Old Pirate
Youthful Grandfather
I actually stood with three pair of binoculars in front of me and tried them all at the same time.
Zeiss
Swarovski
Leupold
$1,300, $1,070, and $299 respectively.
Ok...the first two were really bright and clear...but so was the third one.
I focused on the same object over and over.
I looked hard for justification for me to pay the top dollar which I was prepared to do. I couldn't see it so I asked the shop owner and long time friend which was the best value.
He said..."if you want to see in the last light of day and the first light of morning then dig deep, but if you are going to use them in the other 95% of daylight then except for name flaunting I can't see the difference either."
I'm happy....except I bought the 10's instead of the 8's. The word is I'm too old to be using 10's.
Supposedly, Swarovski spent a lot of money studying what people should use, and in the end the answer has to do with the date on your birth certificate. Swarovski found after spending nearly a quarter million dollars that we all get tremors as we get older and after age 40 most people can't hold anything more than an eight for a long period of time steady. That of course is a "rule of thumb".
I see a lot of people on all these threads recommending 8's.
If the 10's start to shake too bad I can go back and get 8's and still not have spent half of what I could if I wanted form and not function.
If you want the top end and can afford it..then by all means, but is it truly necessary for what we as hobbyist do? Personally I didn't think so when I had them all in hand.
Zeiss
Swarovski
Leupold
$1,300, $1,070, and $299 respectively.
Ok...the first two were really bright and clear...but so was the third one.
I focused on the same object over and over.
I looked hard for justification for me to pay the top dollar which I was prepared to do. I couldn't see it so I asked the shop owner and long time friend which was the best value.
He said..."if you want to see in the last light of day and the first light of morning then dig deep, but if you are going to use them in the other 95% of daylight then except for name flaunting I can't see the difference either."
I'm happy....except I bought the 10's instead of the 8's. The word is I'm too old to be using 10's.
Supposedly, Swarovski spent a lot of money studying what people should use, and in the end the answer has to do with the date on your birth certificate. Swarovski found after spending nearly a quarter million dollars that we all get tremors as we get older and after age 40 most people can't hold anything more than an eight for a long period of time steady. That of course is a "rule of thumb".
I see a lot of people on all these threads recommending 8's.
If the 10's start to shake too bad I can go back and get 8's and still not have spent half of what I could if I wanted form and not function.
If you want the top end and can afford it..then by all means, but is it truly necessary for what we as hobbyist do? Personally I didn't think so when I had them all in hand.
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