Are Alpha Binoculars worth it?

[chicoredneck]

Good for you. I hope you enjoy them. My experience has shown that alpha glass really makes a difference when using them off a tripod. Then you can take advantage of the wider fields of view and tack sharp clarity to the very edge of the field of view. If all your doing is handholding binoculars, cheaper options (mid to upper tier) generally still provide good sharpness in the center of the image and are bright enough for hunting. When hand holding your usually using mostly the center of the image anyways. Mid to upper tier binoculars these days seem to be really good and don’t generally suffer from fragility or viewing discomfort.

Alpha glass seems to have the advantage of better resale value, so if you decide to sell them later on, you get more of your money back. Or if you buy used, all of your money back.

 

[EdP]

I went with the 12x50 Meopta's. The reviews were very good and they are actually considered more rogust than the Swaro's. They are still plenty expensive and are very good. Somebody made the point about time of use and I agree. Alpha glass (vs A- like Maven and Meopta) may be worth it for guides and TV stars, but not for me doing maybe 1 western hunt/yr. Actually in hindsight, I'm not sure I should have spent the $, but I could afford it so it's not a big deal.

 

[roosiebull]

This is my experience, I saved up for a long time to buy Alpha glass. I went to a store that had Alpha glass as well as others. I spent a couple hours looking through all of them and I could not make out an appreciable difference between the Alpha glass and the others. In fact the lesser glass was better to my eyes than the alpha glass. So I left and went back a couple weeks later and looked through them all again. This time was a repeat of the last and the Alpha glass did not work as well for my eyes as the lesser glass. Let your eyes make the decision for you.

Looking at different glass at the store will never give you a good read in overall usefulness… low light performance aside, the difference becomes huge in real field use… if you are happy with what you have, can’t ask for more, but if you have a chance to compare them in the woods, I bet you would be amazed

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Yep, in store doesn’t mean a whole lot and neither does looking in the parking lot at dusk. Been there, done that and been criticized for verbalizing that observation.

It is field time combined with when, where and how you hunt that will tell you which route to go. But that’s a lot of time, money, and effort so people tend to hit the easy button (usually with a preconceived notion).

 

[BBob]

Looking at different glass at the store will never give you a good read in overall usefulness… low light performance aside, the difference becomes huge in real field use… if you are happy with what you have, can’t ask for more, but if you have a chance to compare them in the woods, I bet you would be amazed

Yep, in store doesn’t mean a whole lot and neither does looking in the parking lot at dusk. Been there, done that and been criticized for verbalizing that observation.

It is field time combined with when, where and how you hunt that will tell you which route to go. But that’s a lot of time, money, and effort so people tend to hit the easy button (usually with a preconceived notion).

Totally agree with these two statements. No way does comparing in the store compare to real conditions in the field, no substitute, no way no how. You might be able to discern sharpness of image or color correction, etc... but how they will actually work for you or compare to each other needs to be done in the field. BTDT

 

[chiroz]

Has anyone bought alpha glass and regretted it? I bought a couple of alpha scopes that have not blown my socks off.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Has anyone bought alpha glass and regretted it? I bought a couple of alpha scopes that have not blown my socks off.

Lots of reasons that people can feel regret.

* They got a dud. Sucks but happens with every product made by every company in the history of mankind.
* They had completely unrealistic expectations. The best optics cannot overcome lack of glassing skill. Unfortunately alpha still is unable to let you see unicorns and their rainbow farts.
* They are uncomfortable having spent the money; whether internally or SO found out and is griping. My wife bags and they we talk about Amazon purchases and the conversation is over.
* They don’t know how to use the product and it’s full feature set.
* They don’t take care of the optics. Who would have thought that actually removing the dust from the lenses who get rid of the fuzziness and provide a clearer picture.
* They are using the wrong optics tool for the job at hand. You’re alpha 8x are not going to let you field judge a bull elk (to the inch) at 3 miles despite what many experts will tell you.
* They chose an alpha optic that offers a hue that their eyes don’t like. Some folks prefer “warm” while others prefer “cool”.

Overall I good having bought my alphas as I use them a lot.

 

[MallardSX2]

Yes. It is worth the money. I justified my spending on Swaro because I dont pay $7,000+ to shoot mule deer and elk on a private ranch with my hand being held by a guide....

You can literally buy ALL of your optics for the price of 1 guided elk hunt on private land in NM.....

I have regretted buying every single pair of cheap Vortex, Bushnell, and Leopold bino's and spotters that I have ever bought. (I didn't buy the high end though..)

 

[BBob]

Has anyone bought alpha glass and regretted it?

