Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Why do you buy Alpha binos.?

From what I have seen and read, it seems that a slight gain in optical quality comes at great cost, what if any other factors "sold" you on Leica, Zeiss, or Swaro.? I ask because I'm considering such a purchase and would like to know what others believe the extra money is buying.

IMO the advantages are unsurpassed pure optical performance, unsurpassed build quality, and in the case of the Swaro SLC HD I have, unsurpassed customer service and peace of mind.

Disadvantages IMO: High cost not worth the increase in performance. If you can't find game with a Leupold Gold Ring HD (currently own this and it is fantastic), Zen ED2, Bushnell Elite, Pentax SP or ED, Meopta Cabelas Euro, Steiner Preregrine, or a Nikon EDG it's your fault, not the bino.

It usually boils down to ergonomics for me. The SLC HD has the best combination of optics, ergos, and CS/Warranty of anything I've ever seen. It's the greatest bino I've ever owned or looked through. That being said, I bought my Gold Ring HD's for $599 and they show me everything the SLC HD does. They are extremely well built, Leupy CS is legendary as well, and the glass is fantastic.

Having looked through all those I listed, it would be a tough sale for me to spend the extra $$ on a $2000+ alpha bino. I bought my SLC HD new for $1470 so that helped some. The mid priced stuff is really, really good nowadays.

JG,

Very good summation!

I love top-notch binoculars, and there is a difference between the top glass and the lower-priced stuff. But the difference is very, very small anymore, and I wouldn't even limit the "alpha" rating to Leica, Swarovski and Zeiss anymore.

Generally I feel the extra money is buying at the extremes of design and use. You might be looking for a wider FOV in comparable Xs, crisper sense of focus or maybe lighter weight.

I got a pair of Leica 8x20 ultravids that just tickle me pink every time I carry and use them. I put my hands on a lot of very compact bins before making the purchase and couldn't be happier using them well towards the ends of civil twilight. They are light (8oz), unbelievably compact and I like the diopter setting the best of anything I touched, in addition to the focus knob access (significant differences in this class). A snazzy leather case that looks good next to the door hanging so I can grab and go. All improvements on the well beaten and used Steiner Merlin 10x26s they're supplanting.

'Finance officer' has approved a second pair - in a different finish - if the opportunity comes up (she wants the silverlines I got, and feels I should get the rubber armored to abuse) and is a strong approval rating in this house.

I believe there are two classes of purchases. The one I'll use and beat the hll out of OR the one I'll use the rest of my life. Commitment depends on product life.

I bought a pair of Zeiss Victory T FL bins 5 years ago. I had recently bought a Conquest scope, & was thrilled with it. I found a demo pair of bins at 1/3 off list price, and thought it was a great deal. I had also booked an elk hunt, and I justified that if I was spending considerable bucks on the hunt, I should go ahead & get commensurate glass.

At the time, there weren't nearly as many challengers to Alpha glass. There wasn't much buzz about mid-level offerings from Minox or Vortex, and the Promaster/Zenray/Theron phenomenon hadn't happened yet. So if I were to do it all over again, I don't know that I'd make the same choice today.

I absolutely LOVE them, but I do use them in situations where they can really show their advantage over other glass. Certainly, if I weren't spending $ and vacation time on Western big game hunts, I personally wouldn't go all the way up to alpha glass.

FC

Thanks, I have Pentax DCF WP 8X42s picked up a few years ago after reading JB's Optics For The Hunter. Paid a little over $200 on clearance. I like 'em fine a friend has same but in the SP's I have been hard pressed to see the difference. So maybe I should just stand pat and spend the coin on a hunt.

FC

Thanks those Zeiss are the one's I have been looking at.

I haven