Hello,
I'm new here, first post. I have been birding increasingly over the last year but haven't looked to forums because I have enjoyed maintaining a sort of personal relationship with the act of discovering birds in my area. And, while I intend to continue that strategy, I did start digging into the forums to read up on new binoculars for my wife and myself. Thanks in part to helpful discussions here, I am happy to report that we have two new pair of Swaros.
I bought my wife a pair of the new(~ish) Swaro 8x30 CL B, and I bought myself the 8x32 EL fieldpro. We currently have a pair of the last gen (not latest) 10x30 CL pockets, but I'm packing those to return by this weekend.
I am not an expert on binos at all and have never had a top-tier bino before. Indeed we've made a big leap here but without having done any traveling for a long time and coming to realize that our walks and birding have become essential to our self-care, I saw the investment as a smart one. I doubt I can fully appreciate the finer details that some of you optics experts talk about here but my motivation in upgrading was to remove hinderances to our joyous experiences more than it was to find the most impressive tech and that is what I distilled from the reviews and commentary on these particular glasses.
With my lack of optical technical acumen on the table, I may be able to offer some useful perspectives for those who are coming from a similar place... here gos...
Swarovski 10x25 CL Pocket. I first ordered the 10x25 pockets for my wife. I wanted the 8x25s but found the 10x25s on sale and jumped on them. I have an old (80s?) pair of leica 8x20 trinovids that are a bit beat up, but useable, and when the swaro pockets came I naturally compared them. The leicas were remarkably smaller, the swaro "pocket" glasses were small-ish on my wife's neck but they feel bulky and heavy for their size. The image in the swaro pockets is clearer but there's a claustrophobic feeling I get with the small field of view that I really disliked. My wife says she thought it was fine but i noticed that she was not very good at finding the bird in the glasses after spotting it without... she also commented on having a lot of blackouts that she said was presumed would go away with practice... that doesn't sound relaxing, does it...
My primary binos (before this month) are a pair of nikon 8x42 monarch 5s. I like the nikons fine but my wife doesn't like the weight or the bulk of a full-sized binocular on our frequent walks and hikes. When I bought my nikons I reluctantly chose an 8 magnification after reading so many say that a 10 magnification can be shaky and less user-friendly. I never really appreciated how narrow and shaky the view can be until I used the swaro 10x25 pocket binos. So, I felt great about my choice of the 8 mag for myself, but the more I thought about it, the more it bothered me that my wife was dealing with this unpleasantness using the binos I got her and I finally snapped and ordered a replacement, the 8x30 CL B companions.
Swarovski 8x30 CL B Companion. I love these binos. I really think they're incredible. I was skeptical about their size after feeling so put off by the experience of using the small pockets, but the 8x30 CL is easily a more comfortable and brighter viewing experience than my nikon monarchs but half the size. I won't delve into the details of the glass except to say that the field of view is just delightful, and hugely refreshing after trying other small binos. What I can say, without hedging about my expertise, is the comfort in using these is outstanding. The eyecups are almost dreamy to use after the others. There's a sense of having a premium experience opening them and a feeling almost like they were custom-tailored to my particular eyes when I put them to use. I wonder if this is because there are no blackouts, like, none, it feel like these glasses were made for my eyes. My wife had the same experience, not putting them down for several minutes in the first try (really showing me how much she was not enjoying the pockets in contrast, which she only looked through for briefer stints at a time).
Holding these binos, my fingers wrapped around the barrels and felt secure, almost like the strap wasn't really required (It IS on though, not my first rodeo!). Why, oh why, have I dealt with oversized clunky barrels for all my life!? The size is perfect for my wife and more enjoyable to use than my larger nikons by a mile. I think these will indeed earn their "companion" name largely for their comfort, light weight, and the joy of using them. On the smaller points, for me, the rubber coating is nice, it's fine, i'm not blown away but it does the job and I have no issues. The lens covers are good, fit nice, maybe a little tight on the eyecups so you may just not put them back on after taking them off on your walk, until you get back home... I wonder if the floppy eye cover for the EL works with the Cl..hmm.. The focus wheel is excellent. Smooth, the perfect size and position, perfect 'teeth' for bare fingers or gloves. I played with the diopter, it's a little annoying to adjust, but we don't need to adjust it and frankly I do not understand AT ALL why some here say they need to adjust it often - do you have to carry multiple sets of eyeglasses with you each day to respond to regular changes in visual acuity? I just don't understand the concern. To me, the greatest benefit is that it won't be accidentally changed. I bought her the northern lights accessory set, and it's nice, fine, looks classy, but I prefer a padded bag with more structure. I do like the grey strap with the more subtle logo, that's nice. As for the strap attachment, I found it easy and like it a lot. I really thought, yeah, I could get one of these for me too, and I would be happy....but... what if.... I had to try the ELs, I just have to know...
