Image stabilizing binos vs Alpha Glass?

[SikaSeeker]

Because they are 10x they are very stable best I have used so far. Then its kind of cheating with low mag. Heard great things about newer fujinons. Ive used the older techno stabi 14 x 40 and its just not optically outstanding.

 

[Alpine4x4]

My setup for a while was NL in 8 and 12 and the STC and STX spotters.

I sold all of it and now have the Zulu in 10 and 14 and the Oscar spotter on the way.

No, the glass is not even in the same league. But the image stabilization makes that a moot point for me. They are far more useable and I shed a ton of pack weight.

When I’m in thick timber, I’m not going to pull out a tripod every time I stop so I used the 8’s and try to keep them as shake free as possible. But with the I.S. It’s a non issue. I see more with lower glass quality that’s perfectly stable than I did with crystal clear shake. Easier to spot movement and not wonder if it’s just me.

Plus I bought my entire kit for what I sold one and a half pairs of binos for.

The rest bought me new bows this year.

How are the 10s? I'm really thinking hard about getting some now. Low light performance good enough?

Canons were better to my eye vs swaro EL of same mag. Canon L glass is used in their top of the line long lenses that cost 10k. The weight is an issue but they are generally nice to use, the eyecups a bit meh

I run Canon L glass on my camera, its superb, but the weight of those 10s if extremely off putting. Heres to hoping maybe Swaro will hear the call and give us a lighter weight ergonomic 10x with IS soon.

 

[SikaSeeker]

Theyre 300g heavier than NLs. If you can test them and you will have an idea. Not sure how many hunters use them but they should be robust enough.

 

[Alpine4x4]

Theyre 300g heavier than NLs. If you can test them and you will have an idea. Not sure how many hunters use them but they should be robust enough.

I dont doubt the robustness, my L glass is phenomenal in the field and quite sturdy. 300g is a significant weight increase though. They're essentially double the weight of the Sigs at over 2lbs. Pretty significant.

 

[nphunter]

I ended up picking up a set of 20X Zulu's for work. I took them on a few hunts this fall, most recently Idaho late deer. IMO the stabilization doesn't even come close to making up for the poor glass. We were watching a group of bulls at maybe a mile in late Oct. we couldn't tell if he was a 5 or six point at that range, only a branch bull. I pulled out the NL14's and tripod to glass and could see exactly what the bull was at that distance even though they had 6X less zoom.

I found the same on my Idaho deer hunt, unless I was on my motorcycle or driving the pickup and wanted to take a quick look the sigs didn't get used. I still very much prefer my NL8's and 14's. The stabilization is need and I may eventually pick up something else like the Swaro spotter, but for now, the NL's are staying and the Zulu's will stay on the dash of my work pickup. I do think they are cool binos; however, the poor FOV and poor-quality glass just don't cut it for me. Even in the wind I was able to sit down and glass with the 14's and tripod and see so much more than with the Zulu, for sitting and glassing they are not even comparable.

I did like the ability to cut weight on short hikes or riding the motorcycle, I still kept my NL8's on my chest and tossed the Zulu's in the lid of my pack. It was nice to be able to not carry the tripod and still be able to take a little closer look with the Zulu's.

There were many times on the trip when I had to grab either the spotter or 14's to tell if a buck was a shooter or not after looking at them with the Zulu's, if I was just after any deer they would have been fine.

 

[Sully_44]

I ended up picking up a set of 20X Zulu's for work. I took them on a few hunts this fall, most recently Idaho late deer. IMO the stabilization doesn't even come close to making up for the poor glass. We were watching a group of bulls at maybe a mile in late Oct. we couldn't tell if he was a 5 or six point at that range, only a branch bull. I pulled out the NL14's and tripod to glass and could see exactly what the bull was at that distance even though they had 6X less zoom.

I found the same on my Idaho deer hunt, unless I was on my motorcycle or driving the pickup and wanted to take a quick look the sigs didn't get used. I still very much prefer my NL8's and 14's. The stabilization is need and I may eventually pick up something else like the Swaro spotter, but for now, the NL's are staying and the Zulu's will stay on the dash of my work pickup. I do think they are cool binos; however, the poor FOV and poor-quality glass just don't cut it for me. Even in the wind I was able to sit down and glass with the 14's and tripod and see so much more than with the Zulu, for sitting and glassing they are not even comparable.

I did like the ability to cut weight on short hikes or riding the motorcycle, I still kept my NL8's on my chest and tossed the Zulu's in the lid of my pack. It was nice to be able to not carry the tripod and still be able to take a little closer look with the Zulu's.

There were many times on the trip when I had to grab either the spotter or 14's to tell if a buck was a shooter or not after looking at them with the Zulu's, if I was just after any deer they would have been fine.

I’m not arguing with you at all, but I’ve noticed pretty much everyone I know that got the 20s over the 12s or 16s hate their performance. For me the 16s are the sweet spot of brightness and zoom. Is there something to be desired for the glass quality still in the 16s? Sure. But not bad enough that their performance sucks. They (16s) are invaluable for quick glances while hiking or driving.

 

[nphunter]

I’m not arguing with you at all, but I’ve noticed pretty much everyone I know that got the 20s over the 12s or 16s hate their performance. For me the 16s are the sweet spot of brightness and zoom. Is there something to be desired for the glass quality still in the 16s? Sure. But not bad enough that their performance sucks. They (16s) are invaluable for quick glances while hiking or driving.

I wanted something that would have enough power that it made sense to carry instead of a small spotter and tripod. 16's might have been a better choice, I think the sig's zoom is way off, I don't feel like the 20's have any more zoom than my NL14's when looking side by side, I cannot tell the 6X difference. Maybe because there is so much more detail with the NL?

I will always have my 8x32's on my chest for the hugh FOV and great image, so the Sig really only came out to look at things further than the 8's could see, which wasn't often. No way anything could get me to give up the FOV of the 8's, I feel like I can see everything on the mtn with them and they are small and light enough they don't need stabilization to be steady.

 

[SikaSeeker]

Yup 20x is too ambitious for 42mm. Even 16x is pushing it.

In the Canon 15x50 and 18x 50 the 15x is clearly better.

 

[Ryan Avery]

The 20 suck!

I have the 14x50 and used them far more than my NL14 this year. You just glass more efficient more often with the IS binos.

Come on Swaro lets see some IS binos in 26.