OpticsTalk by SWFA, Inc. Homepage SWFA     SampleList.com
Forum Home Forum Home > Other Optics > Binoculars
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - So you gotta go alpha?
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

Visit the SWFA.com site to check out our current specials.

So you gotta go alpha?

 Post Reply Post Reply
Author
Message
jonoMT View Drop Down
Optics Master Extraordinaire
Optics Master Extraordinaire
Avatar

Joined: November/13/2008
Location: Montana
Status: Offline
Points: 4853
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jonoMT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: So you gotta go alpha?
    Posted: September/04/2009 at 07:12
If I was going that route, I'd get the Swarovski SLC 7x42s. The more I read about and experience myself with optics, the more I realize that magnification isn't everything. In fact, it can be downright detrimental. The issue with magnification is that the higher up you go the harder it is to keep them steady and depth of field and field of view decrease. I can keep 10X bins steady just fine, but I'd still consider the better low-light performance and much better depth and FOV. The Swaro 7x42s are a good size and weight. While not their finest glass, compared to the Zeiss and Leica offerings @ 7x42, the price is significantly lower and it is still some great glass.


Of course I'd like to see some 7x42 offerings from the likes of Vortex in their Razor line. Offhand, the only ones I can think of that interest me are the 7x36s from Zen-Ray, but the exit pupil isn't as good.


Edited by jonoMT - September/04/2009 at 08:53
Reaction time is a factor...
Back to Top
mwyates View Drop Down
Optics Master
Optics Master
Avatar

Joined: June/15/2004
Location: Texas
Status: Offline
Points: 1196
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mwyates Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/04/2009 at 10:17
The older you get the better 7X looks.  The meopta 7X42 should always be considered; love mine.  They, and my 6X Katmai's are all I ever use.  Gave my 8X binocs to my kids.  I've never even considered 10XBig Smile
No man on his deathbed ever said "I wish I'd made more money".
Back to Top
308WIN View Drop Down
Optics Apprentice
Optics Apprentice


Joined: February/28/2009
Status: Offline
Points: 120
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 308WIN Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/06/2009 at 10:45
yep great Binos a little weight but they hold well. I also am liking the 8.5x42 EL WHICH ACTUALLY HAS A LARGER "APPARENT" FOV AND THE DIFFERENCE IN FOV BETWEEN it and the 7x42 @ 100 yards is 3 feet and 1.5 feet @ 50 yards (ex. woods...)

the depth of field is slightly better in the 7x42 but the 8.5x42 provides a "larger" image not just more magnified the actual circular image area is larger to the eye


Edited by 308WIN - September/06/2009 at 10:46
Back to Top
308WIN View Drop Down
Optics Apprentice
Optics Apprentice


Joined: February/28/2009
Status: Offline
Points: 120
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 308WIN Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/06/2009 at 10:46
Originally posted by mwyates mwyates wrote:

The older you get the better 7X looks.  The meopta 7X42 should always be considered; love mine.  They, and my 6X Katmai's are all I ever use.  Gave my 8X binocs to my kids.  I've never even considered 10XBig Smile
if i were buying a 7x42 new i would look hard at meopta heck id look at them for any power
Back to Top
pahuntnut View Drop Down
Optics Apprentice
Optics Apprentice
Avatar

Joined: March/20/2008
Location: Pa Usa
Status: Offline
Points: 65
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pahuntnut Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/08/2009 at 12:37
 To answer you question i would say yes you gotta go alpha. I keep reading how this glass is a good as __________ (insert alpha name in blank). Or these bins rival european glass. But it seems eventually everyone who can and some who cannot afford alpha glass end up buying a pair. How many on this forum have had alpha"s and sold them to get something far cheaper because the glass was just as good as alphas? So what I am going to personally do is to quit pussy footing around and buy a pair of alpha's. After all, your wife can only get so mad.
Back to Top
mike650 View Drop Down
Optics God
Optics God
Avatar

Joined: May/14/2006
Location: West of Rockies
Status: Offline
Points: 14569
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mike650 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/08/2009 at 12:58
Originally posted by jonoMT jonoMT wrote:

If I was going that route, I'd get the Swarovski SLC 7x42s. The more I read about and experience myself with optics, the more I realize that magnification isn't everything. In fact, it can be downright detrimental. The issue with magnification is that the higher up you go the harder it is to keep them steady and depth of field and field of view decrease. I can keep 10X bins steady just fine, but I'd still consider the better low-light performance and much better depth and FOV. The Swaro 7x42s are a good size and weight. While not their finest glass, compared to the Zeiss and Leica offerings @ 7x42, the price is significantly lower and it is still some great glass.


Of course I'd like to see some 7x42 offerings from the likes of Vortex in their Razor line. Offhand, the only ones I can think of that interest me are the 7x36s from Zen-Ray, but the exit pupil isn't as good.


If you went with the SLCnew 7x42's I don't think you'd be disappointed at all. The differences I've found between them and the Swaro EL's are the focus wheel, weight, and feel.


