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Alpha Binoculars - Are they worth it ? (1 Viewer)

Are they worth it for me? No. That isn't to say their optical performance isn't somewhat better - there is a, to my eyes, very very slight increase in optical performance. But I am not of the mindset that spending 2-3x the price for a 1% increase in performance is a good value.

For others, they will find the 1% increase represents good value, or they won't care about value at all and just go with the top-end pair.


Justin
 
jremmons said:
Are they worth it for me? No. That isn't to say their optical performance isn't somewhat better - there is a, to my eyes, very very slight increase in optical performance. But I am not of the mindset that spending 2-3x the price for a 1% increase in performance is a good value.

For others, they will find the 1% increase represents good value, or they won't care about value at all and just go with the top-end pair.


Justin
Click to expand...

Yep, we know that.

Uh, now I will probably be scorned by a moderator.

Bryce...
 
I think the extremities are widening in this: comparison of 'Alphas' to 'Chinese' for example.
Going back to the top, i think the discussion was more about 'Alpha' and 'sub-Alpha' which may be Japanese, or Belgian, or somewhere else.
Sharpness, clarity to the edge, good control of CA, field flattening - all these can be found in sub £500 bins now. Even build quality, after-sales and warranties (e.g. Vortex) have improved immensely in this category, as they have to in a very competitive market with a lot of players.
What the Alphas all seem to offer is what may be seen as 'brightness' which i think - but may be wrong - comes from superior transmission of the shorter wavelengths. If you can live with sharpness and good contrast, this may not be necessary for you. It's not for me.:t:
 
Imagine a world where the alpha roof had never happened, manufacturers had`nt put huge investment into developing dielectric coatings or the need for PC coatings, people demanded Porro`s, all the development went on ever fine tuning and improving these binoculars, would we have even better optics than the alpha roof offers now, have we lost out on truly astonishing views ?
 
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bh46118 said:
Do the top binoculars from Zeiss, Leica, and Swarovski, truly have a superior view and high value, or are they severely over priced for what they offer. Is it a name recognition thing ? The Alpha owners seem to be fairly tight lipped, so everyone give an opinion. I ask the question based on the mostly negative response I received after mentioning that I had made an Alpha purchase and was well pleased. I didn't realize the mere mention of it would touch a nerve with so many people. I don't want this to become uncivil, it just seems like an interesting topic.

Bruce
Click to expand...

NO ! They are not worth it.

Their image improvements are legit, but beyond the range of human vision; like buying a headphones that can emit ultrasound.
I suspect $400-$1000 binoculars offer optical quality at the limits of human vision.
 
Torview said:
Imagine a world where the alpha roof had never happened, manufacturers had`nt put huge investment into developing dielectric coatings or the need for PC coatings, people demande Porro`s, all the development went on ever fine tuning and improving these binoculars, would we have even better optics than the alpha roof offers now, have we lost out on truly astonishing views ?
Click to expand...

Possibly. It's impossible to tell though. However, wideangle porros would probably be somewhat heavier than wideangle roofs, I reckon.

Hermann
 
In my view the value of alpha binoculars is (in descending order of importance) the extra cachet they confer onto their users, better 'quality control', potentially better after sales service (some, not all) and probably better robustness rather than ultimate optical excellence. It's not that the top bins aren't better optically, they generally are, but the difference is so subtle these days that I defy anyone to detect it except in direct one-to-one comparison. If it's that close then I very much doubt it makes any substantive optical difference in the field. I suspect too that few people realise just how powerfully perceived status can influence judgements. Some dealers will claim that a majority of customers, without being told, consistently prefer 'brand X' or 'brand Y' and that this 'proves' they must be better. This underestimates the subtle signals by which dealers with a 'view' can inadvertantly communicate to buyers. As I've commented previously, I'm of the opinion that two top quality cheaper instruments with different specifications (say 8x32 & 10x42) will provide a better all round experience/flexibility than single alpha glass costing as much, or more than, the two 'betas' put together.
 
There is an inherent alpha wish everywhere, not just in binoculars.
Here in the US, where there is a freeish market for health care devices, there are also just incredible price differences between different models of hearing aid models.
Prices range from $60 to $6000 for a pair of hearing aids. It is not easy to explain that, as there is certainly no prestige gained by shifting from say a Siemens to a Phonak product.
Technically, there is no material difference, essentially all units are digital designs, whose distinctions center of the number of frequency band adjustments available and some different noise cancellation algorithms. Batteries, chips and speaker components are supplied by outside specialist firms, just as glass is an outside component for binocular makers.
So is one worth 100x the other?
Probably not, yet people pay the huge extra, probably because it gives them peace of mind.
 
Just noticed 80" SHARP LED TV is on sale for $2200. For the price of "alpha", I can buy an 80" TV and an almost alpha binoculars, still with some changes left in the pocket.
 
As an addendum to my earlier post, I have to say that I find 'alpha' telescopes - possibly due to higher magnifications and problems of producing a top quality zoom - are markedly better than 'beta' rivals ...
 
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