At the Midwest Birding Symposium I finally had a chance to examine all the top binoculars.
Optics:
All were great. Only difference I could see was that the Zeiss FLs were slightly brighter.
Handling:
All handled well, but especially liked the Swarovski and Leica. They just fit perfectly in my hands. Their balance made them feel even lighter than they were.
Focusing:
(For me at least this was the big difference. Let me say up front that I do own a Nikon Premier LX L 8X32.) Leica's focusing seemed slightly rough, gritty, as if the wheel were ratcheting. A few of the Lecia models focused smoothly, but most had that subtle gritty, ratchety feel. The Leica's focusing probably does not and will not bother most, but it did me.
Though most of the Swarovski models focused smoothly, some had a very uneven focus. That is, the force required to move the wheel would vary; the wheel would move easily, then harder. The difference wasn't great, but was there. But a bigger problem, for me at least, was the slow focusing of the Swarovskis. The wheel just took too much turning. Of course, some prefer the slow focus.
Though the Zeiss did focus smoothly, they did not focus as smoothly as the Nikons.
I love the smoothness of focusing the Nikons, though they do a have very quick focus. The quick focus does allow me to get a bird in focus very quickly, though it takes awhile to get used to, and sometimes I focus past the bird.
Eye relief:
When I purchased my Nikon Premier LX L 8X32, I did not even consider the Leica and Swavorski 8X32s because I wear glasses and they supposedly had little eye relief. What a shock when I tried them. They both had great eye relief! I could see the entire field. Now I am very disappointed that I did not try them. I loved holding both of them, especially the Leica. The only problem was the focusing. I may have still purchased the Nikon, but I do not know. If you are thinking about buying a top 8X32, you owe it to yourself to try all four; I wish I had. (I did consider the Zeiss, which were out, but no one yet had them in stock.) In fact the only bino of the top four that I could not see the entire field was the Swarovski 10X32.
Finally the company reps were great -- especially the Leica and Zeiss. The Leica reps were unbelievably friendly and honest.
Optics:
All were great. Only difference I could see was that the Zeiss FLs were slightly brighter.
Handling:
All handled well, but especially liked the Swarovski and Leica. They just fit perfectly in my hands. Their balance made them feel even lighter than they were.
Focusing:
(For me at least this was the big difference. Let me say up front that I do own a Nikon Premier LX L 8X32.) Leica's focusing seemed slightly rough, gritty, as if the wheel were ratcheting. A few of the Lecia models focused smoothly, but most had that subtle gritty, ratchety feel. The Leica's focusing probably does not and will not bother most, but it did me.
Though most of the Swarovski models focused smoothly, some had a very uneven focus. That is, the force required to move the wheel would vary; the wheel would move easily, then harder. The difference wasn't great, but was there. But a bigger problem, for me at least, was the slow focusing of the Swarovskis. The wheel just took too much turning. Of course, some prefer the slow focus.
Though the Zeiss did focus smoothly, they did not focus as smoothly as the Nikons.
I love the smoothness of focusing the Nikons, though they do a have very quick focus. The quick focus does allow me to get a bird in focus very quickly, though it takes awhile to get used to, and sometimes I focus past the bird.
Eye relief:
When I purchased my Nikon Premier LX L 8X32, I did not even consider the Leica and Swavorski 8X32s because I wear glasses and they supposedly had little eye relief. What a shock when I tried them. They both had great eye relief! I could see the entire field. Now I am very disappointed that I did not try them. I loved holding both of them, especially the Leica. The only problem was the focusing. I may have still purchased the Nikon, but I do not know. If you are thinking about buying a top 8X32, you owe it to yourself to try all four; I wish I had. (I did consider the Zeiss, which were out, but no one yet had them in stock.) In fact the only bino of the top four that I could not see the entire field was the Swarovski 10X32.
Finally the company reps were great -- especially the Leica and Zeiss. The Leica reps were unbelievably friendly and honest.
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