New Bin GAS. Switch to SF from Conquest? (1 Viewer)

[Pauhana]

After trying a friends NL Pure while out birding have GAS for new bins. I felt NL Pure view was much improved over my Conquest 8x42 The downside for me is that several friends that bought the NL in past 12-18 months are now having issues with armor, and i do prefer Ziess. Have been searching but no luck in finding local dealer with SF available. My bins are used almost daily for birding. So before i order a pair to try was wondering if anyone that made the same move have any comments on their experience. Looking at 8x42 or 10x42 and am a eyeglass wearer.

RT

 

[tehri]

The downside for me is that several friends that bought the NL in past 12-18 months are now having issues with armor

Many of your friends, you say ?... friends you know, meet, several close ones, or 'online friends' ?...
i'd be amazed if it was several people around you 😯 ... Really ?!

 

[pbjosh]

Many of your friends, you say ?... friends you know, meet, several close ones, or 'online friends' ?...
i'd be amazed if it was several people around you 😯 ... Really ?!

I know personally 7 people who have had problems with NL’s with armor, FP attachment points, eye cups falling apart, and excessive fogging compared to EL’s or SF’s or Leicas.

That said no bin is perfect. My SF’s focuser broke and a friend recently experienced the same problem.

 

[pbjosh]

To the OP- I have an NL and an SF. I like both, they are the two best birding bins made at the moment, at least in my and many others’ opinion. I think the NL arguably has a very marginally better overall optical quality but the difference is minor. But in terms of glare handling, ergonomics, focuser, and thus as a birding tool, I prefer the SF’s by a bit. Not a huge difference, but I do prefer them.

As long as you have the option of a return if you get a lemon or are otherwise not content with the purchase I really doubt you will be disappointed.

 

[Pauhana]

Many of your friends, you say ?... friends you know, meet, several close ones, or 'online friends' ?...
i'd be amazed if it was several people around you 😯 ... Really ?!

3 people i bird with on regular basis have bought NL. 2 have had issues with armor. The 3 bought a pair of NL about 2 months ago. So far no issues

 

[Pauhana]

The optics of the NL are amazing With that I agree 100%. For both birding and night sky. yes all have issues. My conquest hinge failed and Ziess replaced the bins. But for the money that NL cost I would hope for better

 

[NDhunter]

I think you would be better off with the Victory SF, from what I have seen you say. I have several Swarovski
binoculars, but the armor thing of the NL Pure is very off-putting to me. I don't like that one bit, not sure why
in the world they would change to such a bad thing.
Good luck.
Jerry

 

[ZDHart]

I spent about 10 days closely comparing three 8x32s: NL, SF, and UVHD+.

Image sharpness was so close among the three that I was perfectly content with any of the three.

However, the color quality, contrast, and color saturation was a major differentiator for me. Color quality is something that is very important to me. The Leica was easily my absolute favorite for color quality - simply sublime. Next favorite for color quality were the NLs, which were just "ok". SF came in last among the three for color quality, not all that impressive for rendering a beautiful color quality. (I'm not especially interested in absolute color "neutrality" with binoculars - I prefer to be presented with a look that is close to natural, but "rich". The Leica give a look somewhat similar to a very feint rose tone, which I find quite beautiful.)

All three are excellent binoculars (of course). Ultimately, I kept the UVHD+ and the SF, but I returned the NL.

What I didn't like about the NLs were the pinched waist barrel design, the armor was not very "grippy" in my hands, and the focus wheel was a little coarse and uneven and felt of lower quality, as compared to the Zeiss and the Leica.

The Zeiss and Leica armor textures made them feel very secure in the hands - and the feel of the focus wheels was superb in the Zeiss and very close to superb with the Leica. The Leica focus wheel felt perfectly smooth and even, but it simply took very slightly more finger pressure to turn than the Zeiss focus wheel. I'd call the Zeiss focus wheel a "10" and the Leica focus wheel a "9.7". The NL focus wheel was about a "6" in my opinion. Feel of the focus wheel is a very important thing to me, as that is THE primary user-interface one has when using a binocular.

I much preferred the traditional barrel shapes and armor (Leica and Zeiss), which felt very secure in my hands.

As for comparing the 8x32 SF and 8x32 UVHD+... the UVHD+ are my overall favorite, by far. They are just such a sweet spot of size, weight, build quality, balance, and that "view". But the SFs are excellent, as well.

Of course, we each have our particular personal preferences. There are no bad choices if you select which binoculars satisfy you the most when you look through them, and feel the best to hold in your hands and operate the focus wheel.

