£500 Binocular Budget - what would you buy? (4 Viewers)

[Sancho]

...... I suppose that leaves the question of 8x or 10x Hawke to serve as a compliment to the 8x EII, or which Hawke to compliment the 10x EII if that suits you..

However, if you don't want two binoculars, I'd get the Hawke, if you want a more rugged binocular. But the EII may be fine for your uses. Wish I'd bought an 8x EII when I had the chance.

Or you could go for the EII 10x35, which give extremely wide FOV of 7 degrees. Stunning optics. Not waterproof, but I´ve never had a problem and I live in Europes´s wettest country. If it rains, you put them in their case!

 

[Steve C]

Or you could go for the EII 10x35, which give extremely wide FOV of 7 degrees. Stunning optics. Not waterproof, but I´ve never had a problem and I live in Europes´s wettest country. If it rains, you put them in their case!

That was my problem. At the time I could have got them, I couldn't decide if I wanted an 8x or 10x EII. Wound up with a Swift Eaglet 7x36 instead. Decided I needed the waterproof and more durable qualities of the roof. Options, options.........decisions, decisions....

 

[ThoLa]

A pair of the latest Swarovski 8 x 30 SLC Neu, no further discussion imo.

Absolutely.
Or a Swarovski Habicht.
Or a Zeiss Conquest.

Tom

 

[MarkCaunt]

"Options, options.........decisions, decisions...." Aint that right! TOOOOO Much choice by far!

Thanks to everyone that has posted. Its really been invaluable.

As Im UK based & rightly or wrongly ive narrowed it down to
Nikon 8x32 SE CF Binoculars
but more likely (due to the water resistant...)

Swarovski SLC 8x30WB Binoculars

I would be really interested in anyones opinion of where to buy online inthe UK for a good deal. Thanks again for all input and any in response to this question!

 

[Tero]

Absolutely.
Or a Swarovski Habicht.
Or a Zeiss Conquest.

Tom

I was not completely sold on the Zeiss even in 8x30, the best of the 4 Conquests I think. Go for the SLC.

 

[birdles]

Hi, have you made your choice and if so I would be interested to know what you bought and how you find them? thanks

 

[Kevin Conville]

As Im UK based & rightly or wrongly ive narrowed it down to
Nikon 8x32 SE CF Binoculars
but more likely (due to the water resistant...)

Swarovski SLC 8x30WB Binoculars

Your budget is about $700-800 US and over here (at least) the Pentax 8x32 ED and Nikon LX-L 8x32 can be had for that. Either would be excellent. If the Swaro SLCs are "Neu" then that sounds great. I've always admired those bins, have used them, but never owned them.

 

[matt green]

A pair of the latest Swarovski 8 x 30 SLC Neu, no further discussion imo.

I've been wondering if the Hawke frontier ED was good enough to beat the latest Swarovski SLC 8x30!!

Anyone else done a comparison of these two?

Matt

 

[Kevin Conville]

I've been wondering if the Hawke frontier ED was good enough to beat the latest Swarovski SLC 8x30!!

Anyone else done a comparison of these two?

Matt

I find it unfortunate that Chin bins are mentioned in the same breath as Swarovski, knowing a bit what goes into making a Swaro. Regardless of what the view is, make no mistake, the Chin bin is NOT in the same league as a Swaro.

 

[Kevin Purcell]

I find it unfortunate that Chin bins are mentioned in the same breath as Swarovski, knowing a bit what goes into making a Swaro. Regardless of what the view is, make no mistake, the Chin bin is NOT in the same league as a Swaro.

Have you compared a Chinese ED bin to your Euro bins?

It depends what you are comparing. If you want the best image at under $500 the Chinese EDs are it. Really.

 

[NoSpringChicken]

I love the idea of the SLC 8x30 and tried a pair a little while ago. They are beautifully made and optically great BUT for me they had one overriding flaw. The focusing wheel is at the 'wrong' end and on the ones I tried it was a bit stiff. This meant that, as I focused, the binoculars were waving about so much that I found them unusable. I'm sure I could get used to them in time but I wouldn't want to spend all that money on binoculars that I had to train myself to use. I'm sure other people wouldn't find it a problem. Another good reason to try before you buy.

Ron

 

[Steve C]

I find it unfortunate that Chin bins are mentioned in the same breath as Swarovski, knowing a bit what goes into making a Swaro. Regardless of what the view is, make no mistake, the Chin bin is NOT in the same league as a Swaro.

Well for what you pay for the top end glass there should be something in that league that separates the ZEN and others from the Swaro and others. I'm fully prepared to accept that there is. I am also fully prepared not to pay for whatever that difference is, because the difference is not worth the cost. I will grant that any of the alphas are likely more solid, better engineered and have better workmanship. I think they are for more likely to survive Peter Dunne bouncing them off of walls and such.

