "demo-dealer" for Maven. He has Mavens in all sizes except the new 56mm versions. The dealer does not sell them. He only demos them on behalf of the Maven company. For anyone who finds themselves in S. Tx and is wanting to know the dealer, just PM me......
Chill4X4 had his 8x42 SF for $1500.00 I believe.
I could see the artifacts on my older Canon 10x42 IS-L but honestly on my newer model I don't notice them so I think Canon improved something on the IS system. I compared the Maven B.2 9x45's for a long time to my Swarovski 10x50 SV's and I just didn't see enough difference optically to keep the Swaro's. I actually prefer the total lack of RB on the Maven's because I can pan better and I definitely prefer the smoother focus on the Maven's. Overall, I prefer the Maven's but if you see a difference I guess that is why they make alpha's. Some people are more discerning when it comes to optics but my point is for MOST people the difference in the alpha's is just not that big anymore and it is not worth the difference in price for normal birding situations.
SuperDuty
Well-known member
IMO they HAVE caught up in most areas related to optics and build quality. They still might not have the customer service or reputation of Swarovski or the parts inventory but if I break my binocular I would be happier with a new one instead of a repair anyway. Have we got any feedback from people that have had problems with their Maven's or Tract's yet? How is the customer service? Anybody?
Hi Jerry...
You make great points for each group IMO. I buy "alpha" binoculars(not JUST those binoculars mind you!)because...well TWO reasons...reason ONE- Prior experience! I've been using Swarovski and Zeiss riflescopes for about twenty-five years, Swarovski binoculars about 20 years, and Leica Geovid about 15 years. ALL were SOLID choices. Reason two: I see no reason to NOT get the best available as long as I can afford it. Look...a small gain in performance regardless of product more times than not requires a pretty steep increase in price. So basically that at 2X the price I get a warranty that is pretty much written in stone, more FOV, flattest transmission curve in the business, high light transmission, made for binocular case, center diopter adjustment, and the flattest field in the business. Some of those features can be equaled by NO ONE! Does one NEED them? No, certainly not. But I LOVE 'em!
I dunno about that Chuck
So alpha (love or hate the term) ultimately comes down to the holistic balance of cost, optical performance, and ergonomics, which boils down to a purely subjective user choice.
B
The rolling ball phenomena is the strangest thing to me. I've never seen it and can't IMAGE it! But sure enough there are several others besides yourself that DO see it.
Maven....I'll admit I think they are probably at the head of the "non-alpha" class. I love the EDG-like smooth/precise focus. I have a B1 and a B2....I probably like the 8X42 B1 a little more. I don't feel the reduction in size/weight cost me much if anything optically. I like and enjoy them BOTH a LOT! And I don't have ANY problem with them being your favorite binocular! But I like binoculars. I probably have about 10 non-alpha binoculars that are really great binoculars. No doubt I could have my best birding day EVER using any of them. BUT...I were to set out to DO that...and could only have one binocular(i'd rather have TWO)....well, you know that answer!
Folks....I'm no binocular snob. I think most of your realize that. I have seven brands of binoculars here. Thursday I'll be birding with the new Conquest HD 10X42 and a Opticron spotting scope!
