I also use a Nikon EII 8x30, which is like the vintage two-seater, open-top roadster that you like to take out in good weather, when you have the inkling to spend a leisurely day admiring the view.
But when it gets to doing the serious business, in all weathers and everywhere - first call is the FL 8x32.
That is a great comparison! On those bright clear summer days the classic porro is still a delight to use and to hold: not just for its handling, light weight, the feel of old school quality, the immersive quality you (or at least I) can only get when using binoculars straight to one's eyes, and of course the field of view that modern binoculars have given up in order to be glasses friendly; but also in how it looks, and what it represents. But when the grey damp months set in, when speed, clarity and precision are essential, and also when on holiday where you might not get a second chance - the plastic alpha comes out, and comes into its own. It is an excellent example of what the modern lightweight sealed birding binocular should be.
There is a most readable comparison between the Leica 8x32 Trinovid (I forget whether BA or BN) and the 8x32 FL some pages down courtesy of
thisisgood - one of the most detailed comparisons I've read. I came to the Plastic Alpha from the 8x30 SLC mark II which is reportedly (cf. Stephen Ingraham) a very similar sort of binocular to the Trinovid, and many of my impressions, especially re ease of view, are similar to thisisgood's - although unlike him I think its good points outweighed the not so good. The brightness (dielectric vs silver mirrors) and sharpness that instantly stood out when used side by side still impress me. During the "getting to know you" phase I most definitely experienced the same fiddlyness others have noted - it took me a while to learn how best to look through them, and even today it still happens, especially the first half an hour or so using them on the weekends after a long week at the office. It can not only be fiddly in eye placement (the position of my glasses on my nose must first be right, and then the placement of the binoculars on my glasses needs to be correct) - it is so sharp when zeroed in that I find myself having to refocus more than I did the SLC, chasing that ultimate level of sharpness. Interestingly, Roger Vine's review of the Kowa 8x33 mentions pretty much the same thing. But its performance is overall so good that I can overlook these niggles. Unlike Gilmore Girl and Pinewood I find most of my targets with binoculars, so have to be "in the glasses" a lot. Its small size and light weight, which let me hold it up to my eyes for long periods, extremely clean image (I don't think I am particularly sensitive to chromatic aberration, but do agree the FL image appears very clean), brightness, sharpness and field of view very nearly the same as my favourite classic 8x30s, are great virtues. A couple months back I had the opportunity to try out a fellow birder's 10x42 Noctivid and after having had a really good hard look through this most impressive binocular I expected coming back to the Plastic Alpha to be a noticeable step back, but much to my surprise, it was remarkably competitive, except in the control of flare, which fortunately isn't critical in most of the birding I do. I'm not sure if there will be x32 SFs for some considerable time, if ever, as the SF concept (rearward balance, open bridge and associated focus wheel placement etc) are of most value in the larger x42 sizes.
Mine is the old green version - I am sure the later black version is better yet. Snapshot taken after six hours or so watching a pair of city-living (unprepossessing location, I know - a 1960s era rooftop)
Falco peregrinus ernesti.