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EL vs SLC (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Bill A
- Start date
Bill A said:
Bill
I owned a pair of 10x50 SLC's for about 2 years...superb bins but I found that when walking fair distances around the countryside the weight did matter after a while...especially if it was warm and wearing just a t-shirt. I part exchanged them for a pair of Nikon 8x32HG's.
Having said that, they do handle and balance very well and, the optics are superb.
The EL's were made to be brighter than the SLC's but there's not much in it.
The only way is to try both alongside each other, preferably on a dull day...then see which you prefer.
As always, bins are very much a personal choice, what suits one may not suit another.
paj
Hi paj--
Yes, it is a personal thing; unfortunately where I live (SE Michigan, USA) there are no Swaro dealers where I can make a side-by-side comparison. After years of suffering with poor binocs, I've decided to splurge. I thought I'd done my homework and wanted the 10x50 SLC's; but now as the moment approaches, I'm drawn to the EL's mostly because of the close focus--I do like to watch bugs--and I wonder as well if the 15mm eye relief of the 10x42's isn't a bit short for my bespectacled eyes. The 8.5x42 EL's are 18mm and so that's what I may go with.
Thanks for your response.
Bill
Yes, it is a personal thing; unfortunately where I live (SE Michigan, USA) there are no Swaro dealers where I can make a side-by-side comparison. After years of suffering with poor binocs, I've decided to splurge. I thought I'd done my homework and wanted the 10x50 SLC's; but now as the moment approaches, I'm drawn to the EL's mostly because of the close focus--I do like to watch bugs--and I wonder as well if the 15mm eye relief of the 10x42's isn't a bit short for my bespectacled eyes. The 8.5x42 EL's are 18mm and so that's what I may go with.
Thanks for your response.
Bill
Blincodave
Well-known member
Bill A said:
Bill,
Make sure you can live with the EL's slow (IMHO) focusing before you buy.
Good morning,
Thanks for the comments; I ended up with the 8.5.42's, and after a weekend of pretty intense use, I can say I'm delighted. The focus is slow at the closer ranges, but very precise, perfect for moving slowly (ocularly speaking) through dense forest. The glasses feel just right in my hand, and the eye relief (I wear eyeglasses all the time) is perfect. The view is very bright and the optics are razor sharp; quite a contrast to my old and battered Swift 7x50's (R.I.P.). The C.A. that I read about in one review isn't noticable to me. The binocs are pleasantly light for a full-sized glass. The only minor complaint is that although the hard case is a bonus, the soft case is cheapo, as others have commented. Given the hard case--which is like a piece of luggage and will be useful for taking on long trips--I probably wouldn't use the soft case much anyway.
At any rate, I highly recommend these binocs. But. . . why are they SO expensive??
Bill
Thanks for the comments; I ended up with the 8.5.42's, and after a weekend of pretty intense use, I can say I'm delighted. The focus is slow at the closer ranges, but very precise, perfect for moving slowly (ocularly speaking) through dense forest. The glasses feel just right in my hand, and the eye relief (I wear eyeglasses all the time) is perfect. The view is very bright and the optics are razor sharp; quite a contrast to my old and battered Swift 7x50's (R.I.P.). The C.A. that I read about in one review isn't noticable to me. The binocs are pleasantly light for a full-sized glass. The only minor complaint is that although the hard case is a bonus, the soft case is cheapo, as others have commented. Given the hard case--which is like a piece of luggage and will be useful for taking on long trips--I probably wouldn't use the soft case much anyway.
At any rate, I highly recommend these binocs. But. . . why are they SO expensive??
Bill
trealawboy
Well-known member
At any rate, I highly recommend these binocs. But. . . why are they SO expensive??
Bill[/QUOTE]
... Swarovksi want as much of your money as they can get! The premium price may also persuade some potential buyers that Swarovski's are the premium brand! ... They should of course try Nikon first...
Bill[/QUOTE]
... Swarovksi want as much of your money as they can get! The premium price may also persuade some potential buyers that Swarovski's are the premium brand! ... They should of course try Nikon first...
william j clive
Well-known member
At any rate, I highly recommend these binocs. But. . . why are they SO expensive??Bill[/QUOTE]
The Swarovski family have an extensive estate on Majorca to maintain, this may well have something to do with their overpriced products.
Having said that I have both Swarovski and Nikon bins. There is very little between the performance of the 8.5x42 EL and the 8x32 SE. The Swarovski cost me nearly £600 more! I will say that you do get used to the slow focus of the Swaro, but it took more than two years for this to happen for me. We in the UK do not get the opportunity to buy the hard case. We have to make do with the joke soft case.
Clive
The Swarovski family have an extensive estate on Majorca to maintain, this may well have something to do with their overpriced products.
Having said that I have both Swarovski and Nikon bins. There is very little between the performance of the 8.5x42 EL and the 8x32 SE. The Swarovski cost me nearly £600 more! I will say that you do get used to the slow focus of the Swaro, but it took more than two years for this to happen for me. We in the UK do not get the opportunity to buy the hard case. We have to make do with the joke soft case.
Clive
Last edited:
oathkeeper
Well-known member
Clive,william j clive said:
In your opinion, in whose favour is the "very little between the performance of the 8.5x42 EL and the 8x32 SE"? Nikon or Swaro?
william j clive
Well-known member
scampo said:
I must admit, Steve, that I got a lot of pleasure writing it
With regard to the SE and EL. I have a very narrow preference for the SE, for all the reasons so often cited on the forum. However the EL is a superb bit of kit, and I would hate to part with either of them. The EL comes into its own in 'fowl' weather :eat:
Clive
Bill A said:
Bill,
It's the 10x50 SLC's all the way. I owned both the 10x50 SLC's and the 10x42 EL's but when I saw how much brighter the 10x50's were I sold the 10x42 EL's. In fact I wasn't impressed with them at all. Since than I've had opportunities to compare the 10x50 SLC's with various other 10 power top-of-the-line binoculars--Zeiss Victories, Zeiss Night Owls and Nikon Venturers. The Night Owls and Victories were a tiny bit brighter than the 10x50 SLC's, but the easy view along with the flatness of field of the 10x50 SLC's always won me over. The Venturers too had a nice flat field, but I felt they were lacking in brightness.
I recently ordered a pair of Leica 10x50 Ultravids, after hearing good things about them. I plan to compare them with the SLC's and then sell one or the other.
AlanFrench
Well-known member
I spent three years looking for new binoculars, and got to look at everthing on my "hit list." The 8.5x42s were on my list, but the slow focus bothered me a lot, and I found no good argument (for my "fit and feel") for spending the extra dollars they would cost. In the end I bought the 7x42 SLCs, and the precise yet rapid focus was one of the features that sold me. Now if the focus on the ELs felt as nice, I might have been out a few more dollars <g>.
Clear skies, Alan
Clear skies, Alan
Lack of close focusing on the 10x50 SLC's.
Yes indeed the 10x42 EL's focus much closer than the 10x50 SLC's (although the distance of the SLC's isn't bad at about 16 feet), but if you need extreme close focus I think you can do better than the EL's for less money with the Nikon 10x42 Venturer and even the Zeiss 10x40 Victory II's which is one of the brightest 10x40 or 10x42's I have seen. I don't recall how close the Swarovski 10x42 focuses, but I was impressed with its image quality and would choose it over the EL's.scampo said:
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