List of high end binos to research?

[Newtosavage]

I would never take a birder's opinion that SLCs are tier 2 glass. The ELs were designed purposefully for birding, the SLCs for hunters. That's why the focus works much quicker on the SLCs and is more fine tunable on the ELs because those people are fine tuning the focus on birds 15ft away, whereas a guy running SLCs on a tripod is covering huge amounts of country, from a hundred yards to 2 miles away. It's apples to oranges usage wise. If I had a $1500 budget I would buy a used pair of SLCs and be done with it.

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LOL.

So you don't suppose there is a reason that SLC's are half the price of the EL's?

 

[Newtosavage]

The Nikon EDGs are nice glass, but if you ever wanted to sell them there is a much smaller segment of buyers willing to pay that money for something that says Nikon.

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There are birders who have brand bias just like there are hunters who have brand bias.

 

[sneaky]

LOL.

So you don't suppose there is a reason that SLC's are half the price of the EL's?

Considering there are fewer glass elements, it's not surprising. You're fooling yourself if you think they are twice the bins than the SLCs. I'll take the ergonomics and the weight savings of the SLCs over the ELs every day of the week. You can laugh all you want.

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[Newtosavage]

Considering there are fewer glass elements, it's not surprising. You're fooling yourself if you think they are twice the bins than the SLCs. I'll take the ergonomics and the weight savings of the SLCs over the ELs every day of the week. You can laugh all you want.

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Never said they were. Things are only worth what people are willing to pay for them. I'm not willing to pay for EL's OR SLC's because I think they are overrated compared to so many $1K bins. But your enthusiasm for your cause is admirable.

 

[CatfishKev]

For sheep and wide open deer hunting I'd recomend 15s, 12s at a minimum. Out west in Coues deer country 15s have been the standard for a long time.

 

[sneaky]

Never said they were. Things are only worth what people are willing to pay for them. I'm not willing to pay for EL's OR SLC's because I think they are overrated compared to so many $1K bins. But your enthusiasm for your cause is admirable.

Not a cause, just stating the differences between them. @CorbLand did you ever sell your EDGs?

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[TheCougar]

Just save yourself a lot of time and buy either SLCs or ELs. Some guys like one over the other, but both are excellent glass that can’t be beat. Not knocking Meoptas or other near-Alpha glass, but if you’re going 90% of the way to the best glass, you might as go all the way and never regret it. The REAL question you should be asking yourself is, “self, do I want 8x or 10x Swaros?” No need to rename the thread - there’s a dozen of those threads already!!!

 

[Moose2367]

Where would the Kahles fall?

I have the RF ones and have noticed that they are very very clear, but also noticed that the right side is a lot darker than the left, which is also the same side the RF readout is in, which must be a contributing factor.

Are other RF binos the same?

 

[KurtR]

I have ran enough good enough or pretty close to stuff. there is a reason that every one compares it to swaro and for my eyes the slc is king and i will save to be done for the rest of my life

 

[Elite]

I do agree that everything is compared to Swarovski but I have not looked through the EL or SLC so it is hard to know if the extra $1000 for them is worth it vs the runner up binos? And I see the SLC does not come in a 12x I am now wondering if I should go to a 12x vs my old 10x. I seem to use my tripod and binos more then ever now with how stable and comfortable it is vs holding them


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[sneaky]

If they made a 12x SLC they'd sell a ton of them.

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[KurtR]

Ouse the bino for finding and spotter if I need to determine trophy quality. I love my cheap 10 on the tripod and looking through buddies slc ruined me

 

[bucksandwich]

Go with Swarovski SLC 15x56 and you’ll never look back. I don’t even run a spotter. If it’s that far off, I can still tell if it’s something worth going after. Then I can get closer and see details. The 15s have a way wider and brighter field of view than a spotter, and I’ve looked through Swarovski spotters too. No reason to pack the extra weight in my opinion.


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[Newtosavage]

I could have saved myself a lot of time and not bought the two pairs of SLC's I have owned.

I do agree that everything is compared to Swarovski but I have not looked through the EL or SLC so it is hard to know if the extra $1000 for them is worth it vs the runner up binos? And I see the SLC does not come in a 12x I am now wondering if I should go to a 12x vs my old 10x. I seem to use my tripod and binos more then ever now with how stable and comfortable it is vs holding them


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I know this is heresy on this forum, but I have owned two pairs of SLC HD's in the past 3 years and sold them both because, to my eyes, they didn't do anything my Zeiss Conquest HD's didn't do just as well - other than keep me anchored to the earth, which is probably good since they do lighten your wallet.

