-
Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.
Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
NL Pure 8x32 v CL Companion 8x30 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter makka
- Start date
For me: yes (assuming that by „difference“ you mean difference in optical performance).
Whether it is also a big difference for you depends on what you call „big“, what you expect from a binocular and what experience you have with optical instruments.
You are certainly aware that there is a huge price difference between the two.
Canip
Whether it is also a big difference for you depends on what you call „big“, what you expect from a binocular and what experience you have with optical instruments.
You are certainly aware that there is a huge price difference between the two.
Canip
safaridreaming
Well-known member
I hv both the current model CL and EL’s and recently tried The NL. I struggled to resonate with these binoculars. The view is a step up from the CL’s but not necessarily from the EL’s. They are also noticeably heavier. I hv large hands, so ergonomically for me the EL’s are on a different scale vs the NL’s. My wife use our CL’s as she has small hands and fit her hands around the barrels a lot easier.….
the final tipping point for me to remain with the EL’s was that the NL i tried at the dealer had a tiny amount of play in the focus wheel before engaging - probably about 2mm which put the nail in the coffin….
If you want something in between, I’d recommend considering the EL’s if you can still find stock given these are now discontinued.
the final tipping point for me to remain with the EL’s was that the NL i tried at the dealer had a tiny amount of play in the focus wheel before engaging - probably about 2mm which put the nail in the coffin….
If you want something in between, I’d recommend considering the EL’s if you can still find stock given these are now discontinued.
tenex
reality-based
Makka, it sounds like what you're most likely to notice in comparison is field of view. NL 8x32 has 150m @ 1000m, CL 8x30 only ~120m. That's a huge difference, the visible area is almost 60% more in NL. How important is that to you? (Either should seem a significant improvement in quality over Monarch 7.)
jcnguyen09
Well-known member
The Monarch 7 8x42 is rated highest for binoculars in $500 range (I bought it for $350 on sale a few years back for my children to use) but in no way and unfair to compare it with an alpha NL 8x32, a complete different class. NL 8x32 and CL 8x30 are produced completely to serve different purposes. If you want a main all purpose bino, I suggest to go with NL 8x32 or even better the NL 10x32. If you don't mind to sacrify performance and usefulness but prefer the compact and portability, then CL 8x30 or even the CL 8x25 or VP 8x25 serve you well!
I have a Nikon M7 8x30 and recently bought an NL Pure 8x42 (2022 made). Surprisingly I couldn't see a big difference in image sharpness between them. NL is a bit brighter, a bit clearer however, there is no big difference in terms of resolution despite being in a different class and having larger objectives. Even I can't see the ALPHA POP that all are talking about in the NL image. The low light performance of NL is a little better but there is no big difference. Is my NL a LEMON? I don't think there is a very big variation among different units. I have to mention this is my first Alpha pair of binoculars, I am in age 30s' and recently check my eyesight (no problem reported for the eyesight). I am wondering why I can't catch the superior image quality of NL.
You may simply not have the eyes (or the experience) for that - NO OFFENSE!
In a wine tasting, I can‘t tell wether the excellent wine I am served is Italian or Spanish - many people can. My taste buds seem just not good (or trained) enough. So perhaps very expensive wine is just wasted on me.
Lucky you if you get the same satisfaction out of an M7 as of an NL.
Canip
Last edited:
There is a huge difference between the NL 8x32 and the CL 8x30 in FOV and ease of eye placement. The NL has a much bigger FOV and has considerably easier eye placement because of the bigger exit pupil. Before you decide on the Swarovski NL 8x32, try the Zeiss SF 8x32 and the Leica UVHD+ 8x32. The Zeiss and the UVHD+ will both have less glare than the NL. The Zeiss SF has a slightly larger FOV than the NL and arguably better balance and ergonomics, whereas, the UVHD+ has a smaller FOV. Many people like the Leica for it's saturated colorful view, and it's very small form factor though, so try those three before you buy.
Last edited:
It may simply be that the view is just so flawless, in terms of the rendering of natural colour, the total lack of CA, sharpness across the field, etc., that for Viraj, the view lacks 'character'?
Wine? Don't get me started...😉🍷
I have always found the eye placement of the CL 8x30 to be very forgiving and easy (as have others), and the difference in exit pupil diameter is minimal (4mm vs 3,75mm, the CL therefore having an exit pupil 0.25mm less than the NL). But of course you would expect the NL to offer a better view, (it is after all over twice the price of the CL), but the difference may be less than you think.
