I have a pair of 8.5 ELs I bought as a demo pair and have heard good reports about the Victory HTs and decided to order a demo pair to compare. I couldn't find too much information comparing the two so I thought I'd post my thoughts here in case someone else is ever looking at these two binoculars.
I'd heard the HTs were brighter than the ELs and I'd say that's true. Today it is snowing lightly with blowing snow. I put a book on the mantle and looked at the ISBN and wording on the back cover and could discern no difference in the clarity and definition. The same is seen when looking outside. From an optical perspective, the HTs are a touch brighter but what they seem to do is brighten whites. Both views are excellent and you can't go wrong with either.
On my scale both binoculars weigh 29.7 oz. exactly. I know the specs say the HTs are lighter but not according to my scale. The HTs are marginally taller and longer. In the hand, the HTs feel lighter. The weight is centered on the focus wheel which is closer to the eyepieces. I can wrap both hands around each barrel fairly easy. It's a bit tougher to do that with the ELs as the barrels are closer together. The focus wheel on the HT feels smoother but the rubber cover is hard for me to move it one direction with one finger but it works very well with two fingers and it feels natural. The ELs are easier to focus with one finger. With both pairs the focus wheel is right there under your finger when you grip the binocular most any way.
One thing I did notice was when I was looking out the window from the couch I could see a reflection of red in the eyepiece of the HTs when the light was behind me and the eyepiece wasn't completely on my eye. There was light coming from behind me reflecting the glass coating. It wouldn't normally happen especially if you had some winged eyecups. Also, this wasn't a normal way to look through the binoculars. However, the ELs didn't exhibit this when used in the exact same way.
You can easily add a tripod mount the ELs for $55 by sending them to Outdoormans. I'm not sure what can be done on the HTs.
I will probably stick with the ELs since my other binoculars are ELs and I've not had any issues with them. I think I like the coloring of the view rather than the slightly brighter view afforded by the HTs. I can also see the .5 extra magnification. The more I play with the HTs though, the more I like them. They are less expensive and currently have a rebate as well.
I'd heard the HTs were brighter than the ELs and I'd say that's true. Today it is snowing lightly with blowing snow. I put a book on the mantle and looked at the ISBN and wording on the back cover and could discern no difference in the clarity and definition. The same is seen when looking outside. From an optical perspective, the HTs are a touch brighter but what they seem to do is brighten whites. Both views are excellent and you can't go wrong with either.
On my scale both binoculars weigh 29.7 oz. exactly. I know the specs say the HTs are lighter but not according to my scale. The HTs are marginally taller and longer. In the hand, the HTs feel lighter. The weight is centered on the focus wheel which is closer to the eyepieces. I can wrap both hands around each barrel fairly easy. It's a bit tougher to do that with the ELs as the barrels are closer together. The focus wheel on the HT feels smoother but the rubber cover is hard for me to move it one direction with one finger but it works very well with two fingers and it feels natural. The ELs are easier to focus with one finger. With both pairs the focus wheel is right there under your finger when you grip the binocular most any way.
One thing I did notice was when I was looking out the window from the couch I could see a reflection of red in the eyepiece of the HTs when the light was behind me and the eyepiece wasn't completely on my eye. There was light coming from behind me reflecting the glass coating. It wouldn't normally happen especially if you had some winged eyecups. Also, this wasn't a normal way to look through the binoculars. However, the ELs didn't exhibit this when used in the exact same way.
You can easily add a tripod mount the ELs for $55 by sending them to Outdoormans. I'm not sure what can be done on the HTs.
I will probably stick with the ELs since my other binoculars are ELs and I've not had any issues with them. I think I like the coloring of the view rather than the slightly brighter view afforded by the HTs. I can also see the .5 extra magnification. The more I play with the HTs though, the more I like them. They are less expensive and currently have a rebate as well.
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