Binocular recommendations - Leica v Zeiss v Swarovski

A

Andy_J

Active Member
Hi all,

Still new to this game and looking to make another exciting outlandish purchase, this time some nice new binoculars.

I guess I would mostly need binos for ranges of 200m or so (still on the lookout for a regular stalking patch), but would use them for other general nature watching stuff too over potentially longer ranges and would like to get myself out in the Scottish glens at some point. I'm currently taking advice I've been given about going for a good German manufacturer and so have narrowed things down to the Leica Trinovid, Zeiss Conquest and Swarovski SLC lines but have a couple of questions:

1 - Does anyone have any particular recommendations between the three models?

2 - Should I go for 10 x magnification or 8 x magnification? I am inclined to go for the 'bigger the better' approach, but am basing this on precisely no expertise.

Finally, just to add a wildcard in here, I have seen some quite smart looking Swarovski rangefinder binoculars on a website offering interest free credit over 12 months. If I were able to push my budget that far, would anyone particularly recommend going don that route and why?

A lot of questions, hopefully get to hear some good opinions...

Andy
 
Andy everybody will tell you different bins.do you want rangefinder on or not.i use a pair Swarovski 8.5x42el mostly woodland stalking .they are great binoculars and I wouldn’t change them.the Swarovski are great in low light conditions .first and last light .a lot of people are using thermal which I’m not a fan of. Good luck with whatever you choose cheers tom
 
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Hi Andy,

They are all good. Comes down pretty much to personal preference. I use Swaro for everything (because I am a marketing man's wet dream) but I can never tell the difference when I look through other people's Leica or Zeiss products. Get whichever you prefer.

I use 10x (mostly in Africa and Scotland) but a lot of woodland stalkers, in particular, prefer the 8x.

Kind regards,

Carl
 
Try before you buy! There is remarkably quite a variation in how these things are put together even though our two eyes are pretty much laid out he same on all of us. But some may prefer how the eyepeices "fit" us with Leica, others on Zeiss, others with Swaro. Cleyspy at Cley in Norfolk has a six hundred yards back garden so you can try ALL of those makes and many others plus used binoculars out to that long distance. Standing in the middle of Mount Street outside the Leica shop, or in Hall B at the NEC at the Swaro stand at the British Shooting Show will only give you a limited distance to view. Other vendors, however such as Garlands may be based in the countryside (like Cleyspy) and again have a long back garden!

Also some binoculars will focus down very close others not so close. On my old Leica 7x42 BA Trinovid they wouldn't focus down as near as my son's Leica 7x42 Ultravid HD. Yet that's sixteen feet close in vs ten feet which only for watching butterflies might be relevant? For must users including myself it wasn't.

Bigger isn't better. It's just offering something that may be useful or may not be useful. The lower the magnification the wider the field of view and, more importantly, the longer in distance the depth of field. That's say that with 7x magnification what's in front of what I want to INITIALLY examine and what's behind it will be in focus to a further distance in front and behind that with 10x magnification. That can be important in helping you assess what you then decide to do next.

Personally? As I've posted elsewhere I much prefer 7x but only because nobody in quality stuff makes 6x! Only Leica today of the German makers makes a company 7x42 which is something offered neither by Zeiss nor by Swarovski.

Last but not least...if relevant...check the waterproof quality of each maker's product, its spares and repairs back up and, finally, its weight and general "handiness". I loved my Leica 7x42 Trinovid BA but they weighed much more at 890 grams than do my son's 770 grams Leica 7x42 Ultravid HD. Optically though you'd be hard put to tell them apart in normal use.

There's an America website called "AllBinos" - www.allbinos.com - just select REVIEWS that has a easy multichoice drop down review facility of two hundred binoculars for an easy to find way to check the technical specification. Or you can cheat that review box by entering, say, Leica 7x42 Trinovid BA allbinos in Google and it'll bring up ALL the AllBinos review facility that way.
 
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All manufacturers you mention have good products. However I use Swarovski el range 10x42 and find these perfect in every way. I also have Swarovski scopes on all rifles. I recently had an issue with the bins in that they went out of focus and was something internal. An email to Austria and the very next day they were collected and I am now being lent a set of el range finders by the Swarovski rep at no charge. No payment needed for postage and no proof of purchase needed either. There customer service is first class and I can honestly say I would never look at another optik company other than Swarovski ever it’s worth it for the back up service alone

I have heard horror stories with regards to Zeiss and Leica but have never used either and a very good friend of mine who takes clients to Africa a lot has a really bad experience with some Leica geovids while out there as they fell apart after two day use (new pair) these were given to him as a gift and now he’s trying to get them sorted this end by Leica and having a terrible time.

This as always is just my opinion but you will never regret your Swarovski purchase. Expensive yes but buy once cry once and they will last you a life time
Good luck
 
In the end I don't think any of us can tell you what you need or what will suit you as everyone has slightly different requirements. Zeiss get the reputation for the best glass, Swaro get the reputation for the best customer service and so on but in the end maybe neither you nor me could see any difference in the glass or you might prefer Swaro or you might get great service from Zeiss or...