Edited by mike650 - September/08/2009 at 13:09
“A hunt based only on trophies taken falls far short of what the ultimate goal should be.” – Fred Bear
Back to Top
FrankD View Drop Down
Optics Journeyman
Optics Journeyman


Joined: November/11/2005
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 686
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote FrankD Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/09/2009 at 20:11
Originally posted by pahuntnut pahuntnut wrote:

How many on this forum have had alpha"s and sold them to get something far cheaper because the glass was just as good as alphas
Big Smile


Edited by FrankD - September/09/2009 at 20:11
Frank
Back to Top
Klamath View Drop Down
Optics Master
Optics Master
Avatar

Joined: May/20/2007
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 1308
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Klamath Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/09/2009 at 20:30
Frank is smiling, but I believe it is because he has done exactly that. Wink
Steve
"Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted". William Bruce Cameron

Back to Top
pahuntnut View Drop Down
Optics Apprentice
Optics Apprentice
Avatar

Joined: March/20/2008
Location: Pa Usa
Status: Offline
Points: 65
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pahuntnut Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/09/2009 at 21:27
I would be interested Frank, what did you replace and with what?
Back to Top
FrankD View Drop Down
Optics Journeyman
Optics Journeyman


Joined: November/11/2005
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 686
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote FrankD Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/12/2009 at 08:30
I sold a Swaro 8x32 EL and an 8.5x42 EL for a Promaster Infiniti Elite ELX ED. It is one of several of the new open-hinge ED binoculars currently on the market.
 
I also sold a Zeiss 7x42 FL for a Zen Ray ED 8x43.
 
And seeing as we are talking about less expensive than an "Alpha", I have almost sold another Zeiss 7x42 FL for a Meopta Meostar. The auction ends today on Ebay.
 
Now I am not going to sit here and paint the picture that one is "as good as" the other for everyone out there. You have to determine specifically what your needs are and then buy appropriately. Based on my experiences with optics I simply do not believe that a majority of hunters from our neck of the woods needs to be toting around "alpha" glass.
 
For one, the optical and build quality of the mid (and even some of the low priced) glass has risen dramatically. Two, a majority of hunters that I am acquainted with do not use and abuse their glass to the point where the difference in optical or build quality would be noticeable when going from a mid-priced to a high priced piece of glass. That would also apply to the type of environment that most hunters here place themselves in. I can just as easily see an 8-pointer walking past my stand at 50 yards with a Leupold Yosemite 6x30 as I could with a Swaro SLC 8x30. It would not even surprise me to find that the centerfield image quality on both of those binoculars would be arguably similar for that type of application.
 
Just my opinion.


Edited by FrankD - September/12/2009 at 08:32
Frank
Back to Top
pahuntnut View Drop Down
Optics Apprentice
Optics Apprentice
Avatar

Joined: March/20/2008
Location: Pa Usa
Status: Offline
Points: 65
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pahuntnut Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/12/2009 at 11:41
Thanks, for you reply
Back to Top
John Barsness View Drop Down
Optics Optimist
Optics Optimist


Joined: January/27/2009
Status: Offline
Points: 785
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote John Barsness Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/12/2009 at 13:35
My guide on a recent (August) bear hunt in Alaska is going home and sell the alpha 10x40 he just purchased at Cabea's before this season because of the Zen Ray 8x43 ED I had on the hunt.
Back to Top
koshkin View Drop Down
MODERATOR
MODERATOR
Avatar
Dark Lord of Optics

Joined: June/15/2004
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 13182
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote koshkin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/12/2009 at 14:28
I've had just about every alpha binocular over the years and I sold them all.  My favourite alpha was Swaro SLCneu 7x42.

Looking at what I have right now (that I own; I always have a few binoculars on hand that are evaluatin samples and need to be returned), I do not see anything expensive.  Here is what I currently have: Leupold Yosemite 6x30 (porro), Vortex Viper 6x32 (roof), Russian 7x30 military binos (porro), Hawke Frontier ED 8x43 (roof), Swift Ultralite 10x42 (porro).

None of these binoculars cost more than $500.

The difference between the alphas and cheaper binoculars is getting smaller every year.  It is still there and for some it makes a difference.  That difference is not only optical, but also mechanical: focuser quality, eyecup construction, etc.

ILya 
Back to Top
John Barsness View Drop Down
Optics Optimist
Optics Optimist


Joined: January/27/2009
Status: Offline
Points: 785
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote John Barsness Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/12/2009 at 16:21
Forgot to mention a very successful lawyer that I know. Last year he gave away his well-used alpha binocular to an African PH as a tip, and when he got back to the U.S. was startled to find out how much the price had gone up. Now, this guy can definitely afford the alphas, but $2000 still created incredible sticker shock.
 
I was shooting praire dogs with him this spring, using a Hawke 10x. My friend used them quite a bit himself and when he got home bought TWO, just so he could have a back-up--and figured he was still more than $1000 ahead.
Back to Top
cajunhunter View Drop Down
Optics Apprentice
Optics Apprentice


Joined: August/08/2007
Status: Offline
Points: 133
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cajunhunter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/12/2009 at 17:22
I am not going to by alpha again, but I don't think I will sell my Zeiss 7x42 Victory T*FL.
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply
  Share Topic   

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down

Forum Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 12.01
Copyright ©2001-2018 Web Wiz Ltd.

This page was generated in 0.116 seconds.