Napperm4
WKR
$1000-$2000 difference is a bit of a loaded question. I’ve used value glass that was as good or better than higher priced glass. (Non alpha stuff)
I know what I like to my eyes after spending weeks a year behind glass for many years. That said, my brother is in the same experience and he has a completely different preference for his glass.
I’ll give an example of 2 I’ve used.
Vortex Razor HD - $999.00
Swarovski SLC - $1899.00
1. Value - I sold the razors $550, the SLC’s $1600. Big difference in retaining value for something that was the same ownership period of 2 years and was in like new condition.
2. Quality Control - I’ll put this in the context of “I’m unlucky” but the razors (honestly every optic myself or my partners have had from Vortex) had to go in for multiple warranty trips. Razors were collimation issues and internal fogging. The swaros went for cleaning.
3. Warranty - yes, vortex has a great warranty program. Doesn’t help when you need your glass for scouting / hunting and it’s away for repair. Swaro has been awesome to deal with too. I phoned to order some strap connectors I misplaced and they sent me for no charge, eyecups, objective covers, ocular covers and the strap connectors. Express whipped with the week. I’m in Canada so that’s really impressive given the customs delays. Never had an actual failure with the swarovskis.
4. Mechanics - Optics contain a lot of moving parts. Aside from glass, prisms and coatings it’s another area where the lower priced optics save money.
5. Business Model - No fault warranty means that a portion of every purchase is dedicated to replacement costs for life for every product produced. Think of how many optics are out there and the contingency fund that the company needs to survive and remain profitable. That means less dollars into the end product, materials, R&D etc to subsidize a warranty you may never personally use
6. Eye fatigue - It’s an issue even between classes in the same brand of optics (Maven, Vortex, Nikon, Zeiss, Swaro for what I’ve used) the lower class binoculars are usually less comfortable and much harder on the eyes. If you’re just picking them up for a quick look you could be and usually are fine. Spending a couple 8-10 hour days behind them and the headaches and tired eyes set in
7. Chromatic Aberration - this is something I am very sensitive to personally. It’s a fringing around what you’re looking at caused by the separation of wavelengths of different coloured light when passing through the lens elements of an optical instrument. Example, looking at an animal on a snowy peak, the target might have a yellow or purple haze around it making it harder to judge inches.
8. Glass and prism quality - a lot of the lower priced models use the same glass as their higher end cousins but it’s the glass that didn’t meet the QC standards for the “alpha” glass. Higher price usually means that the glass quality is better, more polished and differently coated.
9. Coatings - I’m sure everyone is familiar with the terms fully multi coated etc. Each company uses different coatings on different models (aside from SLC and EL to the best of my knowledge). These can also have a huge impact on the view. Some appear more neutral, more blue and more yellow. It depends on the coating for what colour of light it’s filtering. Flagship models from the big 3 are still an example of this. I prefer the neutral view, my brother prefers the contrast of a bluer view that appears brighter to him.
10. Apparent Brightness - hit a little on this in coatings but exit pupil isn’t the only determination in brightness. Coatings play a huge part also. More expensive models tend to have more elements which means further restriction for light. Better coatings and glass control that light to your pupils. Different filtering on coatings control contrast of an animal agains the background.
11. Low light performance - combine the last 2 points and you basically end up talking efficiency. How efficient is the light being transmitted to your eye. Any 10x42 has the same exit pupil of 4.2mm but not all are equal. Sometimes we are talking minutes of use but those minutes in the witching hours are most critical to how I find game.
12. Resolution - how well the binoculars allow you to view a clear and detailed image. Whether on a chart or in field use, how well can you or do you need to pick apart fine details. Also into low light - how far into dawn and dusk can you resolve those details.
13 . Useful FOV - often referred to as edge to edge clarity, how much of the actual field of view can you use. Here’s one are where you’re spending a lot for a little in performance but if you’re looking to be more effective logically the more useable image you have the the more efficient your glassing time is.
The SLC dominated the Japanese mad razor HD’s in each of these categories. When combined you’re getting a lot more for the jump from $999 to $1800
To touch on your original question a bit more paraphrased - will $2000 dollar binoculars make you a better hunter than $1000 binoculars. Not really.
You can experiment with different makes and models in the same price ranges and find something that works great. You can over come brightness and FOV by using an 8x42 or 10x50 model. You can see in the dark with an 8 x56
You can make some small sacrifices on resolution and clarity if you’re not planning to determine 1” here and there on a rack.
If you’re willing to sacrifice some compactness and weight you can get a similarity performing binocular for a lower price.
All in all - $1000 binoculars are a great investment and will cover you for decades in 95% of hunting situations.
I’ve learned through years of use that I prefer a neutral colour, high clarity and the best low light performance I can have. I want to use my glass for 7 days plus with no headaches or fatigue for hours a day. The only thing that has met my personal criteria is a flagship model from the big 3.
Completely individual choice, your eyes and style might dictate that a $1000 or less pair is adequate. I like to count nostril hairs on a bull or ram 2 miles out at midnight.
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