kimsrk
Just a newbie
I know it's not a true apple to apples comparison the Kowa's are my main bins that I've had for a few weeks, but I couldn't pass up a "reasonably" priced ($2700) used pair of NLs in excellent condition originally purchased about 14 months ago. They looked like they had never been used, although after some time I noticed some very minor signs of wear on the strap, and that's about it. When comparing binoculars, I typically just start with some unimpressive back yard nature viewing. Nothing fancy, I check for flatness or curvature in big leafy trees with multiple focal planes in one spot, where it's easiest for me to see. And I have a couple of bare trees contrasted by bright clouds to look for CA and other issues that creep up in extreme situations. I like to then field test on a forested trail with all sorts of dark and bright lighting and the beach for some sea bird viewing in extremely bright lighting conditions and long viewing distances. Nothing particularly objective, but somewhat well-rounded, I think.
Swaro's:
Fit, finish, and feel:
-For my preferences, top of the line. I like the feel of Swaro's, I like the eyecups, I like the eye cup and lens protectors, the bag...you get it. Everything has a nice luxury feel.
-I was immediately impressed with the size and weight for a 12X bino. It doesn't even seem real that they are that light and small with such a great view.
-Overall, they kind of remind me of what, maybe, a Lamborghini is to cars. Artistically and tastefully designed from the ground up. Could be very divisive if you have particular tastes, but still pretty great.
-Right in line with the Lamborghini analog, these feel a bit finicky and like they might need to be babied. Now, I don't know how they were handled by the previous owner, but it couldn't have been that bad, because there was basically no evidence of abuse, everything including the box and paperwork is cherry. BUT the central hinge is super loose, so is the focusing knob, providing a sloppy, annoying, hard to handle experience (more accurately: almost unusable in their current condition and not something that showed itself before purchasing). The eye relief cups were very difficult to extend, often having to re-thread them to be able to twist them back out into position. All in all, not fun and exacerbated by sharing with someone who had to adjust them every time they were used.
In the back yard:
-Seemed slightly brighter but not so much that I would fault the Kowa's, very difficult for me to notice a noteworthy difference. But if you forced me to pick it's the NL's.
-Very flat FOV that is clear all the way to the viewing edge, really impressive.
-CA was perfect in the center, but just like the EL's I've used, pretty noticeable outside of the center focal point. I really thought that the NL's would handle CA better, it might be slightly better than EL's but still very much there/moderately prominent starting approximately 30% from the viewing edge at its worst. I did only notice it under very specific conditions and honestly, it's more than good enough (read perfect), especially in the main viewing area.
-excellent sharpness and clarity
In the woods:
-it was somewhat rainy when I went, popping the lens covers on and off to keep the lenses dry was easy and painless (Kowa's lens protectors might be the worst and I truly despise them).
-Here I found the slightly slower focus and the 12X made it difficult to ID the flitty little forrest birds quickly. The latter obviously not a fault of the brand but the magnification.
-The slight edge in clarity the extra magnification did help when I found more stationary subjects.
-nothing else particularly notable
The Beach (probably the reason I wrote this):
-Not good, Not good at all. Now I don't know all of the terminology, but if I had to guess, stray light and internal reflections made for a very messy and washed out view. Light halo just inside the outer most viewing edge and other artifacts were a big problem. In every other usage case, I found myself barely noticing the glass, it is the real beauty of these Swaro's, but on the beach with bright sun high in the sky, the glass and flaws jump out. Despite the 12X I much preferred using the Kowa's on the beach.
Kowa:
I'm going to quickly summarize the Kowa's from my experience. Although they weren't quite there in almost every category, they weren't as far off as other people sometimes make them seem. I don't know if it's preference or bias, but I don't understand the people who don't give much love to the Kowa's. They were very clear, but not flat. But the curvature is not so prominent that it takes away from the view, at least in my opinion it's actually not that noticeable until you look for it. Very bright, but very slightly tinted, really only noticeable side by side with the NL's and even then it's nothing prominent. CA is basically on par with the Swaro's, and better overall IMHO, although it seems like dead center there can some times be a razor thin color band, the outer edges show far less prominent CA with the Kowa's. The fast, slightly stiff focus was exactly to my liking. They are truly a pleasant tool to use. So for 1/3 the price you get probably 90-95% of the experience. A large chunk of the missing experience that I noticed was in the fit/finish and accessories. Swaro runs away in this area, but it's not like the Kowa's are cheap feeling.
I went into this comparison with a strong bias towards Swarovski. I am, admittedly, a sucker for high-end finishing and perceived quality, and of course actually quality. But I have only seen one or two posts of people being critical of the best models of this high-end brand. They aren't perfect, they're close, but I'm incredibly concerned about the need for maintenance after about 1 year. I have other used bino's that have been treated with very little love that show no sign of the mechanical issues the Swaro's do and are significantly older and cheaper (5 year old Prostaff 5). I would say it's unacceptable at almost $4k, bino's need to be somewhat rugged. I want to feel like they'll be fine if I drop them, not like I'll be out almost $4k. The performance in harsh bright lighting was down right lousy. The Kowa's weren't perfect here but I found them to be much more tolerable. I don't know, the more I use them the less I want to keep them. When the glass shines, it truly is top tier but they don't do it for me. Surprised to feel alone with this perspective.