I made that determination after days of side-by-side testing, on tripods, in all sorts of conditions (rain, cold, bright sun, shade, dusk). It wasn't easy, and didn't become obvious until I was looking at bobcat whiskers at 205 yards that I could see with the Zeiss, but not the Swaros. I almost couldn't believe it, but there it was, right in front of me. No arguing that.

Remember, we all bring our own lenses to the game. Nobody can tell you what you are going to like best. That won't keep us all from trying though! People like their decisions - particularly financial decisions - to be validated. It's just human nature.

 

[elkstabber]

You are looking for Swaro SLCs if your budget is $1,500. No question. You can buy them "nearly new" for less than $1,500. I know because I recently did.

How do I know you want SLCs? Because I've owned Leupold, Nikon, Vortex, Leica, and Zeiss.

If you have a lot of time and live near where you can try a lot of different optics side by side then by all means do it. If you have to buy this and buy that in order to determine which works best for you, or if you're short on time, then just get the SLCs.

Unlike Newtosavage, my experience was the exact opposite of his. I had a pair of Zeiss Conquest 10x42 HDs and they were great, really great binoculars. I spent a lot of time behind them, on tripods and off. Then I put a buddy's SLCs next to my Conquests last year and I clearly saw the difference. We were glassing a hillside while hunting elk in Idaho and I spent several hours going back and forth on a tripod. I had never looked through SLCs before then. The sweet spot was 50% bigger. I wish that I had just bought SLCs to start with. If your budget was $1,000 then I'd recommend the Conquests. Since your budget is $1,500 I'd recommend the SLCs.

 

[Elite]

Go with Swarovski SLC 15x56 and you’ll never look back. I don’t even run a spotter. If it’s that far off, I can still tell if it’s something worth going after. Then I can get closer and see details. The 15s have a way wider and brighter field of view than a spotter, and I’ve looked through Swarovski spotters too. No reason to pack the extra weight in my opinion.


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I can see this working for some but I have to determine if a sheep is legal in my province so a spotter is a must and 15s would be overkill at home whitetail hunting in the bush


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[dcopher]

Does any one have experience with the kowa genesis? I have the kowa 883 spotter and love it so far. Also the Nikon HG and vortex razor specs also look good


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I have a pair of 10 X 42 Kowa Genesis that I bought from Doug at Cameraland. They are a bit heavy, but I would compare them very favorably to Swaro SLC's optically. My buddy has 10 X 42 SLC's, and I have went back and forth between the binos on numerous occasions. The Kowa's seem better in some regards, the Swaro's in other. The only downfall to the SLC's, and I have seen, felt, and read this many times, is that the focus wheel is not very good. I would agree 100%, it just feels cheap for a bino of this caliber. Not particularly smooth and has some slop. The focus on the Kowa is hands down much better. My wife also has a pair of Maven B1 8 X 42's that are very, very good. I would put them just a touch below my Kowa's and the SLC's, but not much. I have not done any extended glassing with the Mavens, so I can't speak to them in that regard, but they are very good so far.

 

[Newtosavage]

Unlike Newtosavage, my experience was the exact opposite of his. I had a pair of Zeiss Conquest 10x42 HDs and they were great, really great binoculars. I spent a lot of time behind them, on tripods and off. Then I put a buddy's SLCs next to my Conquests last year and I clearly saw the difference. We were glassing a hillside while hunting elk in Idaho and I spent several hours going back and forth on a tripod. I had never looked through SLCs before then. The sweet spot was 50% bigger. I wish that I had just bought SLCs to start with. If your budget was $1,000 then I'd recommend the Conquests. Since your budget is $1,500 I'd recommend the SLCs.

Not bad advice.

Aren't 1st world problems great !?!

 

[dreamingWest]

I've done the whole multi $1k+ bino, over-a-month, field test as well (thanks Cabela's and Maven).

I chose Swarovski SLC. They are a difference maker for me. If you make the right phone calls, I think you can get them brand new for $1550.

When it comes to alphas, it may be best to look through them all during low light to decide what looks best to you. They are all great, but have slightly different color representation (warm, neutral, cool). To my eyes, the SLCs are warm. During magic light, I think it's this warm representation that makes game animals "pop".

 

[Ryan Avery]

Meopta Meostar
Kowa Genesis
Nikon Monarch HG
Leica
Swarovski
Zeiss
It is our pleasure to discuss options, differences and what would be best for you. Some options are available in demos at substantial savings

I would agree with you Doug, EXCEPT for the Kowa Genesis, they are average at best. How can a company make such a great spotter and have such average bino's?

Also, don't forget the Maven B2s in this conversation.