-
Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.
Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
New Swarovski binoculars soon (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter dogfish
- Start date
It will be interesting to see how much the new ELs cost in the U.S.--$3200 in 'equivalent' dollars in the U.K.? We have always gotten a good deal here in the U.S. compared to Europe in Swaro products. Current 8.5x42 ELs cost $1899 in the U.S. Will the new ELs make the jump to over $2500 here? Is $3000 in the realm of possibility?
The £1600 will include Value Added Tax, which won't apply outside the EU. Before tax, the price would be around £1360, if my arithmetic isn't too wonky.
Michael
captain vallo
Well-known member
But gordon needs all the money he can ..... £1,361.70 it makes all the difference.
Kevin Conville
yardbirder
Though I think the IS Canons are interesting, especially in the higher powers, they can't hardly be compared with high end conventional bins.
Besides the the size and weight and (potentially) durability issues, they have seriously funky ergonomics.
They feel like you're holding a toaster to your head!
Last edited:
I've tried them and they are superb. Unlike Leica and their HDs, the claims by Swarovski for the new ELs are true. They'll retail for around £1600 in the UK.
I find it difficult to understand why many of you post on this forum when you obviously know nothing about the matter that is being discussed.
I find it difficult to understand why many of you post on this forum when you obviously know nothing about the matter that is being discussed.
Paul Hackett
Well-known member
£1630 & £1690 will be the List price if what i hear on the grapevine for the 8.5 x 42 & 10 x 42 is true?
Very few are lucky enough to visit the manufacturer's facilities as i know from being in the trade, are you a dealer, or a swarovski agent by chance?
Paul Hackett
Carl Zeiss Northern Sales Executive
The new ELs sound wonderful, but I have to think of the reasoning behind having one revolution of the focus wheel going from 2.5 meters (7 feet) to 1.5 meters (4 feet), especially when the view will not 'fuse' together through the barrels. My current 'fine focus' EL takes one revolution to go from 7 feet to 20 feet, then another 1.5 turns to go from 20 feet to infinity which works fine for me, but others on this forum preferred the faster focus models of 1.5 turns--with the brand new ELs, is there a 'stop' or 'feel' built into the focus wheel that indicates the lower gear from 4 feet to 7 feet? Also will the extra lenses affect the brightness transmitted through the objectives? I may be wrong, but physics tells me that more glass means less light transmission.
captain vallo
Well-known member
I like the idea of the 2 geared wheel, but whether in practice its any good only time and customers will tell.
As for the extra glass, I too asked the same question to my supplier who just happened to have a 'see through' display old model and we compared it to the brochure also showing the construction of the lenses.
Many of the actual lenses are actually bonded together which apparently means its like only one.
Common sense tells me that the more glass the light has to go through or bounce off, the more is lost, but then common sense isn't allways scientifically based.
It will be nice when we can all stop speculating and actually get our hands and eyes on some.
henry link
Well-known member
Do you have a brochure showing the internal construction of the new binocular?
Tannin
Common; sedentary.
Couldn't have said it better myself, Hanno. Brilliant service, but the excellence of Swarovski equipment is matched only by the unbelievable scumminess of their accessories. Strap-attachment mechanisms are the worst - you can always buy a third-party lenscap or go without, but when straps fall off without warning simply because they are so badly designed and built, that is inexcusable.
I honestly don't understand how any organistion can get the simple things so horribly wrong, let alone one which is so demonstrably good at doing the hard things bettter than any other.
captain vallo
Well-known member
Sadly not, officially he wasn't even supposed to discuss them, never mind letting me browse the brochure
bralk
Well-known member
etc
Well-known member
Simple.. The word du jour is cost-cutting and outsourcing.
There is a global economic crisis. The news in US is filled with one bank failure after another. Investors are standing in line on the streets like in 1930's. Scary times. Premium binos are the last thing you are going to think about it in times like that. If Leica/Swaro/etc. are not profitable, they will cut costs.
I think that the case for EL, the strap, the objective and ocular covers are all made you-know-where. Hint: Not in Germany.
The tolerances are terrible. With extended oculars, EL does not fit in the case, and barely fits when they are down. The plastic ratchety device for the oculars is horrible. The strap has been OK at best for me. The ocular covers come loose all the time.
Actually, I am surprised that the Big 3 have not totally outsourced their production to People's Republic. I think they will within 10 years. Granted, the quality will still be very good and comparable, but still.
Last edited:
captain vallo
Well-known member
dalat
...
Hungary is in the EU, not China. (as is Portugal, where Leica does produce binoculars)
Actually a number of German companies that outsourced production to China has moved production back to Germany. A recent example is the toy-maker Steiff, claiming quality issues as the reason. As I assume that making top-quality optics is not much more easy than making teddy bears, I think the German and Austrian binocular makers will rather keep their production in Europe.
An other point is that in 10 years, the advantage of low chinese salaries will be much less pronounced than today.
Last edited:
Similar threads