Happy trails.
Steve
Swaro's:
Fit, finish, and feel:
-For my preferences, top of the line. I like the feel of Swaro's, I like the eyecups, I like the eye cup and lens protectors, the bag...you get it. Everything has a nice luxury feel.
-I was immediately impressed with the size and weight for a 12X bino. It doesn't even seem real that they are that light and small with such a great view.
-Overall, they kind of remind me of what, maybe, a Lamborghini is to cars. Artistically and tastefully designed from the ground up. Could be very divisive if you have particular tastes, but still pretty great.
-Right in line with the Lamborghini analog, these feel a bit finicky and like they might need to be babied. Now, I don't know how they were handled by the previous owner, but it couldn't have been that bad, because there was basically no evidence of abuse, everything including the box and paperwork is cherry. BUT the central hinge is super loose, so is the focusing knob, providing a sloppy, annoying, hard to handle experience (more accurately: almost unusable in their current condition and not something that showed itself before purchasing). The eye relief cups were very difficult to extend, often having to re-thread them to be able to twist them back out into position. All in all, not fun and exacerbated by sharing with someone who had to adjust them every time they were used.
In the back yard:
-Seemed slightly brighter but not so much that I would fault the Kowa's, very difficult for me to notice a noteworthy difference. But if you forced me to pick it's the NL's.
-Very flat FOV that is clear all the way to the viewing edge, really impressive.
-CA was perfect in the center, but just like the EL's I've used, pretty noticeable outside of the center focal point. I really thought that the NL's would handle CA better, it might be slightly better than EL's but still very much there/moderately prominent starting approximately 30% from the viewing edge at its worst. I did only notice it under very specific conditions and honestly, it's more than good enough (read perfect), especially in the main viewing area.
-excellent sharpness and clarity
In the woods:
-it was somewhat rainy when I went, popping the lens covers on and off to keep the lenses dry was easy and painless (Kowa's lens protectors might be the worst and I truly despise them).
-Here I found the slightly slower focus and the 12X made it difficult to ID the flitty little forrest birds quickly. The latter obviously not a fault of the brand but the magnification.
-The slight edge in clarity the extra magnification did help when I found more stationary subjects.
-nothing else particularly notable
The Beach (probably the reason I wrote this):
-Not good, Not good at all. Now I don't know all of the terminology, but if I had to guess, stray light and internal reflections made for a very messy and washed out view. Light halo just inside the outer most viewing edge and other artifacts were a big problem. In every other usage case, I found myself barely noticing the glass, it is the real beauty of these Swaro's, but on the beach with bright sun high in the sky, the glass and flaws jump out. Despite the 12X I much preferred using the Kowa's on the beach.
Kowa:
I'm going to quickly summarize the Kowa's from my experience. Although they weren't quite there in almost every category, they weren't as far off as other people sometimes make them seem. I don't know if it's preference or bias, but I don't understand the people who don't give much love to the Kowa's. They were very clear, but not flat. But the curvature is not so prominent that it takes away from the view, at least in my opinion it's actually not that noticeable until you look for it. Very bright, but very slightly tinted, really only noticeable side by side with the NL's and even then it's nothing prominent. CA is basically on par with the Swaro's, and better overall IMHO, although it seems like dead center there can some times be a razor thin color band, the outer edges show far less prominent CA with the Kowa's. The fast, slightly stiff focus was exactly to my liking. They are truly a pleasant tool to use. So for 1/3 the price you get probably 90-95% of the experience. A large chunk of the missing experience that I noticed was in the fit/finish and accessories. Swaro runs away in this area, but it's not like the Kowa's are cheap feeling.
I went into this comparison with a strong bias towards Swarovski. I am, admittedly, a sucker for high-end finishing and perceived quality, and of course actually quality. But I have only seen one or two posts of people being critical of the best models of this high-end brand. They aren't perfect, they're close, but I'm incredibly concerned about the need for maintenance after about 1 year. I have other used bino's that have been treated with very little love that show no sign of the mechanical issues the Swaro's do and are significantly older and cheaper (5 year old Prostaff 5). I would say it's unacceptable at almost $4k, bino's need to be somewhat rugged. I want to feel like they'll be fine if I drop them, not like I'll be out almost $4k. The performance in harsh bright lighting was down right lousy. The Kowa's weren't perfect here but I found them to be much more tolerable. I don't know, the more I use them the less I want to keep them. When the glass shines, it truly is top tier but they don't do it for me. Surprised to feel alone with this perspective.
Happy trails.
Steve
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