Well I made my choice and came home from the store with Swarovski NL Pure 8x42. They cost a pretty penny, but the ergonomics are perfect! Now, I will go out and test the optics. More to come.
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Jealous? Moi?
Congratulations.
Thank you!
I spent 90 minutes looking at birds this afternoon. All I can say is wow! The Swarovskis destroy my Bushnells. The clarity, resolution and 3D effect is just stunning. I dare say they are well worth the money.
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I second the Kowa reccomendation. Great quality and unlikely to get nicked.
Good choice. Happy birding !!
Thank you!
Iāve had my Swarovskis for 17 days now. I have been out observing birds and nature almost every day. I believe they are worth the money. I canāt find anything wrong with them. For me, they are perfect!
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Iāve had a pair of Swarovski 8x30 SLC for 20 years. They cost Ā£430 back then which was my max budget. They are top quality and bomb proof. I think they have now been repaced by the CL Companions. About a year ago I treated myself to the 8.5x42 ELās which are brilliant though much larger and heavier. Are they worth more than twice the Companions? Probably not but as these will be my last bins I couldnt resist. I also have a Swarovski scope which is equally brilliant but doesnāt get the same usage which translates to not such good value. When spending these amounts of money it is vital to try them out at a dealer. Got mine from RSPB Leighton Moss and got loads of loyalty card points which I spend on bird food.
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Leica, Swarovski, and Zeiss all make great binoculars, but if Swarovski does not keep paying extreme attention to details that affect both the image and the user, they are finished. They do not make cameras or camera lenses.
Years ago, I spent an hour with a representative of one of these three companies. Which one does not matter. The point the rep was making could be paraphrased like this:
The other company makes great binoculars. We think we make slightly better binoculars, and that we can prove it, but that is not the point. The point is that a binocular is not a collection of lenses on a test bench. You pick it up, and hold it to your face. It must fit your hands and face. You should try them and buy them in person.
I canāt fault the ergonomics on my Swarovski NL Pure. For my hands, it is perfect! I donāt see how it could be better.
I doubt Swarovski ignores details that affect the user.
You might enjoy this video:
Swarovski Optik North America: A Behind the Scenes Look with Eagle Optics
Video (6 min. 53 sec.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y42S4nhHbt0
Thank you! All the vendors I communicated with said Swarovski had the best customer service, followed by Zeiss and Leica a distant 3rd.
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DanielH,
You are welcome. The video does inspire a lot of confidence.
I had wondered why Swarovski has its North American office in Cranston, Rhode Island. It probably has to due with the fact that Swarovski makes crystal glass pieces for the jewelry industry, which used to be a major part of the Rhode Island economy.
Hi,
we got a Swarovski 10 x42 EL which is just perfect both in optics and ergonomics. I was surprised how well it works under low light, like looking at the moon. Usually, I am a big Zeiss optics fan and (professionally) a very good customer of theirs, but I found the binoculars less convincing.
Also, I spent some of my youth in the Inn valley where those optics are made. Back then, I even saw the old Mr. Swarovsky, probably the son of the founder of those companies. This sentimental reason made me check out the binoculars in the first place. The first set of built-on rubber lens caps broke within the first year, but they were replaced quickly and easily.
Jorg
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Perhaps slightly outside the established cluster, I have a set of Nikon EDG 7x32 which are pretty compact and have excellent optics. Worth adding to the list to try out if you are in the market.
Peter
In my experience,
It makes no sense to pay exorbitant prices for binoculars / telescopes.
The name of the game in the observations is ROOF binoculars and the brightness and sharpness of the lenses.
There are many companies, before Swarovski was founded, that produce excellent binoculars without any need to break a savings plan. for example-
Nikon from the MONARC series
VORTEX
ZEISS ED 10X42
It makes complete sense. But in the same way as Hifi makes āsenseā - an extra bit of quality costs incrementally more. Where your budget and cost/value/quality/requirements equation ends up is always a personal thing.
I have to disagree with it having to be roof. In terms of brightness, my porros almost certainly have a higher light transmission and sharpness is right up there. They are also light to carry for long periods (a factor often overlooked). The Habicht are greatly underrated being seen as old fashioned. Although that wonāt stop me looking through some other binos including the Zeiss SF and Swarovski NL Pure range in due course. 
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I love the old Habichts. Similarly the West German Zeiss 8x30, the Leitz Binuxit and the Nikon 8x30E are superb classic Porros with such a lovely wide field of view. However the bins I tend to reach for most often in good conditions are an old pair of Leitz Trinovid 8x40Bs; they just look and feel so right.
Just stumbled across this thread. Iāve sold binoculars for 30 plus year, every brand under the sun. When you are considering a significant monetary purchase for a pair that will last until you lose them, your kids appropriate them or you pass them on in your estate this is what I always recommended (1) spend as much as you can afford, price matters (2) Donāt overbuy magnification, the higher magnification cuts down on field of view and is harder to keep from shaking (3) pick the right size for your purpose, are you walking with them or are they sitting on your back deck. My personal favorite is an 8x30 for an all around pair. Swarovski and Zeiss are hard to beat AT THE SAME PRICE POINT. Itās not fair to compare a $500 pair with a $2000 pair. Now having said all this there is a diminishing return. A $500 pair is much much better than a $100 pair, but the jump is less dramatic the higher you go, sorta like hifi. The biggest difference in expensive binoculars will be noticed during the time right before dark and after sunrise. Go to a local shop right before dark and walk outside (with the salesperson) and compare; it doesnāt do a lot of good doing it at noon. Light gathering capacity is one of the primary benefits of quality binoculars. If you buy a very expensive pair it only hurts once.
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