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I'm thinking of shouting myself a new pair of decent binos for a late Christmas pressy.
I've had my eye on Leica Trinovid or Zeiss Conquest 10x40's.
Anyone had experience with both?? Or have something else to recommend?
I already have a good range finder so no need to spend $$$ on RF binos.
Thanks in advance.
@Sarvo ?
I just got a pair of the conquests from Fraser at owl, they are the ducks nuts
Go look through both of them - preferably outdoors. See what suits your eyes best.
As @chainsaw said find a store that stocks the brands your looking at a get them all outside to compare through your eyes (Just done this and it crossed a lot of the list that I thought would be ideal)
Once you find your favourite ones then have the price list on hand and haggle the shit out of the store. High street stores are hurting because of the internet sales. So if they can come to within $30.00 I’d buy em. Nothing like having them in your hot little hands straight away than waiting for the post :thumbsup:
@Sideshow Lol yeah I know and that was the plan but finding someone who actually has them in stock is proving to be a bit tricky...I thought surely half the guys on here would have had 1st hand experience with them given all the high-end gear that makes its way through the buy-sell section!!:XD:
Jokes aside I might have to get off my a$$ and get out and have a look. It was more just a gauge to see if they lived up to the hype, guess I'll have to find out for myself.
Surely @suthy some of the sports stores must have the brands you want in stock?
My opinion is that the "Alpha brands" only lead the pack with their Alpha binos (EL's, Ultravid/Noctavid, Victory) and in the price range of the conquests and trinovids there are much better options from other manufacturers. I would be looking at Nikon HG or Kowa BD in that price range
Also, check out https://mavenbuilt.com these guys are getting awesome reviews from the hunting community in the States
I did the rounds at the sika show 2 years ago looking at all that was on offer and frankly was disappointed in the optical performance to price ratio of the high end stuff. Optically some of the high end was pretty bad and below mid range leupold. In the end I found that the high end leupold was better than anything else out there at a much lower price. Nikon was a close second (and I am a Nikon camera fan shooting D850). There’s a posting on here somewhere with a link to the the place I bought my leupold HDs.
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Euro quality at half the price. Mine are superb, and Ive looked through most brands while hunting.
https://www.tractoptics.com/products...ars?category=9
That is a very good price if they are good binos @Tahr - score compared to EL's ??Quote:
Originally Posted by Tahr
@Moa Hunter Right up there. With optics I think that there is a rule of diminishing returns. At a certain quality point (like the Tract) you begin to pay more and more for very small gains.Quote:
Originally Posted by Moa Hunter
I can't see any difference between my Tracts and my son's Zeiss or my friends EL. I'm sure there is a difference in there somewhere, but it certainly isn't $1,500 worth.
I can spot deer through my binos way after I can't see them through my Zeiss HD5 or Nightforce SHV scopes.
Ive got 2 Tract Toric scopes too, and they are right up there as well.
@Tahr Anyone in NZ sell them or do you have to bring them in??
Tract are a couple of ex Nikon executives who set up their own optics company. Made by LOW in Japan who make some Nightforce and the top Bushnel scopes. They have a good warranty.Quote:
Originally Posted by suthy
They direct market so there is no middle-man which keeps the price down. Buy off their web site. The communication and service is fantastic. The last time I bought something from them (a scope) they charged my Visa including customs fees and GST so it came straight to my door with no dicking around. If you email them you get a pretty quick response.
The only little negative thing is that the binos don't come with a bag (you can buy one). I think its because most people use those flash harry bino harness/case things nowadays. The packaging of their stuff is outstanding though.
I think we can get a bit hung up on paying big dollars for small gains. Lot of the time you pay for the name to some degree, not to say they aren't good because they are but like Tahr said are they better to the tune of $1500 dollars, I doubt it. I dropped my old Binos a while back and stuffed the internal workings but have just won a pair of Steiner Observer 10x42's through the Beretta Comp in the NZ Hunter Magazine. Nice bino's definitely a big step up on the Bushnells.
Yeah I think we do get hung up on the big names to some degree but if you are going to spend $1000-$2000 on binos, where do you put your trust that the product is the quality you are paying for? This is exactly why I asked the question and there have been some very good feedback.
I'll definitely look into these other options before jumping into the Leicas or Zeiss.
Now you can’t go past that for an endorsement:thumbsup: cheers @Tahr I’ll also look into the these.
One easy test you can do if you want to test binos is to set up a news paper at a certain distance and see which binos allow you to still be able to read the fine prints. Another one is to look at the extremities of a tree, and with lower quality binos there will be some fine twigs that you may not be able to see but that the superior quality binos will pick up.
