Renewed "focus", thus new bins. (1 Viewer)

First post for me, but have visited the sight several times.

I've been birding for a few years now, but only recently have I renewed my focus on this hobby. My body is beat up from previous hobbies, and I can't do what I used to do. But I can't sit still either. So birding is now going to get more time than it has in the past. With that decision being made, I want to seriously upgrade my binoculars. I have the 8x42 Vortex Sidewinders, but want to jump up to swarovski, zeiss, or leica's.

I want to know if there is someone that has used the Swarovision 10x50 EL and the Zeiss 10x42 Victory HT side by side, or have owned both. And if so, is the cost difference really worth it for the EL's? The Leica Ultravids, well, I don't really know much about them at all, but have seen them in the same conversations as the EL's and the HT's, but only mentioned briefly.

So those are the three I have narrowed it down to. Has anyone used 2 of the 3 personally? I do not have the ability to try them side by side, or look through them before buying.

Thanks for the help!

Ichthusfixer said:

First post for me, but have visited the sight several times.

I've been birding for a few years now, but only recently have I renewed my focus on this hobby. My body is beat up from previous hobbies, and I can't do what I used to do. But I can't sit still either. So birding is now going to get more time than it has in the past. With that decision being made, I want to seriously upgrade my binoculars. I have the 8x42 Vortex Sidewinders, but want to jump up to swarovski, zeiss, or leica's.

I want to know if there is someone that has used the Swarovision 10x50 EL and the Zeiss 10x42 Victory HT side by side, or have owned both. And if so, is the cost difference really worth it for the EL's? The Leica Ultravids, well, I don't really know much about them at all, but have seen them in the same conversations as the EL's and the HT's, but only mentioned briefly.

So those are the three I have narrowed it down to. Has anyone used 2 of the 3 personally? I do not have the ability to try them side by side, or look through them before buying.

Thanks for the help!

Click to expand...

Ichthusfixer,

Welcome! to Birdforum.

That's a serious upgrade! Did you just open a medical marijuana store?

Not sure where Rifle, CO Is. Let me start up page it... 184 miles from Denver. A long trip, but probably worth it rather than having to try one bin at a time via mail, take notes, and send it back to try another, unless you have a very big credit line that enables you to order all three at the same time to compare.

Don't forget about the Nikon 10x42 EDG, rated #1 in its category by allbinos.

Or perhaps you have a local Swaro dealer like we have here in rural Pa. I'm guessing with a name like Rifle, there must be some hunting supply stores that carry at least one of the top brands.

Why are you planning to move up to 10x? Have you tried a 10x bin? Not everybody can hold them steady, and some models are easier to hold than others, depending on how well they balance in your hands and how "beat up" you are. You also lose FOV as you go up in magnification at this price point. So while you might see more detail on birds (or at least they will look bigger, they could be harder to find).

If were spending that kind of cash, I'd fill up the 4x4 and take a trip to Denver if there were no local "alpha' dealers closer. The only way you're going to know which alpha is best for you is to get them in your hands and up to your eyes.

There are also some really good optics in the midtier that you might want to try - Meopta Meostars, Nikon Premiers, Vortex Razor HDs, Conquest HDs, etc.

Check out allbinos ratings. You might not agree with Arek's tastes, but it will give you an idea of what some experts consider to be the better choices out there, and then based on your preferences, you can whittle them down to the ones you want to try and find out what store carries them.

http://www.allbinos.com/binoculars.html

Brock

Thanks brock, but all that "research" you have mentioned has already been done. We don't have any of the big name dealers here, even though Rifle is a huge hunting area. There are only two local shops, and they carry a little bit of everything, but not a lot of anything. Their best bins are leupolds, and that is as high end as they go.

I have used 10X before, but not for a long period of time. I borrowed some from a buddy while on a scouting trip for bow hunting. We drove down the road, stopped, glassed the mountainsides, then drove on. Stopped again, glassed.... The 10X were great for that application. I have not used them while birding though. I have only used the 8X while birding, but thought I might change it a bit and go with the 10X. Since my original post though, I have been rethinking that idea, and may just stay with the 8x that I am already used to.

I hadn't thought about just ordering all three, then returning the ones I didn't like. Didn't think that would even be a possibility as once they are opened, I figured they would be considered "used", and that would eliminate the chance of returning for the refund. If doing that is in fact possible, maybe I will do it that way. And no, I don't run a pot shop- I'm in the oil field. Never done drugs in my life, not even once. Well, not unless prescribed anyway, but you know what I mean.

Thanks for the thoughts. Now to make a couple phone calls and see if company's really will accept returned bins or not.

