I could have sworn I read an article from Steve making binocular recommendations to compliment wildlife photography, but searching the forums and website topics I'm running a blank...any ideas ?
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Wasn't me.I could have sworn I read an article from Steve making binocular recommendations to compliment wildlife photography, but searching the forums and website topics I'm running a blank...any ideas ?
Interesting - the Swarovski CLs we have are similar in price to the Monarch HGs (we don't have any of the $3000 Swarovskis - even I have limits LOL). I'd love to compare the two - I need another small set for Africa (my wife has had it with me confiscating hers).If you don’t want to spend as much as top of the line Swarovski, Zeiss or Leica binocs cost, take a look at the Nikon Monarch series. There are different grades (3, 5, 7 and HG in order of increasing price, if things haven’t changed recently and my memory serves). I have a pair of 8x42 Monarch 7s that I like a lot. I also have a pair of 8x30 Monarch HGs, a bit more expensive line, that I like for travel and/or hiking. They are very good. Price performance leaders in my experience. I can tell a goldfinch from a yellow warbler with them easily. The Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology does periodic binoc reviews. Not sure how recent the most recent one is.
Svaro, Zeiss, Leica - they are that price for a reason; I have changed lenses many times over those years but my leicas are not going anywhere.
The Swarovskis are outstanding, but very pricey. However, you get what you pay for. The way I look at it, it's like buying a series of increasingly better tripods, until you finally buy the one you should have purchased in the first place. You'd be better off investing in quality up front.Wasn't me.
Although I do like my Swarovski Binos We have a couple pairs and they are absolutely excellent. Pricy, but when you need to really see detail at a distance, they are invaluable. With $100 binoculars, you see a yellow bird at a distance, with Swarovski binos of the same power, you can tell if it's a goldfinch or yellow warbler.
I have been using a pair of top of the range 10X42 Nikons for the last 20 years or so. They are still outstanding.
I thought that I would have a look at the latest Nikons and Swarovskis and tried them out side by side. I also tried out some Zeiss and Leicas, again very good but not distinctly batter than the Nikons. I also do not like the colour rendition of Leicas and Zeiss, preferring the warmth of the Nikons (I have an old pair of Trinovids). All 10X42s and all excellent but not significantly bettter than my Nikons. The Swarovski 10X52 SLCs were very good, perhaps a tad better than my old Nikons but not worth the extra money for a pretty similar performance. Considering the age of my Nikons and the recent advances in optical design and manufacturing, I think this is a huge complement to Nikon.
Then I tried out some 10X42 NL Pure Swarovski glasses. Oh dear! They are actually fairly close to witchcraft! Absolutely stunning in every respect and to put a figure on it, about 15-20% sharper and better colour rendition than my lovely Nikons - in my opinion of course! They also have a wider FOV, zero distortion and zero CA. Needless to say I bought them. I had no choice really and happily still have one kidney left!
Every time I use them, they take my breath away. Stunning! I spent several hours testing them out, as when juggling with this amount of money, you need to be very sure indeed.
My advice is, unless you have lots of money or organs to sell, do NOT try these things out. They might well ruin your life if you cannot get them! My justification for this purchase (£2,400!) is that I use them nearly every day, sometimes for many hours at a time. I do not regret buying them for one second.