Swaro or zeiss

Bigboab29

Well-Known Member
Hi Guys,

I dont want to start a war on here but just looking for a bit of advice. Looking for a decent set of bins for woodland stalking. Cant really afford the top top top of the range gear as the wife knows how much i have spent already.

I have been looking at the swaro 8x30 CL companion and the zeiss conquest 8x30. Does anyone have any experience with these? will the be good for woodland stalking? bearing in mind im using a cheap set of helios 8x40's so i can only imagine the swaro and zeiss would both be much better!!!

i also see the zeiss is just about half the price of the swaro's. are they really worth double the price of the zeiss??

(If i bought the zeiss i could maybe queeze in the zeiss rangefinder as well)
 
Are you able to get to Scone - most all the models will be there to try.

Within the top end makers ( and arguably some of the others ) there's a fine difference in terms of 'best'. Most important aspect is which set give the best image for you. I love Swaro ( I surprise to readers of SD I know ;) ) but other happier with Zeiss etc. Hard to beat a relaxed and considered peek through each.

Also dont overlook good secondhand as an option - getting more for your dosh. Macleods are a good source - as are a number of the optics specialists - like In Focus. And not forgetting the regular bargains that come up here.

I have 8x30 SLCs - not perfect in every instance and no argument there are better choices - but fitted my well South of £500 budget at the time and Swaro service means I practically have a brand new pair these days.
 
i have both swarovski and zeiss binoculars and use a pair every day
had a slight problem with the swarovski pair and they repaired them within days no charge
my zeiss binoculars went for repair mid jan of this year and zeiss uk charged me £190 which i paid
i am still waiting for these zeiss binoculars and after numerous phone calls i am still non the wiser
my mind is now made up which is the best
hope this helps
regards andy
 
i have both swarovski and zeiss binoculars and use a pair every day
had a slight problem with the swarovski pair and they repaired them within days no charge
my zeiss binoculars went for repair mid jan of this year and zeiss uk charged me £190 which i paid
i am still waiting for these zeiss binoculars and after numerous phone calls i am still non the wiser
my mind is now made up which is the best
hope this helps
regards andy

Thats not the news that I wanted to hear! I have recently sent two pairs of Zeiss binos in for service/repair/estimates, the quotes that came back might as well have been written in Russian, just lists of codes etc but the bottom line was that my 30 year old ones that are worth about £100 were going to cost c.£450 to repair/service so, obviously I told them to send them back and, once again they are back in everyday use.

My slightly younger 7x42's are going to cost c.£160 so I said go ahead but I am waiting with baited breath to see if I have done the right thing. They have been gone about three weeks now which I would have thought was about right, I don't think that they have taken the money so I will give them a ring tomorrow and if we are looking at several months then I'll simply cancel the repair and get them back.

Thank God that I've also got two pairs of Swarovskis. Can't see me ever buying any Zeiss again, they seem to be a company in decline where as Swarovski just go from strength to strength particularly from the professional users point of view. No doubt the Zeiss Pro-guide scheme was a good marketing move so you have to give them credit for that, without this initiative I think they would have completely lost the stalking market.

Glyn.
 
Don't buy 8x30 's for woodland shooting. Better get second hand 7x42 slc swarovski bino's.

I have both and the 8x30 's just don't gatter enough light for good clear vision, i have looked at roe in poor/dark conditions and while i could tell it was a buck. It took the 42's to see how many points.


Save a bit more cash to start and only buy one pair .