Swarovski 8x32 EL Fieldpro. I am a sucker, I know it, for reviews of fine tech. Dammit you got me. I finally gave in and decided that I HAD to try the EL or I would forever second guess any alternative. The came today and with only a bit of experience now I will caution that my views may change and these are my first impressions. The question on my mind when I opened the box was whether these can be worth the 50% higher price than the CL companions that I think are fantastic. The first hour with them I didn't take anything else out of the box in case I was sending them back tomorrow. Honestly, I do not perceive a difference in the general quality of the image with the EL over the CL B. Sure, the EL is sharper around the edge, but that almost seems silly. The edge on the CL B is pretty sharp, certainly sharp enough that it would not ever hinder my ability to notice something out there, and then I would move the binos to center on the bird! I do see some of the rolling ball thing, but I had to really pan around to see what you all are talking about with this. I don't like it, but I think the discomfort I felt after doing that was from the fast long panning using binoculars! Don't do that, it sucks! I then tried the same absurd test with the CLs and no, no rolling ball effect, but I still felt pretty unhappy in my brain from the experience. Seriously, just don't do it. Then, the sun was low, so I played around with trying to find the dreaded glare of the small ELs.... Well, I don't know what I was doing wrong, but I got about as close to the sun as I'm going to risk going and didn't see any of this white-out I've read about. I am questioning whether I understand the concern.
Where the ELs stand out to me are comfort and field of view. The field of view is amazing, and this is after being stunned and delighted by the FOV in the CL companions. The wide field of view in the ELs, however, made me initially want to roll my eyes around and look at the image without moving the binos, and that's when I got blackouts and maybe that 'kidney bean' thing you all talk about, not sure about that term. This experience caused further, involuntary, eye rolling as I considered the excitement about the edge sharpness, as the fov is so wide that you can't even move your eyes to look at the edge to appreciate the sharpness. Still, I am loving the FOV and I have nothing AGAINST sharp edges. Then, there's comfort. The EL's fit my hands perfectly, and only after trying them out did I realize that the thumb grooves on the CL companions are not quite in the right place for my hands, but the ELs are pretty close to spot on. I love holding the barrels, very secure, nice diameter. The eye cups, again, wonderful. Similar to the thumb grooves, I didn't realize that the CL wasn't perfect for me until I tried the EL and now I realize that NEITHER is perfect... the CL felt great, inviting and open for my eyes, but after trying the EL (with bigger eye cups)I felt like the CL eyecups could be bigger still. On the other hand, I noticed that, while more comfortable to use, the EL eyecups were so wide that I did see a little reflection of light from behind me in the eye piece a few times, which I solved by cupping around my eye.
The focus wheel on the CL is way better, no doubt at all, smoother, nicer feel to the ribbing, It feels premium while the EL is functional but feels a tier lower in refinement and tactile pleasure to use by comparison. The diopter seems fine, I only used it enough to lock it at zero, and I do love that I can lock it. Alright, I want to wrap this up so but I have to mention the fieldpro neck strap - it's nice, but I would be fine with a conventional adjustment - not the attachment, I like that, I'm talking about the little dangling string to shorten and lengthen the neck strap. It's not worth the trouble, probably, but my first thought was to try to find someone to trade the fancy fieldpro strap for the wool strap from the CL to get rid of the extra dangly bits and the extra blingy eagles that come on the fieldpro strap... but it IS comfy, and it is a bird in the hand... not sure I can be bothered to change it out.
Final thoughts on the EL- At the moment I am telling myself that I should keep the EL because I already have it here, I enjoy it, I love the ultra-wide fov and I do find it a little more comfortable for my eyes and hands than the still-excellent CL companion, and maybe with time my optical expertise will grow and I will come to really appreciate the details that I don't currently understand about these binos. Would I choose the EL in a store, i.e., having had the option to compare them to the CL companions side by side? No. Yeah, it's that simple, I think. I really enjoy the hell out of the CL and I don't see any disadvantage to the companion that would make me wish I'd spent more on the EL. Now, I am not super concerned, today, with the difference in price, and again, bird in the hand and all that, so I think I'm keeping the EL, but with only one day with it I really can't be certain, The CL is lighter, feels easier somehow with less intense tech built in for 90% of the visual experience, and so a "his and hers" set of matching companions isn't an impossible, or even particularly unlikely final scenario.
I'll share more thoughts later on if I think of anything that I haven't read a hundred times already here and elsewhere. I'm sorry for all the run-on sentences, I hope this is helpful to someone. Thanks for the reviews and discussions, I found them very helpful indeed!
Cheers.
