The best 15x binos

[JRS3]

I bought Swaro 15s this past year and have enjoyed them. I got them used but couldn’t tell it by the looks, as they appear like new. I saved $600 by doing this so keep a lookout after season on forums and reputable Swaro dealers. I verified with Swarovski ahead of time they were legit ( think car fax) with service issues then when I received them, added them to my list of products with Swaro for future reference. Swarovski was very nice to deal with in multiple conversations.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

I have the Leupolds and have looked side by side with some Mavens and Swaros. The leupolds are really really good - not sure you’ll get much of a noticeable difference with the others. You are going to have to step up to NLs and they only have 12’s.

 

[MTWop]

I have the meoptas and buddy has SLC’s. The swaros have better eye relief and were just slightly brighter in low light. Otherwise the same IMO

 

[TrackerG]

I have the Leupolds and have looked side by side with some Mavens and Swaros. The leupolds are really really good - not sure you’ll get much of a noticeable difference with the others. You are going to have to step up to NLs and they only have 12’s.

I currently have the Leupolds. Great binos but the resolution is no where near European glass

 

[alaska_bou]

You really have to compare optics side by side at the same time, during daylight and at dusk, and each on a separate tripod, to really see and appreciate the differences. Once you notice the differences, it is hard to ignore them, for me at least. Quite a few people who think their lower-end optics are "just as clear" don't know what they are missing until you can point out CA, depth of field, edge clarity, pin cushion, eye relief, FOV, etc. Not everyone needs top-tier glass, but if you want the best it is nice to actually see and experience the differences between models rather than trying to rely on memory or a reviewer's opinion.

Right now, I have the 15x swaros, and I do think they are the best you can currently go with, but I have owned a number of different brands. The Meoptas are a good choice, but I think there are subtle differences optic snobs will notice. Are you going to miss a coues deer opportunity because you went with meopta over the swaro? No, probably not. The zeiss have too many flaws, as do the mavens. I owned both at one time. The leupold should not be in the discussion. Rumor has it swaro has a new 15 in the pipeline, so you should be seeing some current models hit the used market soon. Whatever you do, I would either buy through at a discounted price (if you can) that you can resell without a loss (direct through a guide or pro price at a 20% or 30% disc) or buy through a retailer that allows free returns. You don't want to be stuck paying retail with optics you are not happy with. Buy two or three pairs if you can and keep what you personally like the most because it really will come down to personal preference. You will not regret the extra cost over years of happy use.

 

[TrackerG]

You really have to compare optics side by side at the same time, during daylight and at dusk, and each on a separate tripod, to really see and appreciate the differences. Once you notice the differences, it is hard to ignore them, for me at least. Quite a few people who think their lower-end optics are "just as clear" don't know what they are missing until you can point out CA, depth of field, edge clarity, pin cushion, eye relief, FOV, etc. Not everyone needs top-tier glass, but if you want the best it is nice to actually see and experience the differences between models rather than trying to rely on memory or a reviewer's opinion.

Right now, I have the 15x swaros, and I do think they are the best you can currently go with, but I have owned a number of different brands. The Meoptas are a good choice, but I think there are subtle differences optic snobs will notice. Are you going to miss a coues deer opportunity because you went with meopta over the swaro? No, probably not. The zeiss have too many flaws, as do the mavens. I owned both at one time. The leupold should not be in the discussion. Rumor has it swaro has a new 15 in the pipeline, so you should be seeing some current models hit the used market soon. Whatever you do, I would either buy through at a discounted price (if you can) that you can resell without a loss (direct through a guide or pro price at a 20% or 30% disc) or buy through a retailer that allows free returns. You don't want to be stuck paying retail with optics you are not happy with. Buy two or three pairs if you can and keep what you personally like the most because it really will come down to personal preference. You will not regret the extra cost over years of happy use.