Look at a resolution chart set a fair distance away. The difference should be very clear.
A quick look at a bird, it might not be glaringly obvious, but looking at fine details, especially in tougher lighting conditions, the difference should be obvious.
I can't comment about the comparison between NL Pure and Nikon M7. But I have NL Pure 8x42 since half year and Zeiss Conquest HD 8x42 since many years. NL Pure excels when it comes to FOV and flat field. The design makes it comfortable to hold and the forehead rest helps to get a steady image.
But when I carefully compare them I find that Conquest does not come to shame. It's hard to notice a sharpness difference. Yes, there is but is SO subtle. Surely many people will not notice it.
But when it comes to perception of sharpness it differs between individuals. So other may perceive a bigger difference than I do.
Another thing I have experienced is that the eye sight also differs depending on if I am tired or not. If I am not well rested I have harder to detect difference than when I am alert.
Then I wonder about the expression lemon. I understand that it means an item which is below the average or below the standard it should be. But how can it even exist? Does it mean that now and then some binoculars are released without passing through the quality control? Or does it mean that the controler had a hangover that day? The later may have a certain base in the reality when it comes to products. In Sweden there is the expression "måndagsexemplar" which directly translated means "monday sample/item"(don't know what's the best word here).
Anyway no one of these should ever exist when it's about high end binoculars.
For the price we pay anything else than a sufficient quality control is unacceptable!
I agree with what you say. My eyes are okay (that's what the eye test says) but they might lack visual buds (or something). As I said this is my first alpha pair of binoculars so definitely I lack the experience. At least I noticed the rolling ball effect and glare issue 😃 But neither of them is a problem for me as M7 has the same kind of glare issue. I will give NL some more time in the field so I might see the value of it. If not I will save a lot of money by selling it 🙂
When we come to wine I have the same problem. It seems I lack both taste buds and visual buds 🙄
NL Pure definitely has very good ergonomics, a large field of view, and a nice flat field. But I was solely thinking about the wow effect, pop of colors, and the noticeable resolution over M7 that many people experienced. Maybe I have spoiled my mind after reading a lot of reviews and having unfair expectations. I was blown away 12 years ago with my first binoculars (Olympus 8x21 DPC). Yes, it is cheap but served me well until I got mold inside. After that, I had a few binoculars and non of them blew my mind. M7 also had some issues, in the beginning, having difficult eye placement and glare but now I got used to it. Maybe I need to give NL some time to convince me.
I also don't think lemons are existing in this price class.
PeterPS
Well-Known Member
The "best" bino for you is the one that YOU like, what others say is nothing but their opinion.
PeterPS
Well-Known Member
The quality of any given product is variable, and not all examples can be above the average. A few years ago I had to buy and try four SV 8x32s until I found one with a focuser that I liked---in an ideal world that shouldn't have happened but our world is not one of those.
Maybe "Made on a Monday".
ticl2184
Well-known member
Agreed.
I've got a second gen 8x32 and find better that the NL.
1. It's not worth another £1000 to upgrade.
2. It's lighter
3. The eye relief is better
4. Less kidney beaning
5. Less internal reflection.
6. More solid DIOPTER lock.
For me the NL's were released to early, burning they can tweak them in future I might consider getting a pair.
Cheers
Tim
Yes, Swarovski seems to struggle with the focusers.
It is strange because I have tried ~$100 models with perfect focusers.
But when it comes to the optics these are made by machines with a very high precision and according to what I read checked by as well instruments and trained eyes. The shaping of the lenses are made with microscopical tolerances.
It should not be lemons here. At least not noticeable sharpness differences between different samples of the same model.
Last edited:
Vespobuteo
Well-known member
Depends on how you define a lemon, but the ISO standard is pretty slack.
So being within the standard does not mean that there's no discernible difference between samples.
Last edited:
I have had them both and for a 8x30 the CL has pretty easy eye placement for an 8x30, but for me there was still a significant difference between it and any good 8x32. I have shallow eye sockets, so that could affect eye placement. I know there is not a huge difference in exit pupil size but a good 8x32 usually has larger eye cups than the CL 8x30 also which don't go as far into your eye sockets and that also plays a part in easy eye placement and black-outs. Eye cup size is also a big problem with compacts because the eye cups are usually smaller, and they go too far into your eye sockets.
Last edited:
