Upgrading from Diamondback HDs, tell me its worth it.

[cmahoney]

Your eyes won’t hurt after 30 minutes of glassing if you get some good binos.


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[cmahoney]

Don’t know what you are hunting but another option is keeping the binos you have and buy some 15’s. I glass 90% of the time with my 15’s and only use my 10’s for quick looks when I’m hiking or from a vehicle. I am mostly in the high desert though.


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[Neckbone]

I'm just being honest on what to expect. I own 10x diamondback HD's and 10x swaro SLC's. If you look through them midday you would not be able to tell one was over $1k more. Now in low light conditions.... night and day. For me it is worth it, for a buy once cry once optic that is awesome in all hunting conditions. But I would set your expectations correctly. I honestly do not understand people when they say it is night and day under all conditions. It is not... good glass proves it's worth in low light. If choosing to spend money on glass though... put it mostly towards bino's. They are undoubtedly what you will use more. I still have a sub-par scope on one of my rifles that I hunt with for nostalgia reasons. I can kill a blob through that scope... My binos make sure I know what the blob at last legal shooting light is.

This is kind of what I am expecting...not so much difference during mid-day perfect conditions.

Any insight into light artifacts? I was glassing about 30-45 degrees away from the rising sun and for a solid hour or so got some crazy glare where I had to cover my head and binos with a jacket to see at all.. Obviously try not to glass into that direction, just wondering if it would be better with higher end glass

 

[Neckbone]

Your eyes won’t hurt after 30 minutes of glassing if you get some good binos.


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Mine never have... I did have headaches in the morning each morning, but I am from Florida and was camping in over 10k feet last year..

 

[Neckbone]

Don’t know what you are hunting but another option is keeping the binos you have and buy some 15’s. I glass 90% of the time with my 15’s and only use my 10’s for quick looks when I’m hiking or from a vehicle. I am mostly in the high desert though.


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This year is Idaho mule deer. I picked up a Leupold Gold ring HD 12-40 that I will be lugging along. This will be my first time using a spotter anywhere other than the range

 

[Neckbone]

I have a pair of db’s, and a pair of comparable Zeiss to what you are looking at. Slightly diff models in both cases, but guessing they are very similar. The center 1/3 of your field of view prob wont change much except in low light. However, the periphery of the field of view—the “edge to edge clarity”—is noticeably better in the zeiss’s we have. I dont notice it so much when I see a specific thing and am trying to id what it is; however, when I am glassing looking for a “thing” in the first place, it makes it noticeably easier for my eye to pick up movement or recognize a shape that isnt centered in the field if view.

Interesting... This could be very helpful when glassing from a tripod. I often keep the binos in one spot and look all around the sight picture before panning over...if that makes sense...

 

[Neckbone]

If you have a buddy with high end glass look through it for 15 minutes. It will be the most expensive 15 minutes of borrowing you ever do lol.


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All my hunting friends are Florida tree stand hunters,,,or worse... dog runners. They wouldnt know good glass if it dropped in the beer can they are drinking out of.

 

[mxgust]

One thing to consider would be the Maven demo program. That way you can see and compare them side by side yourself. I haven't used the Zeiss, but I have the original B1 Mavens 10x42 and a pair of 8x42 diamondbacks. I'm actually pretty impressed with the vortex, I like them more than I expected too. I got them for truck binos/backups/loaners because they were very cheap but the Mavens are a world better to me. I'd echo what others have said about less than ideal lighting and edge to edge. Those areas really improve, the central resolution is better to me as well but it takes a little bit of distance for that to be noticeable. The demo program would let you try before you buy and they're pretty similar in price to the Zeiss

 

[grfox92]

Diamondbacks are TERRIBLE binoculars. You just don't know it because it's what you are currently looking through. I had diamondbacks at one time and thought I had really nice binos.

You are close to getting in price to a pair of Maven B series which many argue are better then the Conquest line.



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[has530]

This is kind of what I am expecting...not so much difference during mid-day perfect conditions.