Great advice, thanks a ton. I have looked through the SLC 15 HDs no and the Meoptas. I found the eye relief in the Meopta to be not nearly as forgiving. I also found the SLCs to be more crisp and an easier diopter adjustment. I think I’m gonna take a look at the leicas now and that will be the final decision. Definitely leaning towards the Swaros just because I want the absolute best.

 

[roweraay]

I would put the Zeiss Conquest 15x56 HD into the exceptional range, alongside the Swarovski 15x56 SLC HD.

The AFOV of the Zeiss is an exceptional 69 degrees. That’s NL Pure territory in the Swarovski range (the only Swarovskis that get to the 69-71 degree AFOV range). The Zeiss is also super bright and comparable to the Swarovski 15x56 in brightness.

The Swarovski SLC 15x56 HD is also exceptional, but with 62 degree AFOV, is middling when compared to the Zeiss, but does have exceptional performance to the edges. The Swaro has slightly better control of CA.

 

[alaska_bou]

Zeiss optics are generally regarded as pretty poor when it comes to edge to edge clarity and the 15x56 conquest hd binos that I owned were true to this. What good is a wide FOV if that the outer 25% of that FOV is unusable? Mine had an extremely sensitive focus wheel. So sensitive that I was very difficult to focus and stay in focus. This is without even talking about the other optical issues. Maybe Zeiss' sample variation is not as well-controlled as other brands and you got a good pair, but there was a pretty significant difference between the Zeiss and the swaro to my eyes.

 

[WeiserBucks]

One thing that gets lost in the discussion is the SLC 15s DOF. You don't need to spend all day adjusting them and you spend more time finding critters than playing with your gear.

 

[rsiwuda]

I've used them all the meoptas are my favorite by far just picked up a brand new pair and I pick up so much deer with them.

 

[Gone4Days]

I live in AZ and coues hunt every year. I use Swaro SLC HD’s.

 

[TrackerG]

Zeiss optics are generally regarded as pretty poor when it comes to edge to edge clarity and the 15x56 conquest hd binos that I owned were true to this. What good is a wide FOV if that the outer 25% of that FOV is unusable? Mine had an extremely sensitive focus wheel. So sensitive that I was very difficult to focus and stay in focus. This is without even talking about the other optical issues. Maybe Zeiss' sample variation is not as well-controlled as other brands and you got a good pair, but there was a pretty significant difference between the Zeiss and the swaro to my eyes.

After looking through Zeiss meopta and Swarovski so far I can agree with you. The Zeiss 15s are fine. But they don’t even compare to the swaros, like not even in the same class. The meopta glass was pretty good, but the eye box sucked. The last one I have to look through is the gen 2 Leica geovids. I secretly hope they are right there with the Swaros because it would be pretty nice to have the range finding capabilities in a set of 15s.

 

[roweraay]

Zeiss optics are generally regarded as pretty poor when it comes to edge to edge clarity and the 15x56 conquest hd binos that I owned were true to this. What good is a wide FOV if that the outer 25% of that FOV is unusable? Mine had an extremely sensitive focus wheel. So sensitive that I was very difficult to focus and stay in focus. This is without even talking about the other optical issues. Maybe Zeiss' sample variation is not as well-controlled as other brands and you got a good pair, but there was a pretty significant difference between the Zeiss and the swaro to my eyes.

I certainly don't think German-built Zeiss optics are "pretty poor". In fact, I think they have made trade-offs on certain other aspects like the quality of the external rubber armor etc., but the optics themselves are pretty top-notch.

Yes, there's more CA in the outer edges of the ultra-wide view of the Zeiss 15xx56, but remember, the other options, including the Swaro SLC, simply does NOT have that portion of the view even available, since the Swaro SLC's view is much narrower at 62 degrees AFOV. At worst, think of that outermost part of the Zeiss's view as a bonus, that provides context, which none of the other options even have, due to their narrower view.