The only other point I will make is that if you are interested in stalking then the best place to spend your cash is on going stalking and with this in mind you may be wise to spend less on the binos and use the rest of your budget to head to Scotland for a week on red hinds or similar as in terms of life experiences this is a much better choice. Top notch glass is good value second hand as if you buy well it will probably always be worth close to what you paid for it, Macleod's who commented on this thread get a fantastic reputation for second hand glass for example, and there are significant savings there. It is also the case that most of the second tier optics are now very close indeed to the top end stuff, maybe so close that you'd not notice the difference, and they can be very good value - there was a 2nd hand pair of Minox HGs (in a slightly unusual size I admit) on here for £380 if you look in the classifieds and that might save you £2k over what you'd spend on new binos and the Minox give little away (I've compared their HGs directly to Swaros at last light and my experience was the Minox were brighter) in glass. The down side with 2nd tier optics is that they will not hold their money as well or be in as much demand second hand. So my advice would be not to buy high priced gadgets that are over specified for your needs but instead look for good value options (2nd hand top notch or even something like Minox 2nd hand) and spend your cash on actually getting out stalking.
 
It is also the case that most of the second tier optics are now very close indeed to the top end stuff, maybe so close that you'd not notice the difference.
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+1. Today's budget riflescopes by, say, Hawke in 4x and in variable magnification far exceed the optical quality of, say, Pecar riflescopes in 4x or variable magnification of the 1970s. If you've spare money spend it on your riflescope and get the very best that you can afford there first off, as if you've booked accompanied stalking in Scotland your stalker will be the one getting you on to a shootable beast. So you won't as such need binoculars.
 
go find somewhere that you can look through all the brands you are interested in then make the choice on which one you prefer to look through, hold (they are shaped differently) and wear round your neck (weight) then you can happily part with your cash.
 
enfieldspares said:
I have bought from Gregor at Macleod at Tain many times in the past, secondhand optics (and new fishing reels) and they have never let me down. The items have always matched or exceeded the description of their quality or condition. And they use Royal Mail Special Delivery not 'Mickey Mouse" cut price couriers.
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++ 21 i dont care what time you get up in the morning or what side you get out of the bed you wont do any better than giving gregor a bell, you wont have any horror stories with this man and i don't think you will get a better price , i bought the leica 8x42 2200 hdb and i am delighted with them , roughly 700 cheaper than the Swarovski el and i was able to compare both side by side at dawn and dusk on several occasions as i had borrowed them from my friends to try and decide, i just couldn't justify the money even if i was paying for free servicing down the road in the end it was gregor that set me at ease with the leica, like i say give him a bell you wont regret it
 
I've used all three brands. Currently I use Leica rangefinders. I had problems with Zeiss, the eye cups fell to bits. The Swaovski EL 8.5 x 42 are probably the best binoculars I have used before moving on to Leica with rangefinder. I was in Macleods on Friday and they also have Kahles binoculars in stock.
Regards
JCS
 
Frankly you may as well choose by colour so given Swarovski's come in a very pleasing shade of GREEN as standard, please slap a little cash in that direction.

Why hunting binos come in black is beyond me albeit I realise you're unlikely to have your would-be medal buck give legbail into the next County as a result!

That said Leica sometimes do a limited edition version of their hi-end bins in olive:
Noctivid Range // Leica Noctivid // Binoculars // Hunting // Sport Optics - Leica Camera AG
K
 
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Don't think you'll go wrong with any of your shortlist. Don't dismiss used, I picked up a used pair of 8x45 victory rf' from macleods....from memory they were a lot less than a grand and even allowing for the range finding gumph which generally reduces light transmission a little I struggle to see any noticeable difference between my Zeiss and a friends 10x56 swaro's.....really very very good. As others have said my preference would always be Swarovski on account of their after sales service.....but if a pair of victory's or Leica turn up at a good price then don't dismiss them...i doubt your eyes will ever notice the difference between them anyway!
 
I have a set of Zeiss terra 8x42 their brilliant and they were less than £500 well worth it and good glass. I believe their cheaper now
 
I can add very little to the excellent advice given, except that this is the perfect time of year to buy. Try to get to a shop which allows you to try a few pairs, towards the end of the day when the light is failing. That's when you'll really be able to evaluate them, most binoculars look good in good light.
 
If you can’t decide on 8x or 10x you could do what I did and buy a pair of Leica Duovids.

They are available in 8+12x42 or 10+15x56. I got the 8+12 and they are brilliant, 8x for in woodland and 12x when you need that bit more mag to decide if that Roe at 300yds is a buck or a doe (before you bother crawling across a ploughed field)

I would have thought the 10+15 would be a bit big and heavy for stalking but I’m sure someone out there uses them for up in the hill.

Andy
 
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