I realise that a 12x isn't a replacement for a scope, but wonder if 12x NL owners find themselves visiting wetlands etc. with just their bins? I currently have a pair of 7s and feel a bit underpowered without a scope, but would love to ditch the tyranny of lugging around a tripod that I then never use! Would a pair of 12x NLs often negate the use of a scope do you think?
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IN PRAISE OF THE SWAROVSKI 12X42 NL PURE (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter SUPPRESSOR
- Start date
jcnguyen09
Well-known member
Especially for the glasses wearers like me! I don't have to press the glasses into the eyecups and mess up my glasses position. It helps to give me the perfect eye placement every times. It is a pleasant, easy feeling and enjoyable much more while using the binoculars, even on the 8x power. For sure Swarovski would fight hard to keep this marvelous patent only on it's name, just like they found hard to keep the proprietary open-bridge EL style from Nikon EDG. Ironically they ended up with closed-bridge NL.
SUPPRESSOR
Well-known member
Sometimes only a scope will do,but, depends on the type of birding you do.I have sold mine,mostly to free myself of the faff of putting it up taking it down.in the boot out of the boot ,keeping a watchful eye on it on a windy day, all that mag all that heat haze. So far I have not missed it.,but, who knows.
Will my 12x42 bins be enough for the birding I do most of ,yes.
I was not needing a £3,000 scope to sit around most of the time doing nothing, different if you live somewhere with a view.
Pete.
jcnguyen09
Well-known member
The 12x NL is perfect on the wetlands for me! The 339' FOV is wide enough and the 71 degree AFOV really makes the difference! and with the FRP, it is the best handheld able 12x powers for me! handheld able is probably the most valuable factor for me since I love to view the details of the birds, wildlives....Anything closed up said within 100', they are amazing! A long distance, it's better on the mono or tripod.
SUPPRESSOR
Well-known member
I like to go out birding on my own and if I come across more than 3,people on a 3,hour walk I feel hard done by and not so easy with scope and tripod as soon as you put those legs up you have a crowd asking all sorts of questions and not always about birds.Had a great afternoon today only 1, person all afternoon in my local extensive woods.
As the wife puts it when I"m out on my bike(I am in blissful isolation) just how I like my birding so getting rid of my scope has freed me up in more ways than one and am no longer accosted by any Emmits.
rpg51
Well-known member
The power of the binos is 12x. The power of the scope is typically 25x to 60x. That is a major difference. Some situations the 12x will be all you need. Other situations you want the higher power. But yes, the scope involves a lot of futzing around and yes, it attracts a lot of attention that can get in the way sometimes.
tenex
reality-based
I often do so with my 15x56, and even that can't really substitute for a scope, but I'm usually satisfied with it nonetheless as the best I can conveniently carry and hold. 12x wouldn't do it for me, just not significantly better than the 10x I normally carry. Then again, if you're accustomed to your 7x, you would find 12x a major improvement... and most people don't seem to find 15x handholdable, so there you are. Save your groschen.
I feel the same way, but I really hate to sell anything, so I have a difficulty.
If you have a decent scope you can't think of anything else to do with, take up double star chasing.
You will be surprised at the beauty of them.
Start with Mizar in the big dipper, one of the easiest.
If you have a decent scope you can't think of anything else to do with, take up double star chasing.
You will be surprised at the beauty of them.
Start with Mizar in the big dipper, one of the easiest.
SUPPRESSOR
Well-known member
Still not missing my scope and still most impressed with the 12x42's .Focused on a ringlet no more than 6.5 feet away just a lovely view.
I find the forehead rest gives the best results closer in, really steady views.
As far as DOF goes ,it's bound to be less than smaller magnifications ,but, so quick and easy with super smooth focuser to keep the view sharp.All in all just a state of the art binocular.
Pete.
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rpg51
Well-known member
Good suggestion. I got out tonight and had a nice look at Saturn.
I have been interested to read this and other posts about the NL 12x.
I bought a pair of EL 8.5 x 42 about 4 months before the NL appeared. I was very impressed and have enjoyed using them around NZ. I was always slightly underwhelmed by the 'reach' though - many NZ birds are small. an 8.5x often does little to bring them much closer and allow you to see the detail. However a scope is obviously no good for following small bird behaviour!
I was always left wanting more. I have Leica 10x32 Ultravids (non HD) but I much prefer the 'picture' from my Swaros. Also the CA in the Leicas is so great that frankly they should be ashamed of themselves. It's put me off ever buying from their range again - although otherwise they are a fine, compact binocular.
I read as much as I could about the 12x then rang the dealer, who had one of each on his shelf (the advantage of being in NZ where the number of people prepared to pay that much is much smaller than the US or UK, perhaps!) so I took the plunge and ordered the 12. They should arrive early in the week together with the forehead rest. Due to C19 lockdown in Auckland (and the fact that Auckland is a 12 hour drive away!) trying them in the shop was not an option.
I may or may not keep the ELs; I will for a while just for the fun of comparing them, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I will like the NL 12 so much that the 8.5 will feel redundant.
