- Call us: 01444 237070
- Contact Us
- Stores
- Sign In / Register
It came down to choosing these or the Leica Noctivids or Zeiss Victory SFs. Why did I choose the Swarovskis? Most importantly, lack of perceivable chromatic aberrations across the entire field of view, and, colour ACCURACY (i.e. not over compensated for by coatings, or over contrasty or colours looking too warm, cool, etc.). The colours are so much like you would see through your own eyes: that matters, a lot.
Sharpness can be measured alongside razor blades, scalpels, or sushi knives, and the combined focus and diopter dial is a pleasure to use, and quick to adjust for snapping focus. You can look at ships miles away from shore and still read the decals on the side, or the acronyms on the sail of a yacht a good couple of kilometres away HAND HELD. Brilliant.
Build is excellent, high quality, design is simple, elegant, and ergonomics are very good. I like the little details: the rotating lugs that hold the neck strap, the flush fitting integrated objective lens caps - everything does ooze quality that you get with these binos, and the lifetime warranty is reassuring. They are also light and well balanced.
But the optics are what shine, literally. The field flattening lenses ensure sharpness and clarity edge to edge, and distortion is very well controlled.
The Zeiss and Leica competition were also excellent, don't get me wrong, and at this price point, you would expect them to be. But the Leicas, for me, were just a little too contrasty for me and colours looked just a little too rich to be natural, and the Zeiss's whilst well balanced, were too long, were not as sharp at the edges as the Swaros, and I could see chromatic aberrations (albeit small, but noticeable enough). Whichever choice you make you will be impressed with all, but I do think the Swaro ELs edge the others - just
Incredibly sharp, amazing clarity, natural colours, Very little perceivable chromatic aberrations , Generous field of view, even at 10x magnification , Excellent build quality, love the FieldPro enhancements, Very well weighted focus wheel, Lockable diopter prevents pulling out by accident , Class leading eye relief, Bright image, even when the sun goes down , Excellent warranty terms, Waterproof, Birders will love these, but then so will explorers or travellers
If they had the Victory SF balance (weight shifted towards the oculars), they would be perfect, The adjustable eyecups are a bit "notchy", they could have a smoother action
