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Leupold McKinley or Bushnell Elite??

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Silverseeker View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Silverseeker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Leupold McKinley or Bushnell Elite??
    Posted: March/03/2013 at 16:55
I am looking to upgrade from my Zen ED2s.
 
The new Leupolds have my attention and I have a pair of Elites EDs in 10x42--they are very sharp!
 
Any suggestions??
 
 
 
 
 
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Klamath View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Klamath Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/03/2013 at 17:52
What features of the ZEN ED 2 do you wish to upgrade and how do those upgrades need to be established?

Upgrading a binocular just because you can is not necessarily a good thing.  Pretty soon you are just upgrading for the heck of it and not for a defined reason.
Steve
"Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted". William Bruce Cameron

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bitterroot Bulls Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/03/2013 at 19:15
Oh come on, Steve.
 
"Wanting to" has always been a good enough reason for me.
 
Silverseeker,  people seem pretty keen on the McKinleys.
 
My current favorite binocular is the $1000 Meopta Meostar HD.
-Matt
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Klamath View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Klamath Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/03/2013 at 19:45
Sure, there is nothing wrong with wanting to upgrade Big Smile.  Getting the right upgrade still  needs to address the question of what it is that needs to be upgraded.

Yeah the McKinley's and the ZEN Prime are about the best you can do for their price.  
Steve
"Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted". William Bruce Cameron

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote FrankD Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/04/2013 at 09:50
I have never tried the Bushnell Elite EDs. I did own their open-bridge, non-ED predecessors though.
 
Having said that I would certainly argue the benefits of the McKinley over even the newer ED Elites at least from an "on paper" perspective. I can't speak to the 10x versions but the 8xs should be notably better for at least two reasons. Huge difference in field of view and edge performance. I am guessing the 10x versions will be closer in field of view but the last time I checked the 10x McKinleys were 340-something feet. That is wide for a 10x42 binocular. I think the Bushnells were more around the typical 315 or so feet average. Second, I don't believe the Elites utilize a field flattener element in the design so the edge performance of the McKinleys should be notably better.
 
All I can think of for now.
Frank
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Silverseeker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/04/2013 at 17:01
Klamath--
 
To what degree are the Leupolds sharper, brighter, etc.
 
SS
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Klamath Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/05/2013 at 10:20
Originally posted by Silverseeker Silverseeker wrote:

Klamath--
 
To what degree are the Leupolds sharper, brighter, etc.
 
SS

I am basically an ignorer of Bushnell stuff.  Mostly because of entirely unsatisfactory personal experience with their service and repair incompetence.

One of the reasons I asked the question I did about what you needed to upgrade is the simple fact that these days there are few poor binoculars in the mid price range stuff.  As far as I can see, a non obsessed optics user can get along just fine with a $2-300 purchase.  I also see little to no need of ever having to spend more than $600.

There is precious little, real world, practical improvement to be had above that price.  The newer $900-1,200 class is functionally equivalent to thee $2K+ stuff.  Yes there are differences at each level, but you have to have a magnifying glass and a nit picker to ferret out the subtle differences that exist.  You also have to enjoy arguments akin to "how many angels can dance on the head of a pin" philosophical questions.  At some point in a quest for the latest upgrade, you will pass the point where you will think that the differences, however slight is more significant than it really is.  Beware and start saving, for you will never be satisfied at that point.  I guess that is the reason I say that upgrades for the sake of the upgrade may not be the best thing to do.

I like the McKinley.  I like the ZEN Prime.  You will not improve them much, if any, without significant higher outlays of $$$'s.  I have had them both side by side with both the new Swarovski SV EL and the SLC-HD.  The differences are there but subtle and not worth, to me certainly, the $$$ difference.  If you can't see it with a McKinley you won't see it with a Swarovski either.

I would venture a guess that if you really like what you see with the Bushnell 10x42 you have, the views are likely to be similar enough to be inconsequential.
Steve
"Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted". William Bruce Cameron

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