I bought a pair of EL 8.5 x 42 about 4 months before the NL appeared. I was very impressed and have enjoyed using them around NZ. I was always slightly underwhelmed by the 'reach' though - many NZ birds are small. an 8.5x often does little to bring them much closer and allow you to see the detail. However a scope is obviously no good for following small bird behaviour!
I was always left wanting more. I have Leica 10x32 Ultravids (non HD) but I much prefer the 'picture' from my Swaros. Also the CA in the Leicas is so great that frankly they should be ashamed of themselves. It's put me off ever buying from their range again - although otherwise they are a fine, compact binocular.
I read as much as I could about the 12x then rang the dealer, who had one of each on his shelf (the advantage of being in NZ where the number of people prepared to pay that much is much smaller than the US or UK, perhaps!) so I took the plunge and ordered the 12. They should arrive early in the week together with the forehead rest. Due to C19 lockdown in Auckland (and the fact that Auckland is a 12 hour drive away!) trying them in the shop was not an option.
I may or may not keep the ELs; I will for a while just for the fun of comparing them, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I will like the NL 12 so much that the 8.5 will feel redundant.
Worth noting that the original poster who was praising them so fulsomely was flogging his pair a month later... read into that what you will...
tenex
reality-based
We don't know the OP's story; perhaps he'll share it? There is nothing better today than the NL, but life is complicated and priorities shift.
"For following small bird behavior" (as in quickly moving) you might have found the 10x ideal, but here's hoping you get on with the 12. If you find the view too narrow, the dealer should accept a prompt exchange for the 10, in either 42 or 32mm according to your taste.
"For following small bird behavior" (as in quickly moving) you might have found the 10x ideal, but here's hoping you get on with the 12. If you find the view too narrow, the dealer should accept a prompt exchange for the 10, in either 42 or 32mm according to your taste.
The dealer might; NZ is a strange place when it comes to rights of return! Very unlike the US or UK. They probably would provided that the binos had only been removed from their box and used to look out of a window!
I am hopeful that the wider than usual FOV in the NL's together with the forehead rest will make up any issues with the magnification steadiness. TBH most of my use is general nature observation rather than specifically birding so we will see. We do get a fair few of the Australasian Harriers around us (there are very few raptors in NZ - three owls, one falcon and one Harrier. No eagles.) which I like to watch as they lazily ride the thermals looking for lunch.
Also I do plenty of observation on shorelines, wetlands and braided rivers where the birds are not usually so hard to track. Last year I was watching some Black Stilts in Otago - one of the rarest of birds, with only 170 adult birds believed left in the world.
Can someone with the forehead rest tell me whether it gets in the way, or requires further head movement, to look very far upward?
Looking for warblers in denser forest I find I have to look near straight up at times, even straight up today (failed to identify it from this angle today, I'm sorry to report). At those angles I find position the long axis more accutely with respect to the plane of my forehead, to mitigate strain in my neck from looking straight up for too long. I imagine that would be difficult with he forehead rest.
Thanks.
Looking for warblers in denser forest I find I have to look near straight up at times, even straight up today (failed to identify it from this angle today, I'm sorry to report). At those angles I find position the long axis more accutely with respect to the plane of my forehead, to mitigate strain in my neck from looking straight up for too long. I imagine that would be difficult with he forehead rest.
Thanks.
CharleyBird
Well-known member
Kiwimac, the 12x are a fine instrument.
Yesterday we went to the local park, and I almost didn't bother picking a pair of bins to carry because copious people/children/dogs mean only jackdaws wood pigeons magpies black-headed gulls and rose-ringed parakeets are brave enough to make a sunny afternoon appearance.
However I grabbed my 12x and, lying on my back, first watched a couple of aeroplanes; but then spotted a spec of a bird way distant and high over a golf course, and by the soaring flight a gull or raptor?
The extra reach of 12x worked well as it turned out to be a sparrowhawk, and I got some fine views as she came a little closer, then flew further away. I paused looking, distracted by our dog, and then realised my mistake...I couldn't actually see the bird to reaquire, she was so far away.
I hope you find the 12x work for you and complement your 10x and 8.5x. Looking forward to your comments.
Yesterday we went to the local park, and I almost didn't bother picking a pair of bins to carry because copious people/children/dogs mean only jackdaws wood pigeons magpies black-headed gulls and rose-ringed parakeets are brave enough to make a sunny afternoon appearance.
However I grabbed my 12x and, lying on my back, first watched a couple of aeroplanes; but then spotted a spec of a bird way distant and high over a golf course, and by the soaring flight a gull or raptor?
The extra reach of 12x worked well as it turned out to be a sparrowhawk, and I got some fine views as she came a little closer, then flew further away. I paused looking, distracted by our dog, and then realised my mistake...I couldn't actually see the bird to reaquire, she was so far away.
I hope you find the 12x work for you and complement your 10x and 8.5x. Looking forward to your comments.
jan van daalen
Well-known member
Hi A,
I've tried what you described but the position of the bin/foreheadrest does not change for me once I've set the FHR in the right position/length.
Jan