Atb

Splash
 
my zeiss are 8x56 victorys and maybe 10 year old after two years the focus ring stoped working and i returned them to zeiss uk and they were repaired free of charge under warrenty but i still had to wait 3 and a half months to get them back
my swarovski are 8.5x42 els and within a year i had lost both rubber eyecups , while i was sika stalking in dorset i visited sportsmans gun centre asking if they sold eyecups which they didnt but they took my name and address and by the time i got home two days later they were waiting for me two pairs FOC
after now waiting just over 5 months for my zeiss i can honestly say i will never buy zeiss again
If you are someone like me who stalks for a living you need two pairs of bins and im so glad both pairs aint zeiss
regards andy
 
Don't discount the idea of buying secondhand. Some very good binos can be had for £500-£700. If I could only have one pair of binos I would be torn between Swaro 7x40 SLC's and 8x30 SLC's... I'd probably go for the 7x42's.
 
again its all down to your pref mate every ones eyes are different you would be better of trying out a set of each to see if the eye relief is good for you get your self to a game fair to try them out im glad i did
 
BigB - I'll have my 8x30 SLCs with me at Scone - call in ( P8 Pheasant Row ) if you are about and you are welcome to have a look over/ through them.
 
hi Glyn1
did you contact zeiss today regarding your repair ?
regards andy

Hi Andy,
I rang them today and they tell me that they are waiting on a part from Germany and they have staff holidays coming up so I will wait and see. I hope that I am happy when they come back or it will leave a bit of a sour taste, in a way I'm wishing that I'd just flogged them on eblag and bought some others. Having said that, if they come back like new I will be chuffed as they were one of the best binos ever made.
Glyn.
 
As you say Boab a considerable price difference there ! I"ll throw a spanner in the works :stir:

Have you given Leica any thaught they are also in the same league as Swaro & Zeiss (exceptional glass)

Perhaps something along these lines :

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Leica-8-x...phy_Binoculars_Monoculars&hash=item19d2625f40

Atb, Buck.
I used to think that when I had a pair of 7 x 42 Leica Trinovids. Excellent Glass! However, I then got a pair of Swaro EL 8.5 x 42's. The difference at low light was considerable!
The only thing I didn't like was the increase in 'shake' by just going up to 8.5 mag. If you are looking at woodland stuff, 7x mag is probably best!
MS
 
Hello Boab, dont know if you have bought yet or not. If not why not look at the Minox Hd range.I bought a pair of 10x52 3 years ago,using them for wood and hill and I cannot fault them.
 
Hello Boab, dont know if you have bought yet or not. If not why not look at the Minox Hd range.I bought a pair of 10x52 3 years ago,using them for wood and hill and I cannot fault them.

I had Leica Geovids... thought I had too much tied up in them so sold them and bought Minox HDs.. they lasted 4 weeks... I just found them 'different and not to my liking' so sold them and now have Zeizz Victory RF 8x42s.. better than the Leicas IMHO. I tried the Swaro rfs but they felt really uncomfortable in the hand with the big square lumps on the bottom. Couldn't see any difference in optical quality over the Zeiss.

Wouldn't be without the rangefinding function though... better to have and not need than need and not have!
 
I used to think that when I had a pair of 7 x 42 Leica Trinovids. Excellent Glass! However, I then got a pair of Swaro EL 8.5 x 42's. The difference at low light was considerable!
The only thing I didn't like was the increase in 'shake' by just going up to 8.5 mag. If you are looking at woodland stuff, 7x mag is probably best!
MS


As you say MS, 7x is probably best for woodland but I do feel with 8X and above you would have the best of both worlds.

Bearing in mind more mag = more shake. I my self use Geovids 8x42's which i find fine,where as the mate is a Swaro man,

on comparison we can see very little difference if any between the two. (perhaps down to the individuals eyes ! )

Rgds, Buck.

PS. I would never go above 10x mag. )
 
Hi Andy,
I rang them today and they tell me that they are waiting on a part from Germany and they have staff holidays coming up so I will wait and see. I hope that I am happy when they come back or it will leave a bit of a sour taste, in a way I'm wishing that I'd just flogged them on eblag and bought some others. Having said that, if they come back like new I will be chuffed as they were one of the best binos ever made.
Glyn.

Who did you speak to?
 
Who did you speak to?

Irene, she was talking to a guy called Garry (I think) in the background. Like I say, I'll wait and see the result before making a judgement on whether or not it was the right thing to do. Glyn.
 
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