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getting really confused

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pahuntnut View Drop Down
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    Posted: March/24/2008 at 19:20
I have been shopping for a new pair of bin for awhile and just when i settle on one of the big three i start to read posts how the vortex's razor or leup Katmai are great bino's and wonder is spending the extra money really worth it.
 
Has anyone owned one of the big three brands and feel a lesser cost brand is just as good? I can buy 8x42 razor for the occasional antelope mule deer hunt and Leupold or vortex fury's in 6x32 for back east whitetail and still not spend what it would cost for a pair of SLC 7x42. But I am not trying to save money. I just want to make the right decision. HELP 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote supertool73 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/24/2008 at 19:27
Don't single out Meopta either.  My dad and I both own a pair of those and compaired them to about 8 other bigs names outside at Cabelas and each came home with a pair of Meopta's, I really like them.
Lifetime warranty and excellent customer service don't mean a thing when your gun fails during a zombie attack.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pahuntnut Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/24/2008 at 19:41

Did you go in to buy a top shelf bino and came home with the Meopta's because you felt they were better?

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pahuntnut View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pahuntnut Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/24/2008 at 19:44
like I said I am not looking for a deal. I am not that experienced but when one pair is 1700 I should expect a major optical difference than a $700 pair. Yet people on here rave about Vortex razors??
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supertool73 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote supertool73 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/24/2008 at 19:57
Yes, I had $1600 saved up for Binos and thought they were better than every pair I looked through with the exception of the Swaro SLC.  But the difference was so small I could not justify the extra $600.
I compared them to Leica Ultrvid, Leica Trinovid, Leuplod Golden ring, Swaro SLC, Steiner Pergrin.
So we ended up with two pair of great binos instead.
Lifetime warranty and excellent customer service don't mean a thing when your gun fails during a zombie attack.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lucznik Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/24/2008 at 21:08
Originally posted by pahuntnut pahuntnut wrote:

Has anyone owned one of the big three brands and feel a lesser cost brand is just as good?


Your question is a difficult one as it brings into play people's egos.

I would imagine that someone who paid close to $2K for a binocular is going to be loathe to admit that much of their purchase involved no real optical advantage but rather, was to pay for the prestige of the particular brand badge.

On the other hand, those who can't/won't spend such money for their optics (and I include myself in this group) are likely equally loathe to accept that the top dogs in the field actually do have something to offer that they are missing.

The truth of the matter is likely somewhere in the middle.  Yes, there is a difference.  Yes, it can be seen.  However, it is an exceptionally small difference and almost certainly won't make much if any real difference in the hunting fields, though it might in activities like birding where for example, very slight differences in plumage color can be the difference between making a positive ID or not.  Only you can decide if it is worth the extreme premium on price that you must pay for these differences and your needs.
What if the hokey pokey really is what it's all about?
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supertool73 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote supertool73 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/24/2008 at 21:11
Very well stated lucznik
Lifetime warranty and excellent customer service don't mean a thing when your gun fails during a zombie attack.

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Roy Finn View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Roy Finn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/24/2008 at 21:26
What lucznik just said is the bottom line.  Very small differences at the top of the food chain.
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pahuntnut Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/24/2008 at 21:50
Well just wondering from user of both mid priced and top end if there really is a BIG difference. Thanks for the input. Since i am not hearing much form the owners of Top end bino's I think my question is getting answered. Once again I am neutral as to what to buy and I will spend the money if justified.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SAKO75 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/25/2008 at 15:52
SLCnew 7x42 is the ticket for me afyer owning pentax dcf sp's, the swaros are just better
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Refrax Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/30/2008 at 23:03

As an owner of both top-end European and mid-range Asian binoculars I will say there is an unequivocal difference, both optically and mechanically.  Swarovskis and Leicas are a joy to look through and in my experience more durable and dependable under heavy field use.

 

But, the old "you get what you pay for" doesn't exactly apply.  As some of the folks above have said, there's a sort of exponential relationship between quality and price as you move up into the European brands.  In other words a 10% quality improvement might cost you twice as much (arbitrary numbers, of course).  So if you can buy a really good Pentax for a quarter the price of a Swarovski, for example, that's an excellent decision for most users.  In my opinion the top-of-the-line Asian binoculars are the best value on the market.

o^o
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote birdhunter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/31/2008 at 07:32
Pahuntnut, I can tell you from my experience that I have had the Nikon Monarch 8x42, Kahles 8x42, Nikon Action Extreme 8x42 and not the Swarovski SLC 7x42.  I would have been alot better off if I would of just spent the money in the beginning and got what I wanted was the Swarovski SLC 7x42.  I myself couldn't seen spending the price difference between the SLC and EL's since they both use the same glass now.  Of the other three the Kahles were the best.  I have heard alot of good things about the Vortex Razors, Meoptas and the Nikon high end binoculars but I have never owned any of the three.  I have looked through the Meoptas and the Nikon high end binoculars and they are very nice and very clear.  I decided to go with Swarovski since they seemed to fit my hands and eyes better and I got a good deal on them to boot.  Not to mention they have the best customer service in the buisness.  Good binoculars start at the $500 range and go up.  You should be able to find something you really like in the $500 to $1000 range.  You really need to try all the binoculars in your hands before you purchase them and the find the best deal in what you want.  Go ahead and spend the extra money now and you want have to worry about getting another pair for a long, long time.  You'll waste more time, energy, money and worry going from a cheap pair to a top of the line pair in what you want to start with.  Just my two cents.  Thanks, bird_hunter66
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pahuntnut View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pahuntnut Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April/01/2008 at 06:32
i looked at the Meoptas and though it was nice glass, holding them was like holding a brick. heavy and bulky. I was at Cabelas but looking inside a store is not the way to shop for bino's but I could tell slight differences in high end as compared to mid priced. At another shop i looked through them outside in sunlight. To my eyes there is a slight difference in quality but it is not propotional to the price increase.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mike650 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April/01/2008 at 09:26
Originally posted by SAKO75 SAKO75 wrote:

SLCnew 7x42 is the ticket for me afyer owning pentax dcf sp's, the swaros are just better


+1 on the Swarovski's
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jonbravado Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April/01/2008 at 15:55
i would look seriously at the vortex, for the money.
 
Also, i am a HUGE fujinon polaris (7x50) fan - very very nice glass and stable image.
I compared these to 5+ year old swaro's about 3 years ago or so, and they were very
very close in the lowlight in what they would resolve.
 
my 2 cents.
 
my next pair of binos will probably be vortex though. for the money, i like em.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bartond Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April/11/2008 at 13:46
I would simply continue to look through all of these products when it is close to dark and see which ones perform the best. Also take in to account the weight, the feel of the binocular in your hand, warranty, and things like waterproof rating. I beat the crap out of my binoculars so if I save a few hundred bucks but get my bino's up at 11,000ft. and they fog up and cause me to misjudge a big bull, I'm ticked.

But there are some good values out there and Meopta is one of them. Top-end Pentax binoculars are good for my eyes, too, and are generally in that mid price range ($6-800).
Get outside...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mikerabe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April/12/2008 at 00:42
Take a look at the recently discontinued Nikon LXL 95+% of any of the top of the line stuff coming out of Europe at a fraction of the price if bought at the right place and better than the SLC's IMO  Yippee 
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