There are other points worth considering too. Ergonomics, field of view and colour balance.
Researching and choosing online and then trying them in a shop sure ticks boxes, but ticking those boxes in field conditions is normally retrospective.
Four years ago i upgraded my trinovids to Leica Ultravid 8x50 and they were obviously very good; when i bought them it was between those and the Swaro 8.5x42 EL, i went for the Leica's on the basis of maximum exit pupil, which compared to the EL's was better; at least on paper.... I ended up a year later getting the EL's and within a month i had sold the Leica's. The reason..... the EL's are very quick to use, great one handed for a quick glance, the slight difference in exit pupil was negligable in real world use and importantly the field of view is wider.
That exercise luckily lost me little money, i was fortunate there was a deal on the EL's and i got a great price for the Leica's.
I have a pair of Zeiss 8x56 Night Owl which apart from weighing a ton are without doubt one the best low light glasses probable ever made. Flint glass objective lenses colour balanced for low light etc etc. Do i use them. Only for Boar in Germany. Why. Too heavy, too awkward and slow to use and they fatigue my eyes unless its almost dark. I also have a pair of Leica Duovid which for general wildlife viewing are great, but they dont have the wide FOV of the EL's nor do they handle as well.
As has been said, 7 or 8 x power and 40 to 56mm objective from one if the three top end players and you cant go wrong.
Its a lot a money and making an error of choice is either very costly but most likely annoying as your stuck with them. Think carefully about your real useage of them and the properties that are important to you.
My recommendation would be for the Swaro EL's, they tick all the boxes, not just in the shop but out in the field, and thats what matters.
Best regards
Sariel
Researching and choosing online and then trying them in a shop sure ticks boxes, but ticking those boxes in field conditions is normally retrospective.
Four years ago i upgraded my trinovids to Leica Ultravid 8x50 and they were obviously very good; when i bought them it was between those and the Swaro 8.5x42 EL, i went for the Leica's on the basis of maximum exit pupil, which compared to the EL's was better; at least on paper.... I ended up a year later getting the EL's and within a month i had sold the Leica's. The reason..... the EL's are very quick to use, great one handed for a quick glance, the slight difference in exit pupil was negligable in real world use and importantly the field of view is wider.
That exercise luckily lost me little money, i was fortunate there was a deal on the EL's and i got a great price for the Leica's.
I have a pair of Zeiss 8x56 Night Owl which apart from weighing a ton are without doubt one the best low light glasses probable ever made. Flint glass objective lenses colour balanced for low light etc etc. Do i use them. Only for Boar in Germany. Why. Too heavy, too awkward and slow to use and they fatigue my eyes unless its almost dark. I also have a pair of Leica Duovid which for general wildlife viewing are great, but they dont have the wide FOV of the EL's nor do they handle as well.
As has been said, 7 or 8 x power and 40 to 56mm objective from one if the three top end players and you cant go wrong.
Its a lot a money and making an error of choice is either very costly but most likely annoying as your stuck with them. Think carefully about your real useage of them and the properties that are important to you.
My recommendation would be for the Swaro EL's, they tick all the boxes, not just in the shop but out in the field, and thats what matters.
Best regards
Sariel
