Right, here’s my story, I’ll make it brief. I went down to Cley Spy today and spread all the Alphas (cards) out on a table! Leica, Swarovski, Zeiss and Nikon. The young lad was great. They had all models in stock, very impressive.
I tried 32’s and 42’s. Oh, I'm an 8/8.5 man. No pressure and the shop was empty…brilliant. I realize this doesn’t take into account all conditions but it’s a pretty good way for direct comparison.
ALL gave excellent views as expected. No technical stuff as I'm not qualified, just an honest assessment.
At the risk of asking you to suck eggs here are my humble views.
Nikon – smooth focus and excellent image but shape and feel didn’t appeal
Zeiss – Excellent image but I find the depth of field shallow…hence too much re-focussing.
Leica – always been a favourite of mine. 32’s just too small for my hands. 42’s nice. Feel great in the hands and an excellent rich view. Tempted!
Swarovski – SV’s a “no no” for me as I can detect distortion when panning…rolling ball?
So, Leica’s looking good…until I again tried the SLC HD. The best for me BUT once again the focus wheel was sticky in a clockwise direction. VERY frustrating!!
As others have commented this shouldn’t happen but does.
I thanked the lad and left the shop still undecided. It’s a big decision, right. About a mile up the road I had a thought. I wondered if they might have another pair? I returned and tried them. Perfect focus wheel and incredible view. It’s a deal! Interestingly he did mention that the demonstration pair I initially tried were over a year old. The pair I bought had just arrived?
For me it's best to visit and try them until you find the pair that you’re happy with. Yes its cost me some petrel money but I’m happy now and that’s what counts.
Interestingly he said that quite a few experienced Norfolk birders had switched to the SLC HD’s in the last few months and like the other optics retailer he told me that they would be his choice out of all the models.
I hope you find or have already found what YOU are looking for…I have.