Rangefinder binoculars

[marrajack]

I agree with Cabarsash - Ziess victory HT are a lot clearer with a crisper image than any of the RF bins I have looked through, not to mention lighter. I owned a set of Ziess which I sold, and have looked through the Leica both old and new and Swaro EL RF.
If money no object Leica Noctovid and separate RF for me

 

[Dave_45]

GPO rangeguide 10-50

If it wasn't for the GPO badge you'd swear it was Zeiss .

Fantastic light transmission and the laser is amazing.

As far as I'm aware they are made in the same factory as Zeiss

 

[SikaHunter]

Leica do not provide the same customer care or service as Swaro do. In fact i was told by Leica that one of their rangefinders was obsolete and they would not repair it.

 

[paultap]

I have Swarovski El Range and the range finder has stopped working,all other functions working perfectly i was a bit pi..ed off as they are only 5 years old with only light use,happened right in the middle of the sika rut and on the way home from that outing i called into my go to dealer and bought a pair of Zeiss hd range to keep me going for the rest of the season. My question will Swarovski repair free of charge? Their glass is second to none but build quality?

Send them to Swarovski UK, when they get sent back to the factory, you should be sent a quotation if they are not going to be repaired free of charge. You can always say no thanks - if you think the cost to repair is too high. The chances are that they will repair them free of charge though.

 

[paultap]

I previously had a set of the older zeiss victory 8 x 56 binoculars and a zeiss rangefinder, both gave excellent service but carrying two pieces of kit around was cumbersome. The Zeiss binoculars were also very large and heavy. I compared my zeiss binos to a set of the original version of the Swarovski RF 10x42 binoculars a friend owned. To my eyes In daylight the zeiss was noticeably brighter, although the swaro's were still very good. At very last light, the zeiss was much better, being far brighter. Undoubtedly due to the much bigger objective lenses.

I eventually sold my zeiss binoculars and rangefinder and bought a set of the original Swarovski RF 8x42 binoculars as I liked the convenience of a set of RF binoculars and I was still impressed with the performance of the Swarovski binoculars I had tried.

On another shooting trip I decided to compare my friends Swarovski RF 10x42 binoculars to my Swarovski RF 8x42 binoculars, the model being the same. I did this in good daylight. To my eyes the 8x42 version I had was noticeably brighter!

 

[nickjackson]

Hi folks,

I’m going to purchase a pair of Leica or Swarovski 10x42 rangefinder binoculars anyone advise on the following
1-which are the clearer
2-any rangefinder issues
3-any warranty issues
4-any other issues

thanks Jimmy

Our local shop won’t stock Leica anymore after warranty issues with RF.
I can’t fault my Swaro EL RF pair.

 

[Stalker62]

First choice would be Swarovski.

Second choice would be Swarovski.

Third choice - not needed, you already have two pairs of Swarovski.


Excellent quality glass, and an after-sales customer service ethos, that it mightily impressive.

 

[User00040]

First choice would be Swarovski.

Second choice would be Swarovski.

Third choice - not needed, you already have two pairs of Swarovski.


Excellent quality glass, and an after-sales customer service ethos, that it mightily impressive.

But their rangefinding bino's have tumors to rival the Elephant Man:

Something their marketing department tries really hard to conceal.

On the other hand, Leica crams the RF gubbins into their Geovids in a much more ergonomic manner, but they still look a bit odd:

 

[gixer1]

I have Swarovski El Range and the range finder has stopped working,all other functions working perfectly i was a bit pi..ed off as they are only 5 years old with only light use,happened right in the middle of the sika rut and on the way home from that outing i called into my go to dealer and bought a pair of Zeiss hd range to keep me going for the rest of the season. My question will Swarovski repair free of charge? Their glass is second to none but build quality?

Just had this on my EL’s after 6 years, and it was a simple case of changing the battery - everything else was working - maybe worth a try for you.

Combined RF binos are a far better option than lugging around a separate RF, with a tripod…

Some folks must have their man carry around all their kit or too many pockets, thermal, RF, wind meter, binos…

The increase in weight for combined is negligible considering you are most likely carrying around an 8lb rifle anyway, 80 grams in the case of the EL RF v non RF, hardly a big deal.

 

[mak]

Our local shop won’t stock Leica anymore after warranty issues with RF.
I can’t fault my Swaro EL RF pair.

And your local shop is???

 

[palo]

I think with RF binoculars you are going to have something go wrong eventually so if I was buying again I'd probably buy the vortex for the lifetime warranty.

 

[BLUEROLL]

Buy a regular set of binos and seperate rangefinder instead.

Rangefinder bino's:

• Heavier
• Not as crisp/clear, worse light transmission
• More likely to have problems if dropped accidentally
• In 10 years they will lose a lot of value
• Much harder to get repaired for free by Swaro or Leica

Regular binos last for decades, if better rangefinder technology comes out just trade in/sell the old rangefinder

My EL Range 8x42`s are on the way back from Swaro as we speak, repaired FOC.
The rubber cover on the LRF button perished and stopped working.

 

[hogey]

I think with RF binoculars you are going to have something go wrong eventually so if I was buying again I'd probably buy the vortex for the lifetime warranty.

I have Vortex,do the job at half the price and lifetime warranty on electronics and binos .Maybe not quite as good but find them ok and suited my budget

 

[DOGDER]

Hi folks,

I’m going to purchase a pair of Leica or Swarovski 10x42 rangefinder binoculars anyone advise on the following
1-which are the clearer
2-any rangefinder issues
3-any warranty issues
4-any other issues

thanks Jimmy

i've had a pair of Leica rangefinder bins for 10 years, never a problem apart from every couple of years to change the battery. if they get dirty wash them, Yes wash them in mildly soapy water and hey ho new bins.
at the Birmingham shot show the Leica salesman did it to a pair no problem. Great bins but pricey