(I also have a pair of Conquest HD 8x32's, which I've enjoyed for many years, and must say that they hold a spot very close to the SF and the UVHD+, especially considering their price! Conquest HD 8x32s are awesome binoculars, in every respect.)

 

[tenex]

I spent about 10 days closely comparing three 8x32s: NL, SF, and UVHD+.

Image sharpness was so close among the three that I was perfectly content with any of the three.

However, the color quality, contrast, and color saturation was a major differentiator for me. Color quality is something that is very important to me. The Leica was easily my absolute favorite for color quality - simply sublime. Next favorite for color quality were the NLs, which were just "ok". SF came in last among the three for color quality, not all that impressive for rendering a beautiful color quality. (I'm not especially interested in absolute color "neutrality" with binoculars - I prefer to be presented with a look that is close to natural, but "rich". The Leica give a look somewhat similar to a very feint rose tone, which I find quite beautiful.)

All three are excellent binoculars (of course). Ultimately, I kept the UVHD+ and the SF, but I returned the NL.

What I didn't like about the NLs were the pinched waist barrel design, the armor was not very "grippy" in my hands, and the focus wheel was a little coarse and uneven and felt of lower quality, as compared to the Zeiss and the Leica.

The Zeiss and Leica armor textures made them feel very secure in the hands - and the feel of the focus wheels was superb in the Zeiss and very close to superb with the Leica. The Leica focus wheel felt perfectly smooth and even, but it simply took very slightly more finger pressure to turn than the Zeiss focus wheel. I'd call the Zeiss focus wheel a "10" and the Leica focus wheel a "9.7". The NL focus wheel was about a "6" in my opinion. Feel of the focus wheel is a very important thing to me, as that is THE primary user-interface one has when using a binocular.

I much preferred the traditional barrel shapes and armor (Leica and Zeiss), which felt very secure in my hands.

As for comparing the 8x32 SF and 8x32 UVHD+... the UVHD+ are my overall favorite, by far. They are just such a sweet spot of size, weight, build quality, balance, and that "view". But the SFs are excellent, as well.

Of course, we each have our particular personal preferences. There are no bad choices if you select which binoculars satisfy you the most when you look through them, and feel the best to hold in your hands and operate the focus wheel.

(I also have a pair of Conquest HD 8x32's, which I've enjoyed for many years, and must say that they hold a spot very close to the SF and the UVHD+, especially considering their price! Conquest HD 8x32s are awesome binoculars, in every respect.)

I spent about 10 days closely comparing three 8x32s: NL, SF, and UVHD+.

Image sharpness was so close among the three that I was perfectly content with any of the three.

However, the color quality, contrast, and color saturation was a major differentiator for me. Color quality is something that is very important to me. The Leica was easily my absolute favorite for color quality - simply sublime (with a slight hint toward pale rose - comparatively speaking, but still quite natural looking). Next favorite for color quality were the NLs, which were just "ok". SF came in last among the three for color quality, not all that impressive for rendering a beautiful color quality.

All three are excellent binoculars (of course). Ultimately, I kept the UVHD+ and the SF, but I returned the NL.

What I didn't like about the NLs were the pinched waist barrel design, the armor was not very "grippy" in my hands, and the focus wheel was a little coarse and uneven and felt of lower quality, as compared to the Zeiss and the Leica.

The Zeiss and Leica armor textures made them feel very secure in the hands - and the feel of the focus wheels was superb in the Zeiss and very close to superb with the Leica. The Leica focus wheel felt perfectly smooth and even, but it simply took very slightly more finger pressure to turn than the Zeiss focus wheel. I'd call the Zeiss focus wheel a "10" and the Leica focus wheel a "9.7". The NL focus wheel was about a "6" in my opinion. Feel of the focus wheel is a very important thing to me, as that is THE primary user-interface one has when using a binocular.

I much preferred the traditional barrel shapes and armor (Leica and Zeiss), which felt very secure in my hands.

As for comparing the 8x32 SF and 8x32 UVHD+... the UVHD+ are my overall favorite, by far. They are just such a sweet spot of size, weight, build quality, balance, and that "view". But the SFs are excellent, as well.

Of course, we each have our particular personal preferences. There are no bad choices if you select which binoculars satisfy you the most when you look through them, and feel the best to hold in your hands and operate the focus wheel.

(I also have a pair of Conquest HD 8x32's, which I've enjoyed for many years, and must say that they hold a spot very close to the SF and the UVHD+, especially considering their price! Conquest HD 8x32s are awesome binoculars, in every respect.)

