Zeiss 8x56FL vs. Leica Ultravid 8x50BR vs. Swarovski slc 8x56 (1 Viewer)

[borysoo]

Greeting everyone,

I read this forum for some time. Many thanks to all of you for enlightening myself in many matters that I wasn't even aware of. Anyway I finally decided to get myself one of those fine binoculars I have heard so much about. I need them for very low light conditions and figured out that 8x50 or 8x56 would serve the purpose fine.
Until now it was all going fast, but I reached a point where I have to make a decision which bino to chose. I looked throug all three mentioned in this post subject. Somehow I am not able to have a excellet view through Ultravid. I see some sort of a shade around the occular in the bottom half. It kind of made me sad as these are at bargain price in a store next to where I live. Someone at polish binocular forum said that it may have to do with my face and eye sockets build.
On the other hand I liked Zeiss Fl and Swarovski SLC very much. Please tell me which one should I chose? I had no chance to compere these two next to each other as they are handled by different stores distanced 12 km form each other.

Best Regards,
borys

 

[borysoo]

Also, has anyone seen Zeiss 8x56 FL test or review in english. I have searched the net but could not find anything interesting except marketing materials. Seems that 8x56 FL are not realy popular.
BR
Borys

 

[henry link]

Seems that 8x56 FL are not realy popular.
BR
Borys

Borys,

I'm probably one of the few who uses the 8x56 FL for birding. It's just too large and heavy to attract much interest from birders. I wrote about it here last spring:

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=81438

While on vacation last month I had the opportunity to closely compare my 8x56 FL to a friend's Ultravid 8x50. I hadn't written about that experience here because I didn't consider either binocular to be of much interest to birders. Now your question gives me a good excuse, so I'll look for my notes and write a brief comparison this weekend. Sorry I haven't seen a Swarovski 8x56 SLC.

Henry

 

[borysoo]

Henry,

Thanks for the link, it was very interesting read. It made me want to purchase zeiss FL even more. I am anxious to get to know your experience on ultravid vs. FL.

Many Thanks for your time spent on writing back.

Borys

 

[Robert / Seattle]

Greeting everyone,

... Somehow I am not able to have a excellet view through Ultravid. I see some sort of a shade around the occular in the bottom half. It kind of made me sad as these are at bargain price in a store next to where I live. Someone at polish binocular forum said that it may have to do with my face and eye sockets build.
On the other hand I liked Zeiss Fl and Swarovski SLC very much. ...

Best Regards,
borys

Hi Borys,

This is a bit of a longshot, but maybe it will be useful information. Your "shade around the occular" in the Ultravid sounds a bit like a "blackout", something that happens with short eye relief or imprecise eye placement. And since the Ultravid mentioned has equal or better eye relief than the Zeiss mentioned (though not so great as the Swarovski), I'm wondering if perhaps the eyecups were not fully, or equally, turned all the way up (or down if you wear glasses). It's an easy mistake to make. If they're otherwise to your liking, it may be well worth re-checking the Ultravids.

But if not, and if eye relief is ever an issue, of the three mentioned the Swarovskis trump the other two by a few millimeters.

Also be aware that the bargain price for the Ultravid is likely due to the imminent arrival of the soon-to-be-released replacement model (Ultravid HD), though the Ultravid BR is an outstanding instrument.
Best of luck,

Robert / Seattle

 

[henry link]

I had a problem with the 8x50 Ultravid related to Robert's comments. I found that the eyecup was too short for my face, even when fully extended. I had to use the binocular with the top of the eyecup propped lightly against my brow to avoid blackouts. I don't usually have to do that. With the Zeiss 8x56 FL I set the eyecups one click stop shorter than fully extended.

 

[borysoo]

I will give Ultravid a try one more time, but as I remember I pulled the occular all the way when looking through without my glasses on and closed it when looking with my glasses on.
Anyway because of the weight over 1 kg I feel that I have much more stable view when I press a bit the bino against my eyesockets. Even though I have nice view when using bino with my glasses on, the light that is coming from around is disturbing me so I prefer to be closer to the bino occurar.
Borys

 

[MacGee]

Borys, Kikkertspesialisten have reviewed the three binoculars you're interested in. The review is in Norwegian, but you can still read the scores. This review has the headings in English.

Given the test results of the Zeiss, its better Close Focus and FOV, it looks like an excellent choice for you. The KS comment says it's the best low-light 8x model they've tested.

Michael

 

[henry link]

Borys,

You might be interested in this test report from a German hunting magazine which includes the Zeiss 8x56 FL, Swarovski 8x56 SLC and the Leica 8x50 Ultravid.

http://www.zeiss.de/C12567A800347580/EmbedTitelIntern/Test_Pirsch_11-06/$File/Test_Pirsch_11_2006.pdf

As you can see from the light transmission measurements the FL has 5-7% higher light transmission than either of the others. I find that much difference in brightness, while not exactly overwelming, is easily seen in a direct comparison. The difference in image brightness in any light was quite obviuos to me between the 8x56FL and the 8x50 Ultravid.

