Where to go from here

dkime

WKR
Joined
Feb 25, 2015
Messages
738
Considering selling my Razor HD 12x50s and moving to the next tier in glass. What do you think would be a worthy stepping stone for the next set of Binos coming into my life?


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jmav58

WKR
Joined
Feb 12, 2015
Messages
546
Location
MT
Same boat here. Probably going to go with the Leica 12x50 Utlravid HD Plus. Swaro or Leica and you can't go wrong.
 
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D

dkime

WKR
Joined
Feb 25, 2015
Messages
738
Is it more of a personal preference thing when looking through this next tier in terms of color and how coatings interact with your eyes?


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Mt Al

WKR
Joined
Dec 16, 2017
Messages
1,214
Location
Montana
Is it more of a personal preference thing when looking through this next tier in terms of color and how coatings interact with your eyes?


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Some say yes, some say no - I don't know.

However, if you have a chance to have both of them side by side at the exact same time of day looking at the exact same thing you might be able to pick out a difference, might feel that one is more ergonomic than the other, feels better. For this much money, an investment, strongly recommended that you find a shop that carries both and give it a whirl but only outside. Indoor comparisons don't do squat with the wavelengths of light vs. the sun. It's funny seeing people at SHOT, including me, looking through glass trying to do a comparison inside with nickle metal hydride lighting.

One local sales guy SWEARS up and down that Leica are way better than Swaro in terms of color true-ness. My pockets aren't full enough to need to check or care. I have some older Leica Trinovids and am not in the market.

I hope you'll post back after you make your decision and if you were able to do a direct comparison.

Either way, you can't go wrong and you'll have excellent glass.
 
Joined
Mar 14, 2016
Messages
738
Location
Utah
FWIW I spent a fair amount of time looking through both the 12x50 EL and 12x50 ultravid hd (not hd plus) this past weekend. I thought the ELs were noticeably better, sharper all around and better edges. I’m not sure how much better the hd plus would be. Keep in mind I’m splitting hairs here, the leicas are still phenomenal. I’d also look at the meopta 12x50 if you’ve got a budget to stick to. The ELs are king for sure though.
 
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dkime

WKR
Joined
Feb 25, 2015
Messages
738
Some say yes, some say no - I don't know.

However, if you have a chance to have both of them side by side at the exact same time of day looking at the exact same thing you might be able to pick out a difference, might feel that one is more ergonomic than the other, feels better. For this much money, an investment, strongly recommended that you find a shop that carries both and give it a whirl but only outside. Indoor comparisons don't do squat with the wavelengths of light vs. the sun. It's funny seeing people at SHOT, including me, looking through glass trying to do a comparison inside with nickle metal hydride lighting.

One local sales guy SWEARS up and down that Leica are way better than Swaro in terms of color true-ness. My pockets aren't full enough to need to check or care. I have some older Leica Trinovids and am not in the market.

I hope you'll post back after you make your decision and if you were able to do a direct comparison.

Either way, you can't go wrong and you'll have excellent glass.

That’s gonna be the difficult part is finding a situation where a guy can try them side by side. Not many shops around here have the coin or clientele to stock both brands. Maybe Gr8fulDoug will send me a pair of each just for the heck of it lol they might get lost in the return though


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Joined
Mar 26, 2019
Messages
12
at least in the top tier rifle scope glass I can say everyones eye is different. I prefer S&B over Nightforce because it shows more browns and warm colors where as Nightforce shows the colder colors. Some people pick up better with cold colors and some with warm. Both optics are top tier but a color pallet your eye favors will let you pick up images clearer.

If you have the opportunity to use each set do so over a day if possible. I've found using it for a longer than 10-60 seconds will give you a truer view of the optic for your eyes.

lot of time/effort but when you are dropping that money it will pay off.
 

timberbuck

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 31, 2018
Messages
115
Location
Utah
The Swarovski and Leica have two very different views. Depends on what you like.

The Swarovski EL has field flattening lenses in the eyepiece so the image is flat/sharp almost all the way to the edges of the view, it is advantageous to have the entire FOV sharp and in focus when grid searching a mountain side with the binos on a tripod. The trade off to this is globe effect/rolling ball problems when panning.

The Leica Ultravid HD plus as well as the Swarovski SLC do not have field flattening lenses and have what is being called the "classic view" with pincushion distortion left at the the edges of the FOV to prevent globe effect/rolling ball when panning. The disadvantage of this design is that only 60-80 percent of the FOV will be sharp and usable but the image presented to your eyes when moving or panning the binocular will be natural to your eyes.

In 12x it makes more sense for its uses to be a flat field type, so would be 15x and 18x .
 
Joined
Sep 23, 2017
Messages
630
Is it more of a personal preference thing when looking through this next tier in terms of color and how coatings interact with your eyes?


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Yes. I would say that outside of ergonomics the way the coatings and “optical formula” interact with the individual viewer’s eyes is what differentiates top tier glass from each other more than anything else. You choose top zeiss lieca Swaro and even a few other manufacturers highest level offerings and it really simply becomes a matter of what feels most natural for your eyes and brain. Resolution, edge to edge clarity, light transmission etc will all be “proper” and none really give anything up to the others- it’s all about personal feel
 
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