Binos comparable to Swaro SLCs

[Trees91]

Buddy has a pair and I handled them for a bit. So light they feel like a cheap binocular until you look through them. Focus wheel easily beats the SLC but then so does the focus wheel on my wife's Bushnell Legend M's. Birders are glomming on to the SFL's if that tells anyone anything. Most of them can afford anything they want.

How are the eye cups? I have 8x32 conquest hd and the eye cups are shit.

My 12x50 el eye cups are in a whole other league.

 

[Spiral Horn]

How are the eye cups? I have 8x32 conquest hd and the eye cups are shit.

SFL eye cups are a bit more robust/refined compared to the Conquest or even the SF (the SF’s weakest feature). Been using the SFL for months now with no blackouts, kidney-beaning, or any other eye cup issues of note. Eye relief appears good and eye-placement does not appear finicky. Are they Leica-tough? Probably not, but it looks like Zeiss has improved their design.

My 12x50 el eye cups are in a whole other league

Then by all means, keep them.

 

[Newtosavage]

How are the eye cups? I have 8x32 conquest hd and the eye cups are shit.

My 12x50 el eye cups are in a whole other league.

Eye cups seemed good to me. But then I rock a pair of 8x32 Conquest HD's, so what do I know.

 

[Jac]

I bought some slc and trinivids, I still have the slc and really like them

 

[CajunNavy337]

I own(ed) numerous binoculars (just have a passion for optics), including 3x versions of SLCs. Of the Swarovskis the 42mm SLC is my hands-down favorite, very crisp and detailed view with great depth of field and exceptional handling. Not a huge fan of the focus mechanism as I find it very slow and a bit unrefined - but it isn’t a deal-breaker.

Just took a bunch of my binoculars out for a spin this morning and compared them directly with the SLCs. Taking my Zeiss SFs out of consideration as they are in a higher price bracket, I found the new Zeiss SFLs compete very well optically, are lighter, IMO handle slightly better, and have a better focuser than the SLCs. I’m not slamming the SLCs as they are still a gem and I still very much enjoy using them. But this thread is asking if there is anything in their price range that competes. To me, the SFLs are a solid “new purchase” alternative. Personally I would not buy the Kahles Helia S as it is not for sale in the USA - to be completely legal someone needs to pay the import duty, and service might be a bit complicated - not to mention it is just plain ugly.

Know there are many Maven fans here (me too). But after having multiple Maven models side-by-side with the SLC, I find the SLC view just a smidge sharper, easier, deeper. To me, the SLC is an entry-level alpha. If looking for incredible value and close to SLC performance the Mavens and Zeiss Conquest are serious contenders. IMO the new SFL is the direct competitor in the SLC’s former price range.

I just picked a pair of Zeiss victory FL 8x42. Any experience with those binos?


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[kthomas]

The Kowa's have great glass.

An excellent value when CameralandNY puts on an open box sale for $999...

 

[Spiral Horn]

I just picked a pair of Zeiss victory FL 8x42. Any experience with those binos?

I‘m a big FL fan - own an 8x32 and 10x56. Have some experience with the 42mm version and really like them - FL glass, AK prisms, and I like the feel/grip of the composite material. The 8x42 is a wonderful binocular.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Meopta Meostar B1.1 model is incredible at its price point. I actually prefer them over the SLC after using both extensively and side by side. My review/comparison is based on both models in 15x56…

The Swaros are handier, lighter, sleeker. Feel better in the hands but we are talking 15 power binos. They are almost always on a tripod. Meoptas sort of feel like a tank and aren’t “pretty” haha. They do feel more durable than the swaros.

Eye relief in the swaros is better and adjusting the cups feels crisper. Close up images on the swaros are “clearer” to my eye. Mid range to long range the edge to edge clarity favors Meopta, especially the center focused image. Crazy how clear the Meopta image is.

The natural “color” my eyes see matches closer to meoptas “warmer” image. The swaros were more “cool” with green trees and grey rocks looking much more blue in color vs what they look like to my naked eyes.

Chromatic aberration which I’m highly susceptible to is much better with the Meoptas. Not sure if it’s due to prism design or what, but the swaros didn’t relieve it anywhere near as much as meoptas do.

Low light conditions they are both fantastic with a slight edge going to Swaro to my eyes. They just feel “brighter” in low light but the image does get distorted easier than meoptas.

We are talking VERY small differences when referencing the items above. Other than CA they are near identical as far as clarity and image goes.

I would be more than happy to use either and have used both for hours and hours. Sticking with the meoptas.

 

[crich]

For the money refurbished Nikon Monarch HG is hard to beat for a lightweight 10x42. I have not looked through meopta but the kowa genesis 10.5 is great and on par or better than the slc depending on a persons eyes.

 

[bayoublaster7527]

If you could sneak in a pair of used ELs off classifieds that would be my recommendation, love mine and don’t want for other binos.

 

[Ucsdryder]

ZEISS sf10x42 used blow away anything in comparable price range…of course IMO.

