Zeiss HT 10x42 showed up

[bighouse31]

I have spent time looking through most of these myself both Zeiss, both Swaros, vortex razor and the meoptas HD which are the same as the Cabelas Euro HD. I settled on the Swaro SLC HD. The Cabelas Euro HD or Meoptas are pretty amazing glass for the price and the warranty from Cabelas is lifetime. They are a tad heavy but I thought the quality was much better than the Vortex Razor

 

[Aron Snyder]

I have spent time looking through most of these myself both Zeiss, both Swaros, vortex razor and the meoptas HD which are the same as the Cabelas Euro HD. I settled on the Swaro SLC HD. The Cabelas Euro HD or Meoptas are pretty amazing glass for the price and the warranty from Cabelas is lifetime. They are a tad heavy but I thought the quality was much better than the Vortex Razor

What did you think of the new HT's?

 

[Wrench77]

Aron I just picked up a pair of Nikon Monarch 7's that I'd like to compare to the vipers and the models in the $1000 range. Any chance I could tag along sometime for one of the comparisons? I might return the 7's and go with something in the $1000 range if there really is a big difference. I've never looked through any high end glass and I'd like to see what I'm missing.

 

[Aron Snyder]

Aron I just picked up a pair of Nikon Monarch 7's that I'd like to compare to the vipers and the models in the $1000 range. Any chance I could tag along sometime for one of the comparisons? I might return the 7's and go with something in the $1000 range if there really is a big difference. I've never looked through any high end glass and I'd like to see what I'm missing.

Anytime.... tomorrow is fine.

 

[Lost Arra]

Aron: I asked about the Conquest HD comparison because your video on the Conquest seemed very positive about them. I was just wanting to see what doubling the price for the HT's provided.

 

[Lost Arra]

Aron I just picked up a pair of Nikon Monarch 7's that I'd like to compare to the vipers and the models in the $1000 range. Any chance I could tag along sometime for one of the comparisons? I might return the 7's and go with something in the $1000 range if there really is a big difference. I've never looked through any high end glass and I'd like to see what I'm missing.

Wrench: keep us updated on the Monarch 7. I think they are under the radar because the Monarch 3-5-X were upgrade duds from the original Monarch ATB (which I think has been on more successful deer and elk hunts than any alpha glass model)
7's are light, wide field of view and 3 non-res elk tags less in price than the Zeiss HT's.

 

[Aron Snyder]

Aron: I asked about the Conquest HD comparison because your video on the Conquest seemed very positive about them. I was just wanting to see what doubling the price for the HT's provided.

I gotcha man, but I had to send them back a while ago.

 

[AGPank]

Was the field of view on the Meopta noticeably less vs. the Razor? I think it is like 330' vs 360'.

I'm really pleased with my Razor spotter and if the binoculars are in that category, I can't imagine going wrong with them. The Meopta's are a little less $ and they too offer a lifetime transferable warranty.

 

[ElkNut1]

Well I might as well add to this thread seeing how various Optics have been compared with so far. I had the opportunity to compare the Razor HD , Swarovision & Swaro SLC HD all in 10X42. This was done for aprox an hour as three of us went back & forth comparing these Optics. I was surprised at the findings. All were hand held during the comparison. The time of day was 11am till 12 noon. I knew Aron had already posted early morning & evening comparisons with these 3 a couple months back so I picked a different time of day. Here's what we all saw.

At first glance getting used to them & their individual feel all appeared very nice & there were no losers, any of these would be an aid in ones hunts. As we started getting the feel for the 3 one thing stood out quickly, the SLC HD has a haziness around the perimeter of the glass & it was noticed by all 3. We picked out a vehicle at aprox 100yds & centered the rig in each optic then concentrated on the license plate at the bottom of the glass, the Razor HD has a very slight haze at extreme edges, you really had to stare hard to see it as it was so slight. The SLC HD was very noticeable & blurred at the edges enough to distort the plate to almost unreadable, the Swarovision had no haze at all. We then moved the distance out to aprox 1/4 mile & repeated the process. The Swarovision was best but not by much over the Razor HD, the SLC HD was in 3rd, it maintained that haze no matter the distance. If you have an SLC HD please try this test & let us know what you see?

I believe this is right in line with Arons original reviews with these optics. I do not recall though him mentioning the haze on the SLC HD's perimeter?

ElkNut1

 

[Wrench77]

Aron I sent you a pm also. I am available anytime tomorrow after 1:00 if that works for you. If your going in the morning I'll have to come another time. Let me know. Thanks Jake

 

[Aron Snyder]

Aron I sent you a pm also. I am available anytime tomorrow after 1:00 if that works for you. If your going in the morning I'll have to come another time. Let me know. Thanks Jake

I'll let you know tomorrow...

