Bushnell Legend Ultra's vs. Elites?? (1 Viewer)

I've been reading about how awesome the new Bushnell Ultra HD's are- and it makes me wonder- at 1/3 the price of the Elites, for example- do the Ultra's make the Elite's obsolete? Why should I want to buy the Elites when for so much less, I could get the Ultra's?
Thanks for some insight here-
Wes

Wes, not sure what the Elites could bring to the party other than dielectric prism coatings and perhaps a more robust build (doubtful). They actuall seem to take more away in terms FoV and weight. But I have never held or looked through the Elites so I can only speculate.

Perhaps Bushnell will bring a refresh to the Elites just like they did with the Legends. But in the meantime it would seem their lineup has had a wrench thrown into by the Ultra HD.

cheers,
Rick

Wait a while and see what happens down the line. You almost always end up getting what you pay for! I'm an ED glass skeptic, especially if that's all that is being done to a binocular to "improve" it.
Bob

Bob, my economic education tought me to always expect to get MORE than what I pay for. Sticking to that principle has served me very well, thank you!

While not an ED glass skeptic (the difference can be quite apparent on bright days), I do know that it is possible a <10x binocular can still have very little lateral color as exemplified by my Nikon EIIs.

In truth, the Legend Ultra HD does have a larger FoV and slighter lighter weight (perhaps due to a new magnesium body and shape) in addition to the new ED objective than the plain vanilla Legend. The new indicated AFoV would put this bino into the rare Ultra-widefield class too.

cheers,
Rick

I am waiting to hear some reviews comparing the Ultra HD to the other Chinese ED glasses. Too bad the Ultra only comes in the standard 8x42 and 10x42. I like the 7x36 concept. I still adore my vintage 7x35 Nikons. I tried the Ultra HD out for a short test and it was very impressive. One thing I dislike about the regular Legend roof prisms is the way they diopter has to constantly be set for distance or time of day. They are not a "set it and forget it" design if one wants optimal performance.

Rick,
You make a good point, but I got my economic education growing up here in an area of the "Rust Belt" that did not emerge from the depression until the late 1950's and I learned from it that you can find real value at reasonable prices with patience and an insistence on getting proven value. For instance, businessmen I knew who owned large companies, never bought new Cadillacs or Lincoln's. They bought them used when they were a year or two old drove them for 2 or 3 more years and changed them again.

I have managed to acquire, through patience and prudence and being in the right place at the right time, two 8 x 30 EII's, a 10 x 35 EII, a 10 x 42 SE, an 8 x 32 SE; two LX L's and a Leica Trinovid 7 x 42 BN. All of these were purchased at substantial savings and I KNEW when I was buying them that they were binoculars of the highest quality.

I also get a lot of pleasure from using my very inexpensive 9 x 36 Vortex Diamondback
because it performs for me above it's cost, but put ED Glass in it and charge $200.00 more and I wouldn't buy it. A bright day is a bright day.
Cordially,
Bob

bushnell legend hd

i read an article from a well known guy around the optics field and covers all the bis shows and even the Big Shot Show and in his article he said that the new legends hd's are in his opinion the best piece of glass that rivals glass costing 3 times as much, and he said that if you dont think chinese is making top notch glass then you must have your head in your poop hole. Just what i heard and i believe him cause hes well known across the shooting and optics field

Be interesting 2 c how this Ultra HD stacks against the new Elite, esp in 10x. I tried a new 10x43 that a local birder was using a few wks ago and was mightily impressed (and as binos go, that ain't easy any more....I've become jaded) and opined in another thread that if I wasn't already heavily "binoed-up", this would definitely be on the short list, especially in light of the sub-$800 pricetag....

wfeher: can you provide a link to that article ...

Also I posted over on the SHOT SHOW 2010 thread that Bushnell has introduced 8x36 and 10x36 Ultra HD bins. They keep the same external design just smaller and lighter.

And seems to have mentioned new Elite HD with ED glass and asperic EPs. I've found no details on those yet.

8x36 sounds good
fov?