You've probably already found that Eagle Optics in Wisconsin offers a 30 day return policy on binoculars.

AFAIK the new Zeiss HTs are due in to the Canadian distributor in the next week or so.

If what other birders use has relevance, here's some information that may be useful:

The best birding guide we've ever had owned 10x42 Leica Ultravid HDs. A local birder has used them as well, no doubt preferring them for enhanced contrast and colour rendition.

The 10x50 EL WBs are carried by few birders in Ontario, because of their weight; however, two excellent birders here used these for many years -- they liked the eye-popping view. The 10x50 SVs are lighter than the older model, but still significantly heavier than 42s.

If you plan to carry binoculars and do any extensive walking -- even easy walking -- many birders seem to be looking seriously at 32s.

I use a 10x32 Swarovski EL WB for open birding, much lighter than a 42, while both this vintage and the newer SVs have a relatively generous FOV.

Mike

Thanks Mike! I REFUSE to use Eagle optics anymore. I had a VERY bad experience with their customer service. They lost some bins that were irreplaceable to me from my grandfather who has now passed. I'll never buy from them again.

Anyway, I'm sure that bit of history is more than you guys wanted to know. So back to the subject at hand...

I called a couple dealers in Denver, and they are willing to send me the bins, and then let me send them back if I'm not happy with them. I decided to go with the Ultravids, and the EL's. They should be here in a few days, and I can make my decision. We are supposed to have some cloudy days, so that will also help make the decision.

Thanks for the comments and help. By the way, what is "open birding"?

Ichthusfixer said:

Thanks brock, but all that "research" you have mentioned has already been done. We don't have any of the big name dealers here, even though Rifle is a huge hunting area. There are only two local shops, and they carry a little bit of everything, but not a lot of anything. Their best bins are leupolds, and that is as high end as they go.

I have used 10X before, but not for a long period of time. I borrowed some from a buddy while on a scouting trip for bow hunting. We drove down the road, stopped, glassed the mountainsides, then drove on. Stopped again, glassed.... The 10X were great for that application. I have not used them while birding though. I have only used the 8X while birding, but thought I might change it a bit and go with the 10X. Since my original post though, I have been rethinking that idea, and may just stay with the 8x that I am already used to.

I hadn't thought about just ordering all three, then returning the ones I didn't like. Didn't think that would even be a possibility as once they are opened, I figured they would be considered "used", and that would eliminate the chance of returning for the refund. If doing that is in fact possible, maybe I will do it that way. And no, I don't run a pot shop- I'm in the oil field. Never done drugs in my life, not even once. Well, not unless prescribed anyway, but you know what I mean.

Thanks for the thoughts. Now to make a couple phone calls and see if company's really will accept returned bins or not.

Click to expand...

Just joking about the pot, of course, because of the new law in CO, which surprised me. Natural gas is big here in Pa. The paper I write for even has a special edition related to Marcellus shale each month. I'm writing about the support industries for this edition, mostly about health & safety companies growing up around Marcellus.

You can order all three bins from Eagle Optics. They have a month return period, so it would give you time to compare them and also time to adjust to the "rolling ball" in the SV EL if you are susceptible to it. They don't have the HTs in stock yet.

Brock

Open birding applies to those circumstances where you have lots of light -- out in the open -- as opposed to birding under a tree canopy where light is restricted.

Open birding allows the use of binoculars with smaller exit pupils, as the diameter of your eyes' pupils is reduced to something like 2-3mm.

I carry an 8.5x42 SV with a harness for birding in the woods: a larger exit pupil, with a greater field of view. Some birders prefer the Swarovski SLC HDs, while the Zeiss HTs look really interesting. My wife will probably never part with her recently refurbished 10x42 Swarovski EL WBs, which she uses for everything.

Mike

Yeah I knew what ya meant about the pot. Really surprised me as well concerning the new law. Colorado used to be a very conservative state- now it has gone completely nuts. I am involved in the flowback side of drilling and production. I have a crew of about 10 guys at the moment, so it keeps things interesting. Natural gas is the big thing here as well, and then oil is just an added bonus. My wife's uncle works there in PA doing the same job I do. He loves it up there.

I have pretty much done away with the idea of getting the 10x. The ones that are coming are both in an 8x configuration. I do a lot of falconry, and thought the 10x might help out with that hobby as well, but I think I'll just stay with the 8x.

Thanks for the open birding explanation. Never heard that term before. We get a lot of cloudy days here in Rifle. Seems to be the norm by about 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Mornings are usually pretty clear, but that is the time of day that I am checking on the guys that are on locations. Once all that is done, then the play time begins.