The other test is at dusk ( but no shops are open that late at this time of the year), and that is when you see the difference the best between top of the range and middle range binos. I did it ounce with my el and the Steiner of a friend of mine. I easily had an extra 10 minutes of visibility on small items with mine.
I don't buy into the theory that there isn't a big difference between the top tier stuff and the mid-range offerings. The differences may not be of much consequence to you, but that doesn't mean they aren't there.
I've owned Swaro EL, Zeiss Victory FL, and Leica Geovids and even between those higher end models there were some notable differences with respect to their strengths and weaknesses.
Do you need to spend 3k+? Not at all. But if you're willing to throw down some dough you'll never regret the quality, and they'll last a lifetime. The extra $$ may not translate to more animals seen, but if you love a nice viewing experience, that extra money will certainly buy you more comfort (ergonomics) and a truly beautiful, sparkling image. :) Whether that incremental step up in optical quality is worth the cost? I think it is.
Also - you can purchase second hand top tier binos for $1400+...so I don't see much point in buying mid-range binos. Especially from the top brands. Get a secondhand pair and look after them. For $200-ish they can also be sent back to the factory for a full refurbishment. And just like that, you've got a 'brand new' pair of top of the line glasses for a fraction of the retail price.
The likes of Leupold I can understand, because they still come cheaper than secondhand top tier binos, and you get good glass with a great warranty. For some they fit the bill perfectly. Utimately, that's all that really matters.
My suggestion would be to try a bunch side by side before you commit to a pair. Otherwise you may keep wondering "what if". Selling optics isn't very economical...:(
I agree that you can't compare mid range with top tier, but the truth is that there are some excellent binos in the top tier that are also great value. Top tier does not mean "price" to me, it means performance and build quality. Leupold are mid range at best.
There are some surprises here for the Euro-snobs :)
https://www.allbinos.com/allbinos_ra...ing-10x42.html
This is a good testing site. I have a pair of the Vanguards (made in China, and rated 7th) and they are excellent optically but they don't quite have the build quality. The Tract are way better than the Vanguard in all respects.
Yep, agree.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tahr
That's a neat website. They did some tests on Leica binos and found that several of their test pairs had issues with waterproofing. :O_O: In fact all of the top Euro models had some niggles when pushed to the max.
There is also the human factor, everyone's eyes are different and what some people may find fine others hate. There is a large range to choose from out there now so the only way to know for sure if they suit you is to try them.
@Tahr Well you had me pretty sold on trying these out but after a few emails back and forth to Tract (who are very quick at responding!) they are out of stock of the 10x42's until at least mid Feb and the 8x42's until mid May.:(
There new model has SCHOTT glass as well...
That's a bugger. Mine are the new model with the Schott glass. Had them since October.Quote:
Originally Posted by suthy
@Tahr Now you're just making me jealous:oh noes:
Agree. Second hand doesn’t mean second string. I bought some Swarovski here for under 1k. Like new.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frodo
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Its difficult comparing optics in good light and clear atmospheric conditions and near useless while standing in a shop. . The value generally becomes apparent when conditions are far from best. Looking into a shady hill with the sun rising in your face often sorts the wheat from the chaff and low sun angles with a lot of haze or just generally poor light.
You STOLE them not bought them :-)Quote:
Originally Posted by Danny
I’d like to think so... they’re a beautiful little pair. Amazing clear glass.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sarvo
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Do you have any I can steal @Sarvo ??
No @suthy - I only get in to order now and to be honest my Swaro price is not that competitive now.Quote:
Originally Posted by suthy
Leica - yes - but everyone on this thread bagged the be-jesus out of them so - prob better to just give up :-)
@Sarvo Sorry to hear that, I wasn't aware that Leica's are not liked here...:slow:
@Ryan_Songhurst Have you had hands on experience with the Kowa BD's?
Yea a mate has a pair in 10x and they're really nice for the money, I have used Trinovids and had some Conquests myself and would put the conquests ahead of the Tinovids but the Kowas ahead of all of them. I dont find leica glass to be true to colour and it annoys me, conquests were very easy on the eye and by all means a pretty decent bino they just showed a little bit more chromatic abberation and lost a few minutes on last light compared to the ELs I have now. As others have said there is a big step up in price between these middle of the range binos and the Alpha binos for not a lot of gain, but there is some gain there. Think theres a place in Motueka that imports the Kowa range, thats where my buddy got his.Quote:
Originally Posted by suthy
I had no issues with Leica Geovid 10x42HD-B and the Mico SD Ballistic drops match all the way out to 800m after that need the phone app, the best bino’s I’ve ever used. Nice and simple transition from bino to scope, no mucking around between binos, a rangefinder, a GPS for environmentals and phone app. I would rather have better bino glass because spend more time behind them than behind the scope.