Binoculars, the best ones

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Rake Aboot

Rake Aboot

Well-Known Member
Following on from my robbery thread , I now need binoculars

What are the best ? Like the absolute best.

Currently looking at NL 10x42 Swarovski. Don’t need rangefinders.

@Edinburgh Rifles You reading this ? What you got ? Fancy sorting me out with some interest free Chucky ?. 😂
 
Swarovski. 8x30 for woodland stalking, slip into 'Napoleon' pocket for crawling etc. mine must be 30 years old and clear as new. 10x42 for general use or to live in truck.
 
Had a good hard look through/fondle of the swaro NL pures, also the zeiss sf... and settled on the leica noctovid. The NL do have a marginally wider field of view and no denying the optics are superb... but the leica seem to have a better and more natural view, and seemed more intuitive to use. I'm not a fan of the large and raised focusing wheel on the NL and the zeiss, the Zeiss were the lightest of the bunch and I was offered a good price on them in the shop.
I've gone back to bino and separate rangefinder as I found that stand alone binos always have slightly better optics (and yes I've had both swarovski and leica rangefinder binos in the past).
 
I have Swaro EL10x42s. Love them. And recently the factory refreshed/fixed my 9 year old set at NO cost to me.

But I tried the new NL 8x32 at the Stalking Show and was stunned by the weight saving over my EL range...and seemingly same bright image, despite smaller exit ocular. I definitely use my bino's range finder on every safari and some domestic shooting. But...in a lot of cases...my U.K. stalking is sub 150m and the range finding capability could be dispensed with.

1758697121838.webp
 
monarman said:
Had a good hard look through/fondle of the swaro NL pures, also the zeiss sf... and settled on the leica noctovid. The NL do have a marginally wider field of view and no denying the optics are superb... but the leica seem to have a better and more natural view, and seemed more intuitive to use. I'm not a fan of the large and raised focusing wheel on the NL and the zeiss, the Zeiss were the lightest of the bunch and I was offered a good price on them in the shop.
I've gone back to bino and separate rangefinder as I found that stand alone binos always have slightly better optics (and yes I've had both swarovski and leica rangefinder binos in the past).
Click to expand...
I think you have hit on a key point
The ergonomic are very important

When I bought the Opticrons I had looked at “ better” German glass but the Japanese one handles so much better , that’s important when you’re using them for a long time
 
Rake Aboot said:
I think you have hit on a key point
The ergonomic are very important

When I bought the Opticrons I had looked at “ better” German glass but the Japanese one handles so much better , that’s important when you’re using them for a long time
Click to expand...
Totally agree. I got rid of a set of Leica HDB3000's because of various issues I had with them, mostly the compromised viewing experience but I also hated the size and ergonomics of them. Went back to Ultravid HD's which are lovely to use and handle. If I had the extra money, I too would have gone with the Noctovids which are amazing in terms of the "real" image you get through them. I find Zeiss too bright and Swaro are really good but they tire my eyes for some reason when used for an extended time. For short term use, they are lovely to use and handle though. The Ultravids I can use for hours on end without tired eyes and in 8x42 flavour they are really quite light and small dimensions. They are all the binocular I will ever need and I much prefer having a separate RF with inbuilt ballistic calc which is tiny and can sit in my pocket for the odd time I need it.
 
Simple answer is the Zeiss 7x42 BGAT*P*. Sadly no longer made but the perfect combination of fantastic lenses, very good ergonomics and tough build that will truly last a lifetime of use.
 
Even with the big names they are different to each of use for viewing, brightness and sharpness because of our eyes and the coatings also as mentioned the ergonomics some just feel better than others.
I had Swaro tried some Leica and the view even though both 8x42 was very different to my eyes, it's a big investment so try before you buy.
I also have some cheap vortex that live in the truck permanent and the others come in and out as required.
 
The best you can get are Zeiss Night Owl,They are no longer made but occasionally turn up on Ebay.If you get a set you will not regret it.
 
John Gryphon said:
Dont go Zeiss,they are pulling out and dropping factory support
Click to expand...

According to Zeiss they are only dropping manufacturing from the Wetzlar factory but will still be offering support. Dropping support would be hugely detrimental for the brand in the consumer/hunting lines they still intend to produce in the future. They have other facilities in Germany, but much of their more recent product has been manufactured outside of Germany already.
They have given no indication of how long the support will last for, but if other manufacturers are a guide, it will be until parts dwindle to an inefficient level for them, then the entire inventory will be sold off to a third party optical repairer, where the supply will eventually run out. This could be a few years or very many years.
 
Rake Aboot said:
I think you have hit on a key point
The ergonomic are very important

When I bought the Opticrons I had looked at “ better” German glass but the Japanese one handles so much better , that’s important when you’re using them for a long time
Click to expand...

This. You can get to hate even the best glass if you aren't happy with the handling.
 
Rake Aboot said:
Following on from my robbery thread , I now need binoculars

What are the best ? Like the absolute best.

Currently looking at NL 10x42 Swarovski. Don’t need rangefinders.

@Edinburgh Rifles You reading this ? What you got ? Fancy sorting me out with some interest free Chucky ?. 😂
Click to expand...
Iam quite lucky in as much as I have swaros, and optilyth, and to be honest the Optilyth are ever bit as good as my swaros

Patrick
 
Can anyone explain why if I look through my (inexpensive) binoculars I see a decent clear image, however if my mate looks through them he gets a double image. Likewise if I look through his I get a double image and he does not. We have seen this happen with different people some see clear and some see a double image.
It is certainly one reason I would not buy binoculars from online retailers ie without hands on testing.
 
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