Longtime review of swarovision and leica (1 Viewer)

arran · Jan 29, 2015

Me and my wife have been birdwatching on regular basis since quite some time, beginning of the eighties.
At start be bought a leica trinovid which did the job in the most harsh conditions.
After a leica ultravid , we bought a swarovision 8,5 and 10 x 42 a few years ago.
We were highly satisfied with the optical performance , but not at all with the focus drive system , which seemed to get annoying and difficult to enjoy , compared with the leicas we had.
After a while it seemed that the focus near view mechanism got stuck.
Bin was sent in , and will be repaired asap as my dealer confirmed.
In the end , I have some thoughts on the swarovision open bridge quality bins.
They perform optically just fine , only we are not convinced at all this a binocular that is built to last as the leicas are.
I had an issue before , with a swaro 10x25 that caught mold on the insde.
The bin was replaced for free, swarovski is just great on this service for sure.
BUT , still the intrinsic quality question remains unanswered.
Is the swarovision th right bin for a real professional who uses his bin in all kind of conditions and harsh wheather for years without issues?
I don' t think so, and I speak of own experience of more than 20 years.
My next bin , will not be an open bridge one , my dealer told me he had too many problems with the focus drive , within 5 years normal use.I think this is not normal!Never had this issue with my leicas in the field!!
The future ?
The swarovision will do their job for sure , but feel less confident and highly consider selling them and replace by a Leica ultravid plus or swaro slc.
Also , after all these years , I know this subjective, I still prefer the more compact style of the ultravids and the grip of it.
Conclusion , don't let yourself guide too much with marketing and make your own review on long term experience on the brand!This is what counts, I think

pppppvvvv · Jan 29, 2015

absolutely. we are all individuals, with different requirements. Choosing the right equipment for yourself is all that matters.

Hermann · Jan 31, 2015

Thanks a lot for your report that puts a finger on a problem that's rarely considered in all those heated discussions about the latest and the greatest here: How will the binoculars stand up in the long term? And, related to that, how reliable are they really?

Because, in the end, even the best customer service is no good if your focuser becomes stuck somewhere at the Varangerfjorden ... And having to send away a binocular to have it serviced because something is not working as it should is always a hassle. Sometimes unavoidable, sure, but a hassle. Even if the customer service is top notch.

I'm not going to comment on the reliability of the focuser of the Swarovski roofs as I don't have any personal experience with them, but there have been some troubling reports over the years. The Leicas, on the other hand, seem to be very reliable. My own Trinovid 8x32 BA dating back to 1993 has been used in all sorts of places, has been dropped a few times and is still going well. The same applies to two other Leica 8x32 BAs in the family, also bought in the 1990s. There are also quite a few people I know who still use their old Leica Trinovid BAs and BNs - and I know of only one person who had to send his pair for a service. I also know of no one who had a problem with an Ultravid.

Zeiss ... Well, I had to have two of the Zeiss I owned serviced over the past 30 years. Not bad considering the use they got, but not perfect.

Hermann

Tyrolean · Feb 15, 2015

I don't think that there are "perfect" binoculars in a sense that they work like on their first day for decades to come. The focuser of my old Zeiss Dialyt 8x56 became so stiff with the course of time that the binoculars were practically useless for birding. After a service at Zeiss' they are fine again. My SV 8,5 still work fine, but the day may come when service is necessary. I would certainly have this done before my x-thousand Euro trip to the Amazon. Other high-end goods like super expensive cars for example also don't function flawlessly for years on end.

By the way: I have myself used mine in torrential rain, sea water spray, dust in the desert, at minus 25, in high humidity tropical conditions ... and never had even the slightest issue with them. I rinsed them under tap water after the exposure to salt water ... Enough "intrinsic value" here ...

perterra · Feb 21, 2015

No such thing as perfect, but with a solid warranty, any will do what needs to be done. Once I sober up I reserve the right ot change my mind.

denco@comcast.n · Feb 22, 2015

arran said:
Me and my wife have been birdwatching on regular basis since quite some time, beginning of the eighties.
At start be bought a leica trinovid which did the job in the most harsh conditions.
After a leica ultravid , we bought a swarovision 8,5 and 10 x 42 a few years ago.
We were highly satisfied with the optical performance , but not at all with the focus drive system , which seemed to get annoying and difficult to enjoy , compared with the leicas we had.
After a while it seemed that the focus near view mechanism got stuck.
Bin was sent in , and will be repaired asap as my dealer confirmed.
In the end , I have some thoughts on the swarovision open bridge quality bins.
They perform optically just fine , only we are not convinced at all this a binocular that is built to last as the leicas are.
I had an issue before , with a swaro 10x25 that caught mold on the insde.
The bin was replaced for free, swarovski is just great on this service for sure.
BUT , still the intrinsic quality question remains unanswered.
Is the swarovision th right bin for a real professional who uses his bin in all kind of conditions and harsh wheather for years without issues?
I don' t think so, and I speak of own experience of more than 20 years.
My next bin , will not be an open bridge one , my dealer told me he had too many problems with the focus drive , within 5 years normal use.I think this is not normal!Never had this issue with my leicas in the field!!
The future ?
The swarovision will do their job for sure , but feel less confident and highly consider selling them and replace by a Leica ultravid plus or swaro slc.
Also , after all these years , I know this subjective, I still prefer the more compact style of the ultravids and the grip of it.
Conclusion , don't let yourself guide too much with marketing and make your own review on long term experience on the brand!This is what counts, I think

I like my Swarovision 8x32 but I think if you want a binocular that is really tough a Leica Trinovid 8x32 BN is hard to beat. I see birding guides all over the world using them in the worst of conditions. They do nothing to them and they just keep on ticking.

PeterD · Feb 23, 2015

@arran: So funny how binos stuck to personal preferences of the owner/user. I agree with all the things you pointed out, but vice versa: I much prefer my EL 8,5x42 (non SV) over Leicas Ultravid, which I owned before but traded in because I was so disappointed in many respects. First of all the mechanics: never had such a notchy and harsh going focus like the one of my Ultravid 8x42 BR. With them may bee I still can watch and focus penguins 20 yards ago before dying 5 minutes later in an ice storm, but that´s none of my daily usage of bins, so I am no friend of Leica´s philosophy of a greaseless focus mechanism. The EL in contrast meets all my requirements in terms of durability, "feeling", stability, fancywork of mechanics (never had such a smooth a silk focus wheel in contrary to your statements) and easy of view. It´s now in use for 9 years and works as reliable as on the first day. How much I like the "old" EL can bee seen by the fact that for a short time I owned a pair of EL 8x32 Swarovision besides them. I had to come to a conclusion which one to hold - I went for my EL...
I agree with Peters post above:

we are all individuals, with different requirements. Choosing the right equipment for yourself is all that matters.

Peter

Longtime review of swarovision and leica (1 Viewer)

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