SLC 8x30 WB

The world moves on, and I'm now an ex-Swaro owner. Traded in for Leica 8X42 Ultravids and I'm very happy. For me, the eye-pieces produce a much more user friendly image, but binoculars are a very personal thing, what suites one may not suit another.
Swaro should take a leaf from Leica's book re the case, strap, rainguard and objective covers. Leica designers clearly use their products. Having said all that, optically the Swaro New SLC 8X30 represents superb value for money!

I've had mine for two years, here's what I think. For an 8X30 the brightness and colour rendition are superb, as is the pin-sharp resolution. Focusing and dioptre adjustments are positive, smooth. and easy to use. The 4meter close focus is barely adequate for an instrument of this spec and price, others do much better.
The 'Swaro' patent rainguard may be ok on bigger models, but on this compact design it's too bulky and gets in the way, on or off the bins.
The case is a useless abortion, clearly a cost saving exercise! It offers no protection whatsoever, and why, for pity's sake, does the strap pass through the cover. This plus the 'huge' rainguard, gets you into a fine mess!
Last criticism, 'Swaro's' patent adjustable strap. This comes complete with 'sticky-out' levers. Yes you can instantly adjust the length, but why would you want to? These levers just get in the way.
All in all, a superb binocular, compact, lightweight and with amazing performance, but don't get too close to your object, and replace the strap, rainguard and case!I

This is a review of the older waterproof 8x30WB SLC Mk II, not the Mk I probably reviewed in the first post, or the current Mk III version pictured with twist-out eyecups. I paid $450 for my first pair in 1994, and recently purchased a second for $400 in excellent condition. As of this post, typical used Mk III prices in mint condition are ~$650, and used Mk IIs in excellent condition ~$500. Only the latest version is Swarobright coated, and retails for ~$950.

The Mk II is a remarkably friendly optic with wide FOV (408 ft.), great depth of field, and very smooth handling. Its built-in winged eyecups are very effective in the field, and the visual presentation is quite restful for extended viewing. I have experienced no misting after ten years of use, but others report differently. The ultra-smooth focus control is located in front, which makes it easy to operate beneath the bill of a cap. In my opinion this is a highly underrated ergonomic innovation. The diopter setting locks in place and is easily operated. Finally, for its day the pace-setting thumb grooves and polyurethane armoring make for an extremely pleasant grip with no hard pressure points. These features have been carried into all recent Swaro designs, as well as emulated by several other high-end manufacturers (Leica, Nikon). Overall, with their integrated lens covers and rubber rainguard, these binoculars are highly recommended for anyone who is lucky enough to find one in good condition at a reasonable price.

By modern standards of 8-10 ft, the short focus of 12-13 ft. is somewhat deficient, which is also true of the new Mk III version. For this reason it receives a 9 point rating, considering its otherwise excellent performance for a mid-size glass.

As the previous reviewer, these are the original SLCs, not the current version pictured here. They have a different shape and are slightly more compact. They are marked \"Habicht SLC\". There is a MKII version, which I have. They look the same, but the MkII has phase corrected prisms and a fixed optical lens in front of the focusing objective, which adds to their waterproofing.
They are very good glasses, and are as compact as most will need. The eyecups are a drawback as their shape encourages misting. The captive objective caps are great for a hunter, but the oculars rainguard is hard to refit on the soft eyecups. I hear a replacement rainguard is also very expensive.
They are not quite as bright as my Canon 8x32WP, which surprised me. I guess even only 2mm extra makes a big difference, but 8x30s always seems to be significantly more compact than 8x32s, and I will be retiring the Canons immediately!

Mine are at least 16 yrs old

Recently a friend wanted to buy some binoculars, so we looked at a variety like Nikon and so forth. I told him to wait to look through mine. The color, depth, and contrast is just unbelievable. There is an adjustment on it for if one eye has different vision then other. I got these from my pops when he passed in 1989. I only now in 2004 have started using them. I think I\'m pretty lucky, I was told they cost near $2000 us dollars. I let my sister use them in Winter to look at star constellations and such. Email me if you have a question.