 

[CajunNavy337]

Meopta Meostar B1.1 model is incredible at its price point. I actually prefer them over the SLC after using both extensively and side by side. My review/comparison is based on both models in 15x56…

The Swaros are handier, lighter, sleeker. Feel better in the hands but we are talking 15 power binos. They are almost always on a tripod. Meoptas sort of feel like a tank and aren’t “pretty” haha. They do feel more durable than the swaros.

Eye relief in the swaros is better and adjusting the cups feels crisper. Close up images on the swaros are “clearer” to my eye. Mid range to long range the edge to edge clarity favors Meopta, especially the center focused image. Crazy how clear the Meopta image is.

The natural “color” my eyes see matches closer to meoptas “warmer” image. The swaros were more “cool” with green trees and grey rocks looking much more blue in color vs what they look like to my naked eyes.

Chromatic aberration which I’m highly susceptible to is much better with the Meoptas. Not sure if it’s due to prism design or what, but the swaros didn’t relieve it anywhere near as much as meoptas do.

Low light conditions they are both fantastic with a slight edge going to Swaro to my eyes. They just feel “brighter” in low light but the image does get distorted easier than meoptas.

We are talking VERY small differences when referencing the items above. Other than CA they are near identical as far as clarity and image goes.

I would be more than happy to use either and have used both for hours and hours. Sticking with the meoptas.

The Meopta Meostar B1 perform well above their price point for sure. Similar to the conquest, but a little heavier.


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[OspreyZB]

I just picked a pair of Zeiss victory FL 8x42. Any experience with those binos?
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Excellent binoculars. The 42mm FLs are something special, packing those big bright AK prisms into a fairly lightweight and compact body. Nothing currently in production in the 42mm class can touch their 95% light transmission. The 7x42 FL is one of the only binoculars I have used that feels like it has a built in light source (along with the 8x56 SLC HD). One of the best whitetail hunting binoculars ever made.

 

[Valumpessa]

I've owned SLC's (2 pairs), Meostar HD's, Nikon Monarch HG's, Kahles, Leica Trinovid, Zeiss Conquest HD's and many more.

For my money, the Conquest HD's were the winner, even over the SLC's. But the SLC's were the only ones that made it a close competition. Meostar HD's are very nice but stupid heavy and large and the optics just don't hang with the Conquest HD's or SLC's for all-day glassing. Meopros are junk chinese bins that aren't worthy of the Meopta name IMO.

Best value IMO are Conquest HD's followed by a used pair of older model SLC's. My brother has a pair with the black and green armoring and old style diopter adjustment and they are so close to the latest pairs of SLC's it's not worth spending the extra $700 IMO.

The only edge I'd give the SLC's over the Conquest HD's is resale value. Because there are so many Swaro fanboys out there, one will always buy whatever you have.

Agree with you about Meostars being too heavy, that's why I sent them back after comparing side by side with the Meopros. I honestly could not tell a difference in clarity.
Curious about your "chinese" comment though... Aren't they both made with the same glass in Czech Republic?

 

[Newtosavage]

Agree with you about Meostars being too heavy, that's why I sent them back after comparing side by side with the Meopros. I honestly could not tell a difference in clarity.
Curious about your "chinese" comment though... Aren't they both made with the same glass in Czech Republic?

Not the Meopros. At least, not the two pairs I owned. They had so much distortion I couldn't look through them for more than a few minutes. Sent both pairs back the next day. They're not even in the same class as Razors. I'd put them on par with Chinese-made Vipers.

 

[krohboy]

Not the Meopros. At least, not the two pairs I owned. They had so much distortion I couldn't look through them for more than a few minutes. Sent both pairs back the next day. They're not even in the same class as Razors. I'd put them on par with Chinese-made Vipers.

Its worth noting there are multiple versions of the Meopro. The newer Air HD version one is suppose to be same glass as the Meostar. The older style is definitely not very high quality.

 

[Reed104R]

I have SLC's and Vortex UHD's. It's very hard for me to distinguish between the two. Both are outstanding.

 

[Lando]

Meostars are really close to the SLCs with my eyes.

Kowa Genesis 10.5s are a bit better than the SLCs, in my opinion.

 

[100 others]

I have SLC's and Vortex UHD's. It's very hard for me to distinguish between the two. Both are outstanding.

You're jumping into the smelter for saying that here, even though the RS review basically said the same. I tried out the UHD's for a hunt and my only complaint was the weight. There was no "pop" in the contrast or color but that's just a personal preference. Some of the used prices in the classifieds are a damn good deal.

 

[Reed104R]

The playing field has leveled tremendously in recent years regarding optical quality (Durability and reliablity are another subject). As others have said, it really comes down to personal preference within a particular class of optics. Years ago, I recall spending quite a bit of time comparing SLC's to Leica BN's, with the conclusion they were very close to one another. The SLC was designed as a high contrast hunting binocular with a neutral color bias that didn't always cater to bird watchers and anthophiles. Regarding color bias and edge clarity, I have always thought the Razor HD and UHD were similar to the SLC.