 

[bighouse31]

On the HT's I had a hard time getting both eyes to focus properly found it it hard to get the diopter to set perfect so that both eyes were in perfect focus. Of the Zeiss and Swaro I liked them in this order. Slc, FL, EL, HT

 

[Ryan Avery]

Paul, I have looked through two different pairs of Swaro SLC HD. I haven't seen the haze you are talking about. In fact the SLC HDs are the best glass I have looked through including the ELs and FLs. I haven't looked through the HTs yet. But I would really like to own the SLC HDs. But in the end all eyes are different so go with what your eyes tell you.

 

[ElkNut1]

Ryan, dang! Now you're going to make me go find a different pair! (grin) We looked through a brand new pair (3 of us) & all saw same distortion around the entire perimeter. The Swarovision & Razor HD was much better than the SLC HD's. Hard to believe that all the SLC models wouldn't be the same! I will find another pair & check them out again. Thanks for your response bud!

ElkNut1

 

[Matt Cashell]

I have used the SLC HDs. I didn't notice much edge softness. I think what may be happening is that there is some field curvature, as the SLC HDs do not have a field flattener. You may be able to use the focus knob and alleviate the softness you are seeing on the edge, Paul.


The new ELs do have a field flattener (They market it as "Swarovision"), and I believe the newest Razors do as well, so curvature is not prevalent in either, and pretty much eliminated in the EL. Distortion is also eliminated in the EL, and some folks don't care for that.

These features are really important to people if they glass staring at the edge, rather than the center.

 

[Aron Snyder]

What's your favorite, Matt (out of everything you've looked at)?

 

[Matt Cashell]

Tough call there, Aron.

With no budget, the SLC HD springs to mind because the image is awesome, it is about the right weight, and ergonomically it agrees with me the best.

I would also put the Nikon EDG up there. Theres a top glass we don't discuss as much as we should.

When all factors (including price, warranty, etc.) are considered it is an easy choice: The Meopta Meostar HD. It is a bit heavy and "chunky," but the image is very very similar to the SLC HD. Outstanding optic.

I am one of the few people that find the Swarovision ELs too distortion-free, and I notice rolling ball when panning with them. For a stationary image though, they are top of the heap.

I have not had meaningfull time with the newest Razor HDs or the Zeiss HTs. The transmission numbers on the HTs are off the charts though. I bet they are bright buggers.

 

[big10hunter]

Wh don't Leicas get much press in here?

 

[ElkNut1]

Matt, thanks for the explanation as well. We did focus & re-focus trying to eliminate the distortion, it was there no matter our efforts to soften it. When panning with them it was as noticeable as not panning with them. I will say my eyes aren't the best but with 2 others seeing the same I knew I wasn't seeing things ! (grin) I will check out another pair of them. Thanks.

ElkNut1

 

[AGPank]

I have a couple pair on the list; a SLC HD (8x42) and SLC Neu 10x42. I use the 8x42 for hunting, the wide field of view (408') are best in in class. Most of my hunting is in heavy cover and archery so I'm closer by the nature of the hunt, but I'm still able to see good detail the few places where I can scan distances. The weight is reasonable (lighter the the SLC 28 vs 31 oz) and they balance great, I really like the ergonomics. I'm very pleased with the image and natural color from the binoculars. I really like the usable field of view, I do see some distortion at the very edge of the optic, I don't know if this is the pincushion or what the correct term is. You can see if only if you look really hard for it and quite honestly it's uncomfortable to try to look at this, so I don't consider it a flaw. I really like the twist up eye cups over the SLC, as they have more eye relief and better click adjustments. I also prefer the the diopter adjustment on this pair vs. the SLC. The focus is a little stiff, but maybe this is because of limited use, the SLC focus adjustment is smoother. These seem to have a better depth of view that doesn't require constant adjustment, but maybe this is better at 8x vs 10x?

The SLC Neu are excellent too. I use these for use at the archery range. The extra magnification helps pick up arrows and lines out past 40 yards better than the 8x. I'm not crazy about the diopter adjustment, because it seems easier to bump out of place. The eye relief works well for me, but I prefer the HD. The image quality between both of these is very similar and I'm not sure if I can tell them apart. Both have the slight distortion at the very perimeter of the view, but I'm not sure who really uses this, it give me a headache to even try to look through them at the far edge. To me the large useable FOV is what is important.

That being said, I've considered selling them to try the new Razor HD. I like the wider FOV and lighter weight, but I haven't seen these in person so I'm hesitant. I also really like the reviews of the Meopta Meostar HD. The weight and FOV are similar to the SLC, so again it would just depend on what I gain in the HD glass edge. I think the Swarovski may retain their value better than the Razor and Meopta too. My SLC's are a 2010 model and I've seen 2003 models still sell for $900+.