I'm new here, first post. I have been birding increasingly over the last year but haven't looked to forums because I have enjoyed maintaining a sort of personal relationship with the act of discovering birds in my area. And, while I intend to continue that strategy, I did start digging into the forums to read up on new binoculars for my wife and myself. Thanks in part to helpful discussions here, I am happy to report that we have two new pair of Swaros.
I bought my wife a pair of the new(~ish) Swaro 8x30 CL B, and I bought myself the 8x32 EL fieldpro. We currently have a pair of the last gen (not latest) 10x30 CL pockets, but I'm packing those to return by this weekend.
I am not an expert on binos at all and have never had a top-tier bino before. Indeed we've made a big leap here but without having done any traveling for a long time and coming to realize that our walks and birding have become essential to our self-care, I saw the investment as a smart one. I doubt I can fully appreciate the finer details that some of you optics experts talk about here but my motivation in upgrading was to remove hinderances to our joyous experiences more than it was to find the most impressive tech and that is what I distilled from the reviews and commentary on these particular glasses.
With my lack of optical technical acumen on the table, I may be able to offer some useful perspectives for those who are coming from a similar place... here gos...
Swarovski 10x25 CL Pocket. I first ordered the 10x25 pockets for my wife. I wanted the 8x25s but found the 10x25s on sale and jumped on them. I have an old (80s?) pair of leica 8x20 trinovids that are a bit beat up, but useable, and when the swaro pockets came I naturally compared them. The leicas were remarkably smaller, the swaro "pocket" glasses were small-ish on my wife's neck but they feel bulky and heavy for their size. The image in the swaro pockets is clearer but there's a claustrophobic feeling I get with the small field of view that I really disliked. My wife says she thought it was fine but i noticed that she was not very good at finding the bird in the glasses after spotting it without... she also commented on having a lot of blackouts that she said was presumed would go away with practice... that doesn't sound relaxing, does it...
My primary binos (before this month) are a pair of nikon 8x42 monarch 5s. I like the nikons fine but my wife doesn't like the weight or the bulk of a full-sized binocular on our frequent walks and hikes. When I bought my nikons I reluctantly chose an 8 magnification after reading so many say that a 10 magnification can be shaky and less user-friendly. I never really appreciated how narrow and shaky the view can be until I used the swaro 10x25 pocket binos. So, I felt great about my choice of the 8 mag for myself, but the more I thought about it, the more it bothered me that my wife was dealing with this unpleasantness using the binos I got her and I finally snapped and ordered a replacement, the 8x30 CL B companions.
Swarovski 8x30 CL B Companion. I love these binos. I really think they're incredible. I was skeptical about their size after feeling so put off by the experience of using the small pockets, but the 8x30 CL is easily a more comfortable and brighter viewing experience than my nikon monarchs but half the size. I won't delve into the details of the glass except to say that the field of view is just delightful, and hugely refreshing after trying other small binos. What I can say, without hedging about my expertise, is the comfort in using these is outstanding. The eyecups are almost dreamy to use after the others. There's a sense of having a premium experience opening them and a feeling almost like they were custom-tailored to my particular eyes when I put them to use. I wonder if this is because there are no blackouts, like, none, it feel like these glasses were made for my eyes. My wife had the same experience, not putting them down for several minutes in the first try (really showing me how much she was not enjoying the pockets in contrast, which she only looked through for briefer stints at a time).
Holding these binos, my fingers wrapped around the barrels and felt secure, almost like the strap wasn't really required (It IS on though, not my first rodeo!). Why, oh why, have I dealt with oversized clunky barrels for all my life!? The size is perfect for my wife and more enjoyable to use than my larger nikons by a mile. I think these will indeed earn their "companion" name largely for their comfort, light weight, and the joy of using them. On the smaller points, for me, the rubber coating is nice, it's fine, i'm not blown away but it does the job and I have no issues. The lens covers are good, fit nice, maybe a little tight on the eyecups so you may just not put them back on after taking them off on your walk, until you get back home... I wonder if the floppy eye cover for the EL works with the Cl..hmm.. The focus wheel is excellent. Smooth, the perfect size and position, perfect 'teeth' for bare fingers or gloves. I played with the diopter, it's a little annoying to adjust, but we don't need to adjust it and frankly I do not understand AT ALL why some here say they need to adjust it often - do you have to carry multiple sets of eyeglasses with you each day to respond to regular changes in visual acuity? I just don't understand the concern. To me, the greatest benefit is that it won't be accidentally changed. I bought her the northern lights accessory set, and it's nice, fine, looks classy, but I prefer a padded bag with more structure. I do like the grey strap with the more subtle logo, that's nice. As for the strap attachment, I found it easy and like it a lot. I really thought, yeah, I could get one of these for me too, and I would be happy....but... what if.... I had to try the ELs, I just have to know...
