Mushy is a good word to desribe ever other binocular compared to the Big Zeiss. I think the 56mm aperture might just be too much for the Swarovision to overcome. I will have to take my Zeiss 8x56 FL over to Sportsman's warehouse and do a comparison to the Swarovision. The Zeiss really is not much bigger than the 8x42 FL but it is heavier! Funny thing is though it is balanced so much better that it feels lighter than the Canon 10x42 L IS which is like a brick.
I managed to compare the Zeiss 8x56 FL in the store to a Swarovision 8.5x42 all under the artificial light inside the store. The big Zeiss is definitely sharper on-axis than the Swarovision and had better contrast to my eyes.The Zeiss was more transparent in the center of the field giving more of the feeling that there was no lens between you and the object you are viewing.The only advantage I could see with the Swarovision was the edge sharpness which was superior to the Zeiss and almost anything else. The big Zeiss's on-axis sharpness is uncanny being like Henry said a high quality APO scope like a Takahashi. I feel it is the best view I have seen through any binocular including the Swarovision. I personally much preferred the view through the big Zeiss and I feel it would be superior in other ways once outside like glare control because of the big 7mm exit pupil. I felt there was just more abberations in the Swarovision because of the Zeiss's aperture and focal length advantage and you notice it in the on-axis view. Surprised me. It is interesting what an advantage focal length and aperture can be in a binocular.
Some other observations about the two binoculars. The focus is really similar on both being about the same feel and tension. I really don't know what all the hoopla about the new Swarovision is the only big difference I noticed was the off-axis sharpness which has improved. The Swarovision looks about the same as the old Swarovski's. The Swarovision is very bright for a 42mm binocular but the on-axis view reminded you more than the Zeiss that you were looking through a binocular. The Zeiss seems like there is no lens in front of your eyes but rather you are just closer to the object you are looking at with less aberations. What I really noticed is how much steadier I could hold the big Zeiss because I have never directly compared two different binoculars of different weight. The Swarovision shook all over the place even at 8x. Not to detract from the Swarovision it is an excellent 42mm binocular but it hard to compete with a 56mm in the optics arena.
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