Nope. After using cheap Bushnell porro's as a kid I went to Zeiss and Leica in the early 80's continuing to upgrade to this day. I really couldn't afford it then but all the mentors put high end optics as number one out here so I scrimped and saved until I could afford my first pair of 10x40 Zeiss. It was worth it all the way

 

[chiroz]

I don't have any alpha binoculars, but I do have alpha scopes and "alpha-minus" (my term) scopes. I can technically tell the difference, but I cannot practically tell the difference in use.

 

[BBob]

IMO Using an optic/scope to shoot something is a completely different endeavor than using an optic to try to find something to shoot.

 

[sawsington]

The price to performance is what drove me to Maven. I couldn't self-justify spending $3k+ when binos half that price have 90%+ of the capability.

I also don't spend enough time hunting to get full use out of Swaros.

 

[chiroz]

I may be a "value" or "good enough" type of optics user. There is a quality threshold I need to cross, but after that my thirty nature takes over and I need a good value.

 

[chiroz]

I may be a "value" or "good enough" type of optics user. There is a quality threshold I need to cross, but after that my thirty nature takes over and I need a good value.

Thrifty, not thirty

 

[eaglemountainman]

So, what determines if an optic is Alpha grade glass, or not? This is something I've always been curious about. Is it price? Is there an optical standard that it has to meet/surpass, to be given the qualification? Does it need to be manufactured in Austria or Germany? Huge budgets of slick advertising, perhaps? Is it a general perception and popularity?

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

The price to performance is what drove me to Maven. I couldn't self-justify spending $3k+ when binos half that price have 90%+ of the capability.

I also don't spend enough time hunting to get full use out of Swaros.

Sometimes "good enough" is perfect.

 

[Acivin]

I really like the observations that if you're considering it, you should just pull the trigger now.

 

[StopMakingSense]

So, what determines if an optic is Alpha grade glass, or not? This is something I've always been curious about. Is it price? Is there an optical standard that it has to meet/surpass, to be given the qualification? Does it need to be manufactured in Austria or Germany? Huge budgets of slick advertising, perhaps? Is it a general perception and popularity?

Honestly too much to answer in a single post. Omer from Precision Optics breaks it down fantastically in a podcast with the JOMH.

Precision Insights: EP02 - Buying Your Binoculars – Once! Until the Next Time…+ - Journal of Mountain Hunting

On the second episode of Precision Insights, Omer Hrbinic walks Nolan through the intricacies of binoculars. For the majority of users, the binocular will be the optic that sees the ...

journalofmountainhunting.com

I hate when folks put 10% 2% or a general % better. They're in another league compared to the rest and it doesn't have to do with the optical quality in the CENTER of the image and being able to see an extra 1-2 minutes during first or last light. I believe most folks put that % number in regards to just those 2. When looked at holistically, every element comprising of the optical system and experience, is, like I said, in another league. A simple one is the depth of field. Set a bino so it's sharp at 300 yards, now look out to an object at a 1000, what happens to your image quality? Do you need to readjust the focus? On my NL's I don't but on my friends Razor I sure do.

For instance, does anyone shoot PRS or NRL? On a Vortex Razor HD Gen II 4.5-27X56 I would have to constantly adjust parallax between shots. Go to the best, a Tangent Theta TT525P 5-25x56, I set my parallax to 300 and I never touch it through an entire match. It's dead nuts every time.

Where does the high price tag come from though? As far as marketing, any other company besides the big 3 and a couple of others all outsource their glass manufacturing from technology derived from others. Vortex and Maven for instance are a marketing company plain and simple with good ideas on how to request what the end-user wants to see in an optical instrument. They design it, request how it should look, kept within a certain price point, and boom, they have an optic. This is of course grossly dumb downed and hats off to Vortex with what they offer. I think they do a great job but it's glass I will never sit behind. Tract Toric for instance uses Schott glass, this is owned by Zeiss!

Swarovski, Zeiss, and Leica are manufacturing companies that have thousands of patents for their optical systems. It's their IP that drives the cost.

 

[Steve O]

So, what determines if an optic is Alpha grade glass, or not? This is something I've always been curious about. Is it price? Is there an optical standard that it has to meet/surpass, to be given the qualification? Does it need to be manufactured in Austria or Germany? Huge budgets of slick advertising, perhaps? Is it a general perception and popularity?

I’ve not thought of a relatable illustration for binoculars, but for spotting scopes, I consider them “alpha” if I can read the newspaper with them at 100 yards.

 

[bayoublaster7527]

Definitely worth it to me in regard to binos and spotters, if required. Buy once, cry once. In much of the west you truly hunt with your eyes. Do not regret my purchases. With rifle scopes it is a bit more unclear, need a scope to hold zero and dial (if that’s your thing) but the absolute best glass isn’t critical. You really don’t spend a ton of time looking through it. IMO.