I’ve decided there’s not much point in a detailed description of the 8x50 Ultravid since it is about to be replaced and you seem to have already elliminated it. I will say that it is not a binocular that I would be tempted to buy for several reasons. One is the eyecup which is too short for me and I think will be too short for many other people as well. Another is the ungenerous field width. I also thought the image quality was significantly inferior to the FL in almost every way. It was dimmer, less sharp and had a very large amount of lateral chromatic aberration. Lateral color is the form of chromatic aberration that occurs when different colors have increasingly different magnifications away from the field center. It is much more obvious in binoculars than longitudinal CA from the objective lens. You can tell you’re seeing lateral color if the color fringe of an object is a different color on the side facing the field center than on the side facing the field edge and the fringing gets worse as you approach the field edge. Longitudinal CA produces the same color fringe in every direction and is constant over the whole field. I’m used to seeing, and ignoring, lateral color at the edge of the field, but in the 8x50 Ultravid it begins to show up quite close to the center and can be seen directly on axis with just a little pupil decentering of the sort that happens constantly when handholding binoculars. This made it impossible for me to achieve a completely secure, clean focus. The 8x56 FL has no lateral color at all across the center half of it’s field and only a modest amount at the edge. I’ve looked through a lot of binoculars and I haven’t found another that is quite as free of aberrations in the field center as the 8x56 FL . If only Zeiss would see fit to add an astigmatism correcting and field flattening group to the eyepiece I would have no complaint.

I’ll be quite interested to see if the new 8x50 Ultravid HD has less lateral color. I wouldn’t expect much improvement from a change in objective glass. Right now I consider the prime suspect to be the simple 4 element eyepiece used in the 8x50.

Henry

 

[borysoo]

MacGee,

Thanks for these charts, I have not seen them before. Another source of information to mix my mind up .

Henry,

Again, thank you for your work. It gave me a lot to think about. I went to visit my zeiss dealer one more time. Unfortunately they do not have binoculars for test so I only could check it only when they are open at daylight. On the other hand I was allowed to take the Swarovski SLC NEW 8x56 home with me for one day. That was all I needed and bought it. They were superbly sharp and for the first time I had no problem using bino with my glasses on - what it part made go Swarovski's way.

Just returned from a trip to the outskirts of Warsaw to experience observation through my bino in total darkness with no lights. It was even more then I have expected. I could see details of what was on few meadows that were completly covered with darkeness, plain awesome. Also when observing during daylight, amaizing sharpeness and depth of field.

I'm happy with the purchase but frankly I do not know which brand would I decide to get if test fileds were ofered at zeiss dealership.

Best Regards,
Borys

 

[Omid]

Borys,

You would not have gone wrong with any of the binoculars you mentioned. They are all great "classiscs"! Now, you have the Swaro 8x56 and you will have a lot of fun with it B

I myself am a big fan of 8x50 or 8x56 binoculars. They provide fantastic brightness and are very comfortable to use. You can always extend the inter-barrel distance a bit more than usual and get a kind of "wide screen" view of the field (thanks to their very large exit pupil).

Here is the 8x56 glass I currently own:

This is the Zeiss 8x56 BT* Design Selection from the 90s. It was replaced by the Victory Series which was itself replced by the FL series. It's a true masterpiece of design art! I would never replace this beauty with any of its successors! :t:

I look forawrd to examining the Leica 8x50 HDs when they become available although I am not expecting any surprises there. The only new-generation 8x56 that tempts me is the Leica 8x56 rangefinder model. It's shorter than other top-end 8x56 models and it's got awesome glass, just I don't like the rangefinder part!

Cheers

 

[borysoo]

That is excellent bino you've got there. I was looking for same type of Zeiss for some time but could not find anything interesting and above all sellers aked prices similar to what I had to pay for my new Swarovski. I am very happy with the purchase. On 3rd I am going on a hunting trip with few of my friend and that would be a nice way of checking all pros and cons of this Swarovski. Looking forward to Saturday .
Regards,
Borys

 

[Omid]

Good luck with your hunt!

Email me pictures if you get the chance to take some. Here you can see some photos of my previous hunts.

Regards
-Omid

 

[Fernando np]

Searching, it might be possible to find a Zeiss 8X56 at good price. At least, I'd consider the options. Not as fashionable but lighter. Not only a question of grams, but also of feeling. Better balance one time, you don't have to take the bins with your hands touching your face. In this aspect, I consider the SLC is a punishment..