Any insight into light artifacts? I was glassing about 30-45 degrees away from the rising sun and for a solid hour or so got some crazy glare where I had to cover my head and binos with a jacket to see at all.. Obviously try not to glass into that direction, just wondering if it would be better with higher end glass

I would disagree. I had diamondback HDs and found them to have very high chromatic abberation, a slight tinge to the color, and poor contrast. I think even just stepping up to the $500 price point will give you a noticable improvement in mid day perfect conditions.

Glare is one of those things that does not necessarily scale with price. The meopta meostars handle glare as well as anything I've used and I've never had a leica with glare problems (the noctivids are particularly exceptional). Then on the other hand I found the NLs too have unusable amounts of glare in some light conditions. I sold my conquest HDs a while back and don't remember their performance with glare.

 

[Gone4Days]

I would disagree. I had diamondback HDs and found them to have very high chromatic abberation, a slight tinge to the color, and poor contrast. I think even just stepping up to the $500 price point will give you a noticable improvement in mid day perfect conditions.

Glare is one of those things that does not necessarily scale with price. The meopta meostars handle glare as well as anything I've used and I've never had a leica with glare problems (the noctivids are particularly exceptional). Then on the other hand I found the NLs too have unusable amounts of glare in some light conditions. I sold my conquest HDs a while back and don't remember their performance with glare.

not to mention, edge to edge clarity as well.

 

[Spiral Horn]

The mid-priced segment presents quite a few very good options these days. That’s a good thing, but folks often agonize over trying to find a clear winner from this lineup. I also noticed the prices are beginning to creep up, with many going for over $1k. At $870 the Conquest HD 10x42 are a great buy that will be a noticeable step up from the Diamondbacks. There are other options but the Conquests are not likely to disappoint.

 

[Marble]

I was wondering about this....at what point do you hit diminishing returns with your money

I bought several $200-$400 binos in 30 years. Had I bought my SLCs 20 years ago, I would have saved a bunch of money.

The difference is like comparing a TV from the 90s to current day versions. Everything is better. Not just low light, but in all light and all conditions. Save your money and buy the best you can. If you think you will be hunting or West for years to come, consider it an investment.

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[Marshfly]

I went from Diamondback 10x50s to Swaro EL 10x42s. Holy F!! Looking through the DBs makes you think something is wrong with them after looking through the ELs. No matter the time of day or sun situation.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

I have zeiss victory sf binos, just got some diamondbacks for my kids (5/7). They're horrible in comparison, but usable if you never look through anything better.

 

[Neckbone]

I have zeiss victory sf binos, just got some diamondbacks for my kids (5/7). They're horrible in comparison, but usable if you never look through anything better.

At that price they better be WAAAAAAY better!!

 

[Neckbone]

I went from Diamondback 10x50s to Swaro EL 10x42s. Holy F!! Looking through the DBs makes you think something is wrong with them after looking through the ELs. No matter the time of day or sun situation.

Like going from a ford escort to a rolls....

 

[Neckbone]

The mid-priced segment presents quite a few very good options these days. That’s a good thing, but folks often agonize over trying to find a clear winner from this lineup. I also noticed the prices are beginning to creep up, with many going for over $1k. At $870 the Conquest HD 10x42 are a great buy that will be a noticeable step up from the Diamondbacks. There are other options but the Conquests are not likely to disappoint.

I think thats the way im leaning... unless I can find a nice pair of used SLC for $1k. May me tough to find tho

 

[Neckbone]

I would disagree. I had diamondback HDs and found them to have very high chromatic abberation, a slight tinge to the color, and poor contrast. I think even just stepping up to the $500 price point will give you a noticable improvement in mid day perfect conditions.

Glare is one of those things that does not necessarily scale with price. The meopta meostars handle glare as well as anything I've used and I've never had a leica with glare problems (the noctivids are particularly exceptional). Then on the other hand I found the NLs too have unusable amounts of glare in some light conditions. I sold my conquest HDs a while back and don't remember their performance with glare.

I just have nothing to compare the Diamondbacks to... Just going to have to pull thr trigger and see for myself i guess

 

[Neckbone]

Diamondbacks are TERRIBLE binoculars. You just don't know it because it's what you are currently looking through. I had diamondbacks at one time and thought I had really nice binos.

You are close to getting in price to a pair of Maven B series which many argue are better then the Conquest line.



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Maven B 1.2 are $130 more on amazon..