No need for verbatim duplicate posts (and no mention of Conquest anyway).

 

[Scott98]

You'll love the SF's, I would go for it. My favorite thing about them is the grip and balance - the wide open bridge design is unique and very cool IMO. You'll appreciate the difference with the Conquest every time you pick them up. The optics are everything I expected from spending a fortune on binoculars - the contrast, brightness, and sharpness are incredible. For some reason it stands out most when I do astronomy - the star images are the tightest specs I've seen in binoculars. (I have not spent any amount of time with NL's though).

The eye placement is demanding w/ the SF's, I struggled with it and needed to extend the eyecups outside the normal range to use without eyeglasses. That might be a factor in choosing between 8 and 10x - the exit pupil is larger and should be more tolerant of placement in the 8x. I chose 8x just because it's a little more versatile and I use 8x more for birding.

 

[Elpha8888]

Had a huge issue with glare occasionally in the 8x42 NL pure, it made the view into a £100 binocular, at other times it gave the most majestic image.
Prefer the Zeiss ergos and focuser, hard call.

 

[Pauhana]

Update

Have been doing some searching locally but no luck on finding a SF to try. But at same time have been doing some further reading. Threads by tenex, Troubador and Roger Vine's reviews have me thinking a 8x32 SF offers a very good option. I like the 8x, and would like a wider FOV. This will be a birding bino only. Do I need a SF vs Conquest 8x32 probably not. But would really like to have that little extra the SF gives. And it has been approved by the chief financial officer. {in particular after i mentioned the price of a Olympus 150-400 F4 pro lens} Monday is a holiday here in US so Tuesday will be making some calls to dealers on the 8x32 SF

 

[Canip]

Do I need a SF vs Conquest 8x32 probably not.

No. If you have the funds for the SF, go for it, it‘s a fabulous bino.

 

[Paultricounty]

Update

Have been doing some searching locally but no luck on finding a SF to try. But at same time have been doing some further reading. Threads by tenex, Troubador and Roger Vine's reviews have me thinking a 8x32 SF offers a very good option. I like the 8x, and would like a wider FOV. This will be a birding bino only. Do I need a SF vs Conquest 8x32 probably not. But would really like to have that little extra the SF gives. And it has been approved by the chief financial officer. {in particular after i mentioned the price of a Olympus 150-400 F4 pro lens} Monday is a holiday here in US so Tuesday will be making some calls to dealers on the 8x32 SF

You will not regret it. SF one of the best of the best top five money can buy. All about the same one way or another , all of which have exquisite image quality. I love that 8x32, it the only SF I kept.

Good luck , try B&H photo, excellent company, bought tons of glass there.

Happy memorial day.

Paul

 

[Scott98]

I don't know if you'd consider buying a "demo" but right now Euro OPtic has the 8x32 SF demo in stock for a huge discount off the new price. You could always return them if they're not up to snuff. they have a demo 10x32 as well. The website is working even though it's a holiday

 

[Pauhana]

I don't know if you'd consider buying a "demo" but right now Euro OPtic has the 8x32 SF demo in stock for a huge discount off the new price. You could always return them if they're not up to snuff. they have a demo 10x32 as well. The website is working even though it's a holiday

Yes I saw that and plan to call them in the morning. Never bought from them in past but comments on this site seemed to indicate they are reliable

 

[z-ben]

I know personally 7 people who have had problems with NL’s with armor, FP attachment points, eye cups falling apart, and excessive fogging compared to EL’s or SF’s or Leicas.

That said no bin is perfect. My SF’s focuser broke and a friend recently experienced the same problem.

Were these the original grey sf or the black one ?

 

[pbjosh]

Were these the original grey sf or the black one ?

Mine is a black armor 8x42. My friend's focuser broke in apparently the same manner, theirs is a 10x32. I've not HEARD of anyone else having focuser problems with an SF, but shrug just throwing out anecdotal tidbits not trying to say anything further.

 

[Pauhana]

Were these the original grey sf or the black one ?

that i will know when i call them in morning

 

[z-ben]

Mine is a black armor 8x42. My friend's focuser broke in apparently the same manner, theirs is a 10x32. I've not HEARD of anyone else having focuser problems with an SF, but shrug just throwing out anecdotal tidbits not trying to say anything further.

I bought a grey 8x 42 used the view was great but after a while I realised there was quite a bit of slack in the focus mechanism sent them to Norfolk for Zeiss service they sent them back to Germany 3 months later they came back perfect but with black armour (no explanation) all the work was done under warranty.