Swarovski 12x50 ELs Vs 12x42 NLs

[Ryan Avery]

@Matt Cashell will be doing a review comparing these two binoculars.

***Update 11/15/20*** Matt's review is available here.

Matt will be way more technical than I am but I have been using the 12 ELs for the last five years and had the 12 NLs on a recent mule deer hunt. Here are a few things I notice. The NLs FOV is WIDE and usable to the very edge, it's almost too much. You will instantly fall in love with the ergonomics and size of these binoculars, they just fit, making it much easier to handhold over the 12 ELs. The 12 NLs do seem to be a little more eye box critical than the 12 ELs. I also think the 12 ELs might give you a little more low light performance. That would be expecting with a 50mm objective. But not enough to matter in hunting scenarios. I didn't have the forehead rest. I will try to get that for Matt's review.

I believe the bigger the usable FOV the more animals you spot. The 12 NLs give you 39' more at 1000 yards or the 12 ELs.

10x42 ELs vs 12x42 NLs

The outdoorsman’s stud screws in.

It helps you find good bucks.

 

[KChunter71]

I want a set of EL's bad

 

[Tartan]

@Ryan Avery does the wider field of view make it easier to hand hold, or is that purely affected by magnification?

should be able to get my first set of top tier glass soon. The 12NL’s seem like a perfect set for out west on the tripod, but if I’m dropping that dime, I’m gonna want to use them around here for whitetail as well. Debating between the 12s and 10s.

 

[100percent]

I want a set of EL's bad

How bad???

 

[robby denning]

@Matt Cashell will be doing a review comparing these two binoculars.

Matt will be way more technical than I am but I have been using the 12 ELs for the last five years and had the 12 NLs on a recent mule deer hunt. Here are a few things I notice. The NLs FOV is WIDE and usable to the very edge, it's almost too much. You will instantly fall in love with the ergonomics and size of these binoculars, they just fit, making it much easier to handhold over the 12 ELs. The 12 NLs do seem to be a little more eye box critical than the 12 ELs. I also think the 12 ELs might give you a little more low light performance. That would be expecting with a 50mm objective. But not enough to matter in hunting scenarios. I didn't have the forehead rest. I will try to get that for Matt's review.

I believe the bigger the usable FOV the more animals you spot. The 12 NLs give you 39' more at 1000 yards or the 12 ELs.

10x42 ELs vs 12x42 NLs

The outdoorsman’s stud screws in.

It helps you find good bucks.

Good feedback, thanks man


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Sako300]

Is 13 yards FOV at a 1000 yards on paper going to make you spot more game? Is the 13 yard increase at a 1000 yards the same distance for every human eye? Just curious how they get these numbers? I have seen other binoculars, including alpha binos, on YouTube where guys measured at a 1000 yards FOV, and got different numbers, a lot less FOV then advertised. I like having the better light gathering capability since I pan and tilt smoothly across with a tripod to see! I also like the high magnification of 15xs to spot antlers of animals over 1,000 yards!

 

[Ryan Avery]

Is 13 yards FOV at a 1000 yards on paper going to make you spot more game? Is the 13 yard increase at a 1000 yards the same distance for every human eye? Just curious how they get these numbers? I have seen other binoculars, including alpha binos, on YouTube where guys measured at a 1000 yards FOV, and got different numbers, a lot less FOV then advertised. I like having the better light gathering capability since I pan and tilt smoothly across with a tripod to see! I also like the high magnification of 15xs to spot antlers of animals over 1,000 yards!

I have yet to find an animal, antler, or leg that I couldn't spot with the 12 ELs that I could with the 15 SLCs when comparing them. I can also carry the 12 around and use them as my only binocular, with the 15 I need other binoculars. But that's a personal deal. The 15s are pointless to me.

As for the FOV I use my eyes to determine it's bigger than the 12x50s, not hard. Is it exactly what Swarovski claims.. don't know, don't care. But I bet Swaro will be close.

I don't think you would be disappointed in the light gather of the 12 NLs compared to the 15s

 

[Ryan Avery]

@Ryan Avery does the wider field of view make it easier to hand hold, or is that purely affected by magnification?

should be able to get my first set of top tier glass soon. The 12NL’s seem like a perfect set for out west on the tripod, but if I’m dropping that dime, I’m gonna want to use them around here for whitetail as well. Debating between the 12s and 10s.

Its the magnification. The NL's are easier to handhold because of there ergonomic and balance. But if you are shaky with the ELs, you will have the same problem. I used the 8 NLs with the headrest. I think it will help with handholding the 12s a lot.

 

[Mule3006Elk]

12s with 339 FOV or 10s with 399 FOV? Tough one for me. SMH

 

[Sako300]

A couple years back, I was hunting elk in Az with an outfitter on a unit 10 late bull hunt 2018. I have ran 12x50 els for 5 years now and will agree on them being the ultimate 1 binocular, do most of it all! The part at least I can’t fathom is that you can spot everything with the 12x that you can with a 15x. At least with my eyes! It was a real tough hunt. Glassing was essential! My outfitter has a pair of 15x hd slc on a tripod and I glassed with the 12x EL on a tripod. 3 hours into dissecting the mountain side, he was able to pick up the antlers of a broken bull laying down in a bush which I ended up harvesting. Point being, I tried and tried to make the antlers up in the shaded juniper to no avail! I knew where he was laying by staring at my outfitters 15xs! Finally, I brought out the spotter and confirmed it was a old, nice bull. Point being, with my eyes, I would have never seen those antlers at 1300 yards with my setup. Looking at Clay Bundy only carrying 15 slc HD’s guiding and harvesting some of the biggest mule deer in the world! Maybe he finds them easier? Maybe he can score better, or identify deer he has seen. I just think with all the new Bino harness’s on the market that compensate weight of optics and the advantage of a more detailed image at longer range. Also, field scoring points at same time. Time is of essence! This conversation can go either way! I think it comes down to personal eyes. But the NL are the closest to being the best all in one Bino!

