[Troubador]

I have found the Leicas optically wonderful but fiddly to handle. The Zeiss Victory Compact 8x20 is as good optically but wins for me for its handling although you need to be right-handed to get the best from its assymetric design. Its no use carrying mini-bins if you can't get them into action quickly.

By the way the focussing on my Zeiss was a little stiff at first but is much easier now and is really smooth.

Lee

[Brigadier]

Originally Posted by vkalia

So - first impression: WOW! But a quick look with these, and the impression I have is that they are a bit brighter and provide a less fussy view (compared to the Alpens, not 8x42s obviously). Tomorrow, I will do a grand test comparing the Viper 8x28s, Nikon 8x20s, Alpen 10x25s & Tiaga 8x25s.

vkalia - Congratulations on getting the Nikons! You have made a fine choice. Although I use a Swarovski 8x20 B, which is very small and very nice, if I were choosing again now I would almost certainly buy the Nikon HGL/LXL 8x20.

I look forward to reading the results of your grand test!