[Simon A]

G'day all,
This one is on behalf of a work colleague of mine. He's intending to dig deep into the exchequer and get some new bins. It would appear that we currently have a three horse race between Leica (10x), Swarovskis (pardon my spelling) and Bausch and Lomb Elites. I'm fairly familiar with the other two, but the B&Ls are something that I've never had the pleasure to peer through.

Has anyone out there got a pair/had a pair, or able to offer any pearls of wisdom as to the relative merits of those mentioned?


Cheers for this,

[IanF]

I have never looked at the B&L's, but I have looked at the 10x42 Swarovskis and I have a pair of 8x32 Leicas, picked up second hand. I have to say that if your friend is after the best possible pair then I'd say out of the two the Swarovskis are the best, with the Leicas not far behind. Really it's a question of picking up both pairs to compare side by side and seeing which suits him/her personally. The B&L's may suit better. All of them are quality products in terms of optics.

[ralph]

Hello Simon

I much preferred the Leica's to the Swarovski's. I tried different models by both makers when purchasing a new pair. I found the Leica's much brighter than the Swar's. Granted, they were a bit heavier, but the optics of the Leica's did it for me. I went for a new pair of 8x42BNs, and haven't looked back. Didn't try the Bausch & Lomb's - not sure why, though.

[Alastair Rae]

I've been using Elites for about 10 years and am quite happy with them. Can't speak for the newer models.

[Grahamf]

Tried several bins when I bought mine about 4 years ago. The new Swarovskis EL were not on th emarket then but the Leicas beet the rest by a long way. I bought the 8x42 Trinovid and have been very pleased whith them. I tried the Elites at one of those 'field sales day' - they were quite good but didn't really match the Leicas - also as I use bins with specs the Leicas gave the best (though not complete) field of view.

Cheers,

Graham

[paj]

Simon

You can't go wrong with either Leica or Swarovski.
The Leica 8x32, 8x42 and 10x42 are superb. I have the 8x32 which have great optics and are very light.

On the Swarovski front there is a choice of 8x42 and 10x42 EL's (the new models) and also the 10x42 SLC which are also superb.
The Swarovski's are a joy to use as they fit in the hand well and are easy on the eyes. By that I mean that when you raise them to your eyes there's no fiddling around to get the right view, they're just right as soon as you look through them. I also have the Swarovski 10x50 SLC's which are heavier but have the same qualities.
There is also the Swarovski 8x30 to consider, also very good.

Another good one to try is the Nikon 8x32 HG and 10x42HG or if he fancies porro prisms the Nikon 8x32SE and 10x42SE which are both excellent.
The 8x32SE easily match the Leica 8x32 and in my opinion outperform the Swarovski 8x30 but the SE's are not totally waterproof.

I have tried Bosch & Lombs at the Birdfair and found some of there range not as easy to look through as some other makes.

Having said that, everyone is different and you really do need to try all models you are intersted in to see what suits you best.

One thing I will say is buy the best you can afford, it's money well spent in the long run.

paj

[T0ny]

I have B&L Elite 10x42s, purchased early 1990s with a legacy from my aunt - I also have Leica 8x42s, purchased with legacy from my mother. They are both superb bins, and I use them for different areas of birding - the Leicas for farm and woodland (wider field of view), the B&L for seawatching when I haven't got the scope with me. Best is to see what you get on with, and not to be afraid to say no if what's on offer doesn't suit.

Tony

[Simon A]

Many thanks for the response everyone - As several of you observe, it's largely a personal taste thing when you're trying to segregate the bins at the upper end of the market.

On a personal note, I've got Leica 8X32, and just love 'em. The only problem is, they've seen more birds than I have, as I got them secondhand from a mate who works for Birdquest!
Oh and they get a bit warm in the Aussie sun too!

Cheers all,

[john young]

bought a second hand pair of B+L8x42 elite and am really pleased with them, like the feel and have tried leica although not swarfs, found b+l good in low light, work as vol for rspb and have some early morning/evening id work to do.

[MikeDale]

I've had 8x42 Elites for several years too, not had any trouble with them.

[Katy Penland]

Another B&L Elite 10x42 fan here. They're especially good in low light or low contrast and close focus to 5 feet. I've had mine for several years, too (mid-'90s), so don't know about the later models.

[Steve Jones]

I got B & L Elite 10x42's second hand and find them really good (and great value compared to new bins of the same price range). Some people don't like the fast 'precise' focus, but I got used to this very quickly. They are rugged and not too heavy.
The close focus Katy mentions is brilliant when Butterflies/Dragonflies are around. These bins really can focus on your own feet (why people keep wanting to look at their own feet is beyond me...).

[Katy Penland]

Originally Posted by Steve Jones

These bins really can focus on your own feet (why people keep wanting to look at their own feet is beyond me...).

LOL, I can tell you why: When you have a Black-throated Blue Warbler hopping around on the ground and it decides to hop right over to the end of your boots to nab a bug!

We'd watched this rare (for the west US, in this case the California coast) bird start in a large circle, hopping around a campground in either La Jolla or Sycamore Canyon, both popular camping/hiking areas north of Malibu. Too many years ago now to remember which. It kept making smaller and smaller concentric circles so that if you stood absolutely still, it would keep coming closer and closer. Literally right at the tip of my boots. Wish I'd had a camera instead of my bins, but what great looks we had at this pretty and very cooperative little bird.

[Leif]

Originally Posted by Katy Penland

LOL, I can tell you why: When you have a Black-throated Blue Warbler hopping around on the ground and it decides to hop right over to the end of your boots to nab a bug!

We'd watched this rare (for the west US, in this case the California coast) bird start in a large circle, hopping around a campground in either La Jolla or Sycamore Canyon, both popular camping/hiking areas north of Malibu. Too many years ago now to remember which. It kept making smaller and smaller concentric circles so that if you stood absolutely still, it would keep coming closer and closer. Literally right at the tip of my boots. Wish I'd had a camera instead of my bins, but what great looks we had at this pretty and very cooperative little bird.

It's very very rare that a bird in the UK will come that close, at least in these parts. They are usually far too timid. I don't know why but in the US birds seem less wary. A close focus is useful for dragonflies though.

Leif