 

[coues32]

I had a hard time seeing the extra power on the older 15slc 1st year production compared to 12 els, with the 15hds that I have now can see the power more but the view is still better with 12 els with my eyes.
I prefer the 85mm btx over the 95mm btx the 5x extra doesn't resolve as well as 30x for me and a few others.

I hand hold 12 els well enough thats all I pack.
Waiting on the NL 12s to ship like others
If they are close to the 12els optically I will be tickled with the 6 oz savings and the headrest

 

[Mule3006Elk]

Cabelas not listing NLs yet. I do have some points to burn. I can't think of a better way to burn them.

 

[Ryan Avery]

A couple years back, I was hunting elk in Az with an outfitter on a unit 10 late bull hunt 2018. I have ran 12x50 els for 5 years now and will agree on them being the ultimate 1 binocular, do most of it all! The part at least I can’t fathom is that you can spot everything with the 12x that you can with a 15x. At least with my eyes! It was a real tough hunt. Glassing was essential! My outfitter has a pair of 15x hd slc on a tripod and I glassed with the 12x EL on a tripod. 3 hours into dissecting the mountain side, he was able to pick up the antlers of a broken bull laying down in a bush which I ended up harvesting. Point being, I tried and tried to make the antlers up in the shaded juniper to no avail! I knew where he was laying by staring at my outfitters 15xs! Finally, I brought out the spotter and confirmed it was a old, nice bull. Point being, with my eyes, I would have never seen those antlers at 1300 yards with my setup. Looking at Clay Bundy only carrying 15 slc HD’s guiding and harvesting some of the biggest mule deer in the world! Maybe he finds them easier? Maybe he can score better, or identify deer he has seen. I just think with all the new Bino harness’s on the market that compensate weight of optics and the advantage of a more detailed image at longer range. Also, field scoring points at same time. Time is of essence! This conversation can go either way! I think it comes down to personal eyes. But the NL are the closest to being the best all in one Bino!

You are 100% correct. We bring our own lenses(eyes) to the party. I was invited to the FTW ranch a few years back. We had all of Swaro's gadgets at our disposal and they had just introduced the BTX. The group was out shooting and someone spotted a few blackbucks bedded way out around 2000 yards. It was funny to watch different people try and spot the bucks. Some could easily see them with the 12s, some needed the 15s others needed a spotter.

I am not trying to belittle anyone for there method of glassing. Use what works best for your style of hunting.

 

[cbeard64]

The thing that sold me on ordering the NLs was the apparently over-the-top edge to edge image quality that each reviewer raves about compared specifically to even other Swaro models.

Couple that with a 20% increase in FOV over the other models and that seems like quantum leap forward in optical performance to me.

The 12x appears to have every of advantage the older versions of the 10x42s (similar FOV, better ergonomics to allow steady handholding at the higher magnification) and the 15x50s (better clarity that more than makes up for the loss of 3x in magnification and larger objective).

So you gain exceptional clarity and FOV over the others and lose very little, if anything, over either. Two for one.

That’s a game-changer.

 

[RosinBag]

Field of view will change with every user, it will also change on where you set the eye cups in relation to the glass. The further away or turned out, the lower the field of view. So if you wear glasses and turn them all the way out your fired if view is diminished compared to screwed all the way in.

With that, the 12 El’s I can’t seem to think can be beat at 50mm over the 42 mm on the new ones. As far as edge to edge, my 12’s are as good as the human eye can see edge to edge, or at least my human eye.

 

[JGRaider]

I think the guys believing the new NL will make them a better hunter or game spotter will be in for disappointment. Yes, the NL's will likely be optically superior (slightly, I mean, how much better can glass get/), but not earth shatteringly so. If you can't see it through an SV, you won't be able to magically see it with an NL either. BTW, I am a huge Swaro fan, but also a realist.

 

[cbeard64]

Better optics don’t make one a better hunter. I don’t think anyone has made that claim.

Better optics do make one a better game spotter. If you don’t believe that, try hunting with Tascos off the Wal Mart rack vs. Swaros for a season and see how that works out.

 

[Brian Fahs]

On the bright side, look at the opportunity now to get into the now " inferior" el and slc lines at a reduced price. This is a win win for hunters who now can get into the swarovski line who might not have been able to afford it before.

 

[JGRaider]

Better optics don’t make one a better hunter. I don’t think anyone has made that claim.

Better optics do make one a better game spotter. If you don’t believe that, try hunting with Tascos off the Wal Mart rack vs. Swaros for a season and see how that works out.

I've owned many alpha binoculars, and up until a coule of years ago had looked through and compared, on tripods, most all of the alpha's made when hunters would come into our camps. Obviously I wasn't referring to a "Tasco" or equivilent glass. As matter of fact, you won't find animals any better with a $3k glass than you will a $1000 glass nowadays., or many of the $750 class glass. They're too good. I don't blame a guy for wanting the best if that's what he wants, you just need to have realistic expectations.

I'm skeptical how anything can be that much better than a 10x50 SV.

 

[cbeard64]

Look at the video review of an (admittedly) older model Swaro 10x50 vs. the NLs. The difference is astounding. Read the reviews from all across disciplines comparing the SLCs/ELs to the NLs and noting the significant improvements over them. I’ve been researching optics and reading forums for almost 30 years and have not seen such gushing reviews for an optics product across the board as for the NLs.

No one is saying that one cannot get good glass that will serve your needs well for hunting over a lifetime for 1K, but to say you won’t find animals better with better glass is simply “sour grapes” - pure and simple.