Yet another NL mini-review (yawn) (1 Viewer)

[GrampaTom]

Ha! I’m there. Sorry to be no help

 

[SUPPRESSOR]

It's a shame you couldn't find a pupil position that worked for you.
Never mind, move on.

Move on he certainly does and at breakneck speed. I admire Dennis for he has no shame.

 

[Swedpat]

I would like to hear some information about the useful eye relief with NL compared to EL.
How well do you see the FOV with eyeglasses on?

 

[Lightbender]

I would like to hear some information about the useful eye relief with NL compared to EL.
How well do you see the FOV with eyeglasses on?

Eye relief is critical for me as well. The NL has a longer usable ER compared to EL 8x32 or EL 8.5x42 - and works very well for me with glasses on. Whereas ER of the EL is only just OK for me. ER of NL 8 and NL 10 seem to be similar or identical.

 

[Swedpat]

Eye relief is critical for me as well. The NL has a longer usable ER compared to EL 8x32 or EL 8.5x42 - and works very well for me with glasses on. Whereas ER of the EL is only just OK for me. ER of NL 8 and NL 10 seem to be similar or identical.

Thanks! This sounds good. I can see at videos that the eyecup design of NL is better than of EL, allowing you to make use of the eye relief as much as possible.
I was a bit dissapointed when I tried EL 8,5X42, the eyecup edge is unnecessary high, wasting 2-3mm of the eye relief.

 

[ticl2184]

I'm glad you like your 8x42 NL's.
Sadly for me the NL's didn't work out.

Firstly £2410 is a ridiculous price to pay for a pair of binoculars in my opinion, especially when they only cost about £600 to manufacture.
Secondly the ghosting was noticable along with a fiddly eye positioning causing blackouts.
Thirdly I found image softness about 80% from the central fov. And lastly I found them quite heavy and didn't like the dipoter controller.

Anyways that's just my opinion. I hope you continue to enjoy your NL's. I might get a pair when they've tweaked the niggles above.

Cheers
Tim

 

[ticl2184]

As a former owner of an NL I totally disagree w/tenex. Reviews are pretty much meaningless. The only way you know if a binocular is going to work for you is to try it yourself! A binocular that works great for one person might very well not work for another because of the differences in our facial structure, eye sockets and most importantly our eyes and brain. Most Zeiss SF and Swarovski NL reviews are very positive, but neither one works for me.

Agreed.

The NL didn't work for me either but I'm happy for those that manage to get on with it.

I genuinely think the NL was released to early. I've tested dozens of pairs and the optical and build quality varies significantly in my opinion.
I'll wait for a second gen NL .

Cheers
Tim

 

[jan van daalen]

I'm glad you like your 8x42 NL's.
Sadly for me the NL's didn't work out.

Firstly £2410 is a ridiculous price to pay for a pair of binoculars in my opinion, especially when they only cost about £600 to manufacture.
Secondly the ghosting was noticable along with a fiddly eye positioning causing blackouts.
Thirdly I found image softness about 80% from the central fov. And lastly I found them quite heavy and didn't like the dipoter controller.

Anyways that's just my opinion. I hope you continue to enjoy your NL's. I might get a pair when they've tweaked the niggles above.

Cheers
Tim

Hi Tim,

Your, so called, problems with the NL's are well known now but on what do you base the manufacture price on?
BTW, dozens of pairs and none of them suited you? Really?
Jan

 

[ticl2184]

Hi Tim,

Your, so called, problems with the NL's are well known now but on what do you base the manufacture price on?
BTW, dozens of pairs and none of them suited you? Really?
Jan

Hi Jan.

Yep. The price of manufacturing a NL is around £600 to £650 . About €700 Euro I think.
That figure came from the horses mouth if you get my meaning. Over 80% of that cost is for the glass alone.
Yes. I've tried dozens of pairs as I've told you. I'd say about 10 pairs of 10x42, 5 pairs of 8x42, 3 pairs of 12x42. 6 pairs of 8x32 and 4 pairs of 10x32 if my memory serves me right. I'd say at least half of those had some type of fault, mainly softness of image.

Like I said I'll wait until the reflection, kidney beaning and variability of field softness is addressed before I go for another pair.
It's a real shame. I'd love to have a pair but the price and variability in quality doesn't warrent the purchase .

Cheers
Tim

 

[pm42]

Firstly £2410 is a ridiculous price to pay for a pair of binoculars in my opinion, especially when they only cost about £600 to manufacture.

Manufacturing is only a fraction of the real cost as it includes research, distribution, marketing, warranty, etc. Maybe we could say that ignoring it is "ridiculous".

 

[jan van daalen]

Hi Jan.

Yep. The price of manufacturing a NL is around £600 to £650 . About €700 Euro I think.
That figure came from the horses mouth if you get my meaning. Over 80% of that cost is for the glass alone.
Yes. I've tried dozens of pairs as I've told you. I'd say about 10 pairs of 10x42, 5 pairs of 8x42, 3 pairs of 12x42. 6 pairs of 8x32 and 4 pairs of 10x32 if my memory serves me right. I'd say at least half of those had some type of fault, mainly softness of image.

Like I said I'll wait until the reflection, kidney beaning and variability of field softness is addressed before I go for another pair.
It's a real shame. I'd love to have a pair but the price and variability in quality doesn't warrent the purchase .

Cheers
Tim

Ehhh Tim,

What is a horses mouth?

Jan, who is not English

 

[Troubador]

Manufacturing is only a fraction of the real cost as it includes research, distribution, marketing, warranty, etc. Maybe we could say that ignoring it is "ridiculous".

In addition to the margin the factory needs to make, there is normally a subsidiary or agent in each territory that buys the binos from the factory and needs to make a margin when they sell to the dealer and finally, the dealer needs to make a margin too...........

Lee

 

[ticl2184]

In addition to the margin the factory needs to make, there is normally a subsidiary or agent in each territory that buys the binos from the factory and needs to make a margin when they sell to the dealer and finally, the dealer needs to make a margin too...........

Lee

Yes.
That's correct Lee, but you have to admit the price of Alphas have gone through the roof lately. Prices have almost doubled in only 10 years.
And guess what. Swarovski NL's will be going "UP" in price next year..🤔

Jan.
PM'd you...

Cheers
Tim

 

[Troubador]

Yes.
That's correct Lee, but you have to admit the price of Alphas have gone through the roof lately. Prices have almost doubled in only 10 years.
And guess what. Swarovski NL's will be going "UP" in price next year..🤔

Prices of some models have certainly gone up but I am not so sure that 'almost doubled in 10 years' is fair.

I am on holiday just now so don't have access to my bino files but the SF8x42 that I reviewed in 2015 (granted this is only 6 years ago) was priced at £1950 at the time (retail price, not list) and is now £1999. If it had continued this annual rate of increase for 10 years instead of 6 it would still be only £2,440, a 25% increase.

Lets look at this a different way. The EL8.5x42 that I reviewed in 2015 retailed at £1765 and today the NL8x42 that has replaced the EL at the top of the Swaro tree is retailing at around £2370 and thats a 34% increase. This alone supports your contention of large recent increases but Swaro can also point out that they have reduced the price of EL.

Lee