Putting it differently, would I have been happier if Zeiss simply eliminated that outer portion of the view, created a narrower view like the Swaro SLC or the Meoptas, and called it a day ? Absolutely not....I WANT that outer portion of the view, even if they have more CA (only a factor during bright daylight, backlit conditions), since it provides visual context that's missing from all of the other 15x56 options with their narrower views.

The below review of the Zeiss is a good one, and aligns closely to my findings, even though the reviewer (Roger Vine) is a big-time Swaro fan. He admits that the optics of the Zeiss are absolutely top-notch, even though they have compromised on other things, to get it to the targeted price-point:

Zeiss 15x56 Conquest HD Review

www.scopeviews.co.uk

 

[roweraay]

Also to clarify, I don't have a Zeiss binocular at the moment. My only binocular/scopes are a Swaro NL Pure 8x42 and the Swaro 115/BTX.

I want to add a 15x56 or an 18x56, and the Zeiss, the Swaro SLC, the Mavens (15x56 and 18x56) and the Vortex Razor UHDs are all contenders.

 

[TrackerG]

Alright! The verdict is out.

After much digging around, and looking through different 15s I have found the best one for MY EYES is most certainly the Swarovski 15x56 SLC. The edge to edge clarity, brightness at dawn/dusk, and definition/resolution is unbeatable (for ME).

Second in line for me was the Zeiss. The color output on the Zeiss was a little bit blue. Whereas the Swaros seemed like the exact color of daylight. The chromatic aberration on the outer 15% of the view was very evident. I know everyone keeps talking about the field of you but realistically it’s only 8 foot more at 1000 yards, so I don’t really think it’s part of the discussion. For me anyways.

Meopta is going to be 3rd for me. The color tint is more of a warm tone. The edge to edge clarity was fairly good. The one surprised that I had with the Meoptas was it seemed like the eye relief was very poor. One thing that I like to do is lock my tripod ahead and place and move my eyes around the glass until I cover the entire picture. It seemed like this was slightly more difficult to do with the Meoptas.

LAST PLACE by a long shot, goes to the Leica Geovid Gen 2. I was really hoping that they would be my favorite because I thought how handy it would be to have a rangefinder built-in to your fifteens. I imagine finding a deer on a slope 700 yards away better, and just pressing the button and being ready to shoot. Nowhere near me had the Leicas for me to test. After looking through the rest of them, I ordered a pair and immediately returned them after receiving them. What made the decision for me was looking at a no trespassing sign 200 yards away. It was perfectly clear in the middle of the picture the outer half of the picture however, there was nothing I could do to get it resolved. And the rectangular, no trespassing sign turned into no longer being rectangular due to the curvature of the picture. I was very disappointed in the Leicas.

Like I said above, this is 100% based on my eyes. I’m sure there’s guys they prefer any of the binoculars listed above but for me the only thing that stood out what is the Swarovski’s. I was upgrading from leupold BX5 15s. And the last thing I wanted to do was upgrade again after this.

Thanks for reading

 

[roweraay]

I think you made the right move. You simply cannot go wrong with the Swarovski SLC 15x56. Now it's my turn to make a pick....we'll see !

Also note that the 8 foot you speak about, or the FOV, is the horizontal visible area difference. The 69 degrees (Zeiss) vs the 62 degrees Swaro, is the AFOV (Apparent Field of view)......a 7 degree extra is VERY significant, and the view becomes MUCH more immersive.

 

[theotherlandon]

Save your money and wait. 15 power NL pures will be out eventually

 

[TrackerG]

Save your money and wait. 15 power NL pures will be out eventually

Too late. But that may call for another upgrade lol

 

[roweraay]

Save your money and wait. 15 power NL pures will be out eventually

If they come out with a 15x NL pure, with a 50mm or 56mm objective, that’d tempt me a ton !

I am certain they’ll go for a 70+ degree AFOV like with their 12x42 NLs, and with edge-to-edge clarity, and great optics, would be a perfect complement to a 8x42 or 8x32 NL.