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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

I wanted to love the EL 8x32 SV (1 Viewer)

Thanks for the report 6.5, good job for keeping it easy to understand.
I am proud to own the "old EL's" and really like the way they make colors pop under cloudy skies in Alaska, however for the sunshine in New Mexico I have a pair of Zeiss FL 8x32's that help with the "shiney's".
I recognize that very few could afford both, a few years ago I couldn't, and would have to seek a compromise.
I have not had a chance to compare my old Swari(?) (includes a pair of 8x30's) to the new, but a friend borrowed my EL's to compare and then wanted to buy them.
Wish Nikon would lighten the 8x32 EDG, for two ounces over their weight you could carry a Zeiss 8x42 FL.
As an excuse I say as my eyes get older I need better optics.
Buy what you can afford that works the best for "your eyes", that is what makes the free market so great.
Art
 
gulf1263 said:
I am proud to own the "old EL's" and really like the way they make colors pop under cloudy skies in Alaska, however for the sunshine in New Mexico I have a pair of Zeiss FL 8x32's that help with the "shiney's".
Click to expand...

Interesting. I prefer them the other way around. I seem to prefer the FL 8x32 in winter and the old EL 8x32 in summer, particularly in bright sunny places. They both are wonderful regradless of season or place. I have the both because my wife owns one of them, though we haven't decided yet in the past 10 years which is which.

As far as the new EL SV 8x32, it will be sold or traded. It is a great binocular, i just like the old EL much more and i am not willing to accept the peculiarities of the new model. You now, old shoes fit better.

Interesting forum here, with proclivity to digressing.
 
Six Point Five said:
Interesting. I prefer them the other way around. I seem to prefer the FL 8x32 in winter and the old EL 8x32 in summer, particularly in bright sunny places. They both are wonderful regradless of season or place. I have the both because my wife owns one of them, though we haven't decided yet in the past 10 years which is which.

As far as the new EL SV 8x32, it will be sold or traded. It is a great binocular, i just like the old EL much more and i am not willing to accept the peculiarities of the new model. You now, old shoes fit better.

Interesting forum here, with proclivity to digressing.
Click to expand...

Too bad you're not a stargazer, someone said the 8x32 SV ELs give a superb view of the Milky Way. I prefer 10x50s or 12x50s for stargazing. I need more magnification and aperture to get a decent view of those tiny whitish blue fuzzies. I reserve 8x32s for terrestrial uses where the 3-D geometry and straight tree lines make bins with more than a smidgeon of AMD unsuitable for me. So I'm sticking with my "old shoes," too, but I'm going to get a new pair of "soles" for them (eyecups).

Brock
 
Six Point Five said:
Interesting. I prefer them the other way around. I seem to prefer the FL 8x32 in winter and the old EL 8x32 in summer, particularly in bright sunny places. They both are wonderful regradless of season or place. I have the both because my wife owns one of them, though we haven't decided yet in the past 10 years which is which.

As far as the new EL SV 8x32, it will be sold or traded. It is a great binocular, i just like the old EL much more and i am not willing to accept the peculiarities of the new model. You now, old shoes fit better.

Interesting forum here, with proclivity to digressing.
Click to expand...
Old EL over the SV! C'mon. There is something wrong here and I have had them both and have the SV. That is just not right. No comparison. The SV kills the old EL.
 
[email protected] said:
Old EL over the SV! C'mon. There is something wrong here and I have had them both and have the SV. That is just not right. No comparison. The SV kills the old EL.
Click to expand...

Kills? OK, 3 things come to mind the sv has less pinchusion,
Better eye relief and is just a smidgeon sharper.
I wouldn't go as far as kills though.
The old el is still a fine binocular I could be happy with it if push come to shove.
Luckily I'm not in that boat yet and can still have what I, no check that what my better half doesn't recognize as an obsession!!! :-O. I still pretty much get what I want and so does she. So it equals out in the long run but, iI still think she spends more than me.
Bryce...
 
Last edited:
stereotruckdriver said:
Kills?
The old el is still a fine binocular I could be happy with it if push come to shove.
Click to expand...

Well, the Swarovision model has been very well adjusted and oiled and whatnot and returned to me. It is lovely, i posted here about it earlier.
We have beautiful cool mornings now, so i went to the farm to see if waterfowl are passing through the wetland and to spend some time with the many delightful and cryptic warblers in fall plumage. I also wanted to see whether there are any deer.
After a beautiful morning of birding and deer-ing i realized that i had left home with the old EL. The old and the new models are kept on the same shelf, both of them ready to go.
I confirm, the rumors of the old one's passing are very much exaggerated.
 
Six Point Five said:
Well, the Swarovision model has been very well adjusted and oiled and whatnot and returned to me. It is lovely, i posted here about it earlier.
We have beautiful cool mornings now, so i went to the farm to see if waterfowl are passing through the wetland and to spend some time with the many delightful and cryptic warblers in fall plumage. I also wanted to see whether there are any deer.
After a beautiful morning of birding and deer-ing i realized that i had left home with the old EL. The old and the new models are kept on the same shelf, both of them ready to go.
I confirm, the rumors of the old one's passing are very much exaggerated.
Click to expand...

Yep, having owned three previous el 8x32's I can attest to them being an excellent binocular!

But, as of late I have been using the sv 8x32 solely.

I do miss the feel of the old wb el, optically speaking I do prefer the sv.

Give me the old el with sv optics! That might make optical nirvana.

Bryce...
 
stereotruckdriver said:
I do miss the feel of the old wb el, optically speaking I do prefer the sv.

Give me the old el with sv optics! That might make optical nirvana.

Bryce...
Click to expand...

I tend to agree...

Then throw in the focuser from a Nikon LX I used to own... and walla... it just might make it as "The best of the best"...

CG
 
cycleguy said:
I tend to agree...

Then throw in the focuser from a Nikon LX I used to own... and walla... it just might make it as "The best of the best"...

CG
Click to expand...

Whoa! I hope you're talking about the 1 turn from cf to ∞ full sized models and not the < 1/2 turn 32mm models. Way too faaaaaaaaaaaast for my taste. But I agree about the ergos on the original EL, by far my favorite of any midsized roof, or any roof, for that matter. I wouldn't go for the mustache effect SV optics, though, just an ED element upgrade in the older model would be fine.

Brock
 
I wouldn't go for the mustache effect SV optics.
Brock, you really need to try the 8x32 sv if you then see the anomaly then make the determination.

I can't count the number of people that have peered through them and not one individual had any negative input on distortion.

You owe it to yourself and other readers as well.

You can't make a claim for a certain optic with out trying it first hand, just because you see it in binocular A doesn't mean its also in binocular B.

Something to think about,

Bryce...
 
When I look through my 10X42 the only thing I see is 10X of ass kicking SWAROVISION.:king:3:):-O|:D|:clap::t:
stereotruckdriver said:
I wouldn't go for the mustache effect SV optics.
Brock, you really need to try the 8x32 sv if you then see the anomaly then make the determination.

I can't count the number of people that have peered through them and not one individual had any negative input on distortion.

You owe it to yourself and other readers as well.

You can't make a claim for a certain optic with out trying it first hand, just because you see it in binocular A doesn't mean its also in binocular B.

Something to think about,

Bryce...
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
stereotruckdriver said:
.
Brock, you really need to try the 8x32 sv if you then see the anomaly then make the determination.

I can't count the number of people that have peered through them and not one individual had any negative input on distortion.

You owe it to yourself and other readers as well.

You can't make a claim for a certain optic with out trying it first hand, just because you see it in binocular A doesn't mean its also in binocular B.

Something to think about,

Bryce...
Click to expand...

Bryce: Total agreement with your statement! :t:
 
Personally, I can't see any mustache distortion in my fairly new EL 8x32 SV bins. The focus knob is smooth and offers only slightly more resistance in the anti-clockwise direction, which is not an issue in the field. The image is very sharp, although not quite as razor sharp as my Zeiss Victory HT 10x42, but nevertheless, sharp enough. Nor can I observe any rollingball; not even a hint of it. I could see some very slight RB in an EL 10x32 SV I recently looked through. However, it didn't detract from the image in a meaningful way for me. I know some people have issues with RB although they appear to be in the minority. Certainly, it seems to be blown out of all proportion by some.

The only thing that I would like to see improved on the SV's is a rubber coated focus knob like on my Victory HT's. I find the plastic ridges on the Swarovski focus knob nowhere near as comfortable.

I haven't had the 8x32 SV very long, however I think it may become my all time favourite bin.
 
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