So it gets down to the simple fact that if you can afford an alpha glass, there is no reason not to. If you simply want to have the best instrument you can buy, there is no reason not to buy an alpha glass.

However the images of the "Chin Bins" is so good there is every reason to think the comparison will be made. The point is that for far less money you get a binocular that will likely give the average user plenty of service along with quality they can afford.

 

[Kevin Conville]

It depends what you are comparing. If you want the best image at under $500 the Chinese EDs are it. Really.

It does matter what you are comparing. I believe what you and others say of their image quality.

Well for what you pay for the top end glass there should be something in that league that separates the ZEN and others from the Swaro and others. I'm fully prepared to accept that there is. I am also fully prepared not to pay for whatever that difference is, because the difference is not worth the cost. I will grant that any of the alphas are likely more solid, better engineered and have better workmanship. I think they are for more likely to survive Peter Dunne bouncing them off of walls and such.

So it gets down to the simple fact that if you can afford an alpha glass, there is no reason not to. If you simply want to have the best instrument you can buy, there is no reason not to buy an alpha glass.

However the images of the "Chin Bins" is so good there is every reason to think the comparison will be made. The point is that for far less money you get a binocular that will likely give the average user plenty of service along with quality they can afford.

Good points made Steve and I'll not argue against any of them.

Let me try an analogy. A Chevy Malibu may accelerate faster than a Toyota Camry. It may even stop faster. These don't make it a better car.

Another car one... A Kia may be a great car if you keep it in a garage, maintain it well, and drive 5000 miles a year. If the car lives outside and gets driven 50,000 miles a year then the Camry might be the better choice.

For backyard birding and fair weather birding in the park, the Chin Bins might be great. Would you choose them for a once in a lifetime safari?
Swarovski takes the details seriously and builds them with an appreciation for the fine instruments they are, at a price granted. I was told recently by one of the owners of Scope City who is also an optical engineer that Swaro's process for annealing lenses take two years. TWO YEARS! Do the Chinese even anneal their lenses?

I'm pretty confident that the materials that Swaro uses won't decompose and turn to goo sometime in the future, or that a gear tooth won't break because it's made of good stuff and not pot metal or plastic, or that out gassing won't fog internal elements at some point, or that lubricants won't migrate into places they don't belong, or that lenses won't change shape after many heating and cooling cycles because they weren't properly annealed, or that they will maintain their waterproofness when it counts, and that someone could inherit them when I die and they won't be a piece of *&#@.

My comments were triggered by Matt Green's question:
I've been wondering if the Hawke frontier ED was good enough to beat the latest Swarovski SLC 8x30!

Of course, they are not.

 

[Steve C]

It does matter what you are comparing. I believe what you and others say of their image quality.

My comments were triggered by Matt Green's question:
I've been wondering if the Hawke frontier ED was good enough to beat the latest Swarovski SLC 8x30!

Of course, they are not.

Well, we seem to be mostly in agreement. |=)| The original question was sort of loaded. Beat what parameter and how...etc.

But I've come to the opinion that the ZEN et al are at least as tough as the Viper which I've whacked around a fair bit with nary a quibble. So, in my case, probably yes, I'd go on a lifetime trip with one. For the simple fact, I'd need the extra $2K for the trip.

And a final argument in favor of the alpha class would be if you looked at a possible lifer and came up with no ID, you would not have the worry of "would I have made that ID if I wouldn't have been a cheapskate".

 

[passerine]

I love the idea of the SLC 8x30 and tried a pair a little while ago. They are beautifully made and optically great BUT for me they had one overriding flaw. The focusing wheel is at the 'wrong' end and on the ones I tried it was a bit stiff. This meant that, as I focused, the binoculars were waving about so much that I found them unusable. I'm sure I could get used to them in time but I wouldn't want to spend all that money on binoculars that I had to train myself to use. I'm sure other people wouldn't find it a problem. Another good reason to try before you buy.

Ron

I too was very impressed with the 8x30 and spent quite some time at Birdfair weighing them up against similarly priced bins. I whittled the list down to the SLC's and the Pentax 8x32 DCF ED. The latter won out because the image is every bit as good as the Swaro, the eye relief is spot on for my varifocals, the focusing is superior and ergonomically they also have the edge.
The Swaro is an excellent piece of kit but I see no point in having to work to obtain an undoubtedly great image.
Regards
Jim

 

[Kevin Conville]

The Swaro is an excellent piece of kit but I see no point in having to work to obtain an undoubtedly great image.

Oh yeah, it's where that focus wheel is that kept me from buying the 8x30s!
Somehow the reason slipped my mind...