Swarovski 8x32 EL Fieldpro. I am a sucker, I know it, for reviews of fine tech. Dammit you got me. I finally gave in and decided that I HAD to try the EL or I would forever second guess any alternative. The came today and with only a bit of experience now I will caution that my views may change and these are my first impressions. The question on my mind when I opened the box was whether these can be worth the 50% higher price than the CL companions that I think are fantastic. The first hour with them I didn't take anything else out of the box in case I was sending them back tomorrow. Honestly, I do not perceive a difference in the general quality of the image with the EL over the CL B. Sure, the EL is sharper around the edge, but that almost seems silly. The edge on the CL B is pretty sharp, certainly sharp enough that it would not ever hinder my ability to notice something out there, and then I would move the binos to center on the bird! I do see some of the rolling ball thing, but I had to really pan around to see what you all are talking about with this. I don't like it, but I think the discomfort I felt after doing that was from the fast long panning using binoculars! Don't do that, it sucks! I then tried the same absurd test with the CLs and no, no rolling ball effect, but I still felt pretty unhappy in my brain from the experience. Seriously, just don't do it. Then, the sun was low, so I played around with trying to find the dreaded glare of the small ELs.... Well, I don't know what I was doing wrong, but I got about as close to the sun as I'm going to risk going and didn't see any of this white-out I've read about. I am questioning whether I understand the concern.
Where the ELs stand out to me are comfort and field of view. The field of view is amazing, and this is after being stunned and delighted by the FOV in the CL companions. The wide field of view in the ELs, however, made me initially want to roll my eyes around and look at the image without moving the binos, and that's when I got blackouts and maybe that 'kidney bean' thing you all talk about, not sure about that term. This experience caused further, involuntary, eye rolling as I considered the excitement about the edge sharpness, as the fov is so wide that you can't even move your eyes to look at the edge to appreciate the sharpness. Still, I am loving the FOV and I have nothing AGAINST sharp edges. Then, there's comfort. The EL's fit my hands perfectly, and only after trying them out did I realize that the thumb grooves on the CL companions are not quite in the right place for my hands, but the ELs are pretty close to spot on. I love holding the barrels, very secure, nice diameter. The eye cups, again, wonderful. Similar to the thumb grooves, I didn't realize that the CL wasn't perfect for me until I tried the EL and now I realize that NEITHER is perfect... the CL felt great, inviting and open for my eyes, but after trying the EL (with bigger eye cups)I felt like the CL eyecups could be bigger still. On the other hand, I noticed that, while more comfortable to use, the EL eyecups were so wide that I did see a little reflection of light from behind me in the eye piece a few times, which I solved by cupping around my eye.
The focus wheel on the CL is way better, no doubt at all, smoother, nicer feel to the ribbing, It feels premium while the EL is functional but feels a tier lower in refinement and tactile pleasure to use by comparison. The diopter seems fine, I only used it enough to lock it at zero, and I do love that I can lock it. Alright, I want to wrap this up so but I have to mention the fieldpro neck strap - it's nice, but I would be fine with a conventional adjustment - not the attachment, I like that, I'm talking about the little dangling string to shorten and lengthen the neck strap. It's not worth the trouble, probably, but my first thought was to try to find someone to trade the fancy fieldpro strap for the wool strap from the CL to get rid of the extra dangly bits and the extra blingy eagles that come on the fieldpro strap... but it IS comfy, and it is a bird in the hand... not sure I can be bothered to change it out.
Final thoughts on the EL- At the moment I am telling myself that I should keep the EL because I already have it here, I enjoy it, I love the ultra-wide fov and I do find it a little more comfortable for my eyes and hands than the still-excellent CL companion, and maybe with time my optical expertise will grow and I will come to really appreciate the details that I don't currently understand about these binos. Would I choose the EL in a store, i.e., having had the option to compare them to the CL companions side by side? No. Yeah, it's that simple, I think. I really enjoy the hell out of the CL and I don't see any disadvantage to the companion that would make me wish I'd spent more on the EL. Now, I am not super concerned, today, with the difference in price, and again, bird in the hand and all that, so I think I'm keeping the EL, but with only one day with it I really can't be certain, The CL is lighter, feels easier somehow with less intense tech built in for 90% of the visual experience, and so a "his and hers" set of matching companions isn't an impossible, or even particularly unlikely final scenario.
I'll share more thoughts later on if I think of anything that I haven't read a hundred times already here and elsewhere. I'm sorry for all the run-on sentences, I hope this is helpful to someone. Thanks for the reviews and discussions, I found them very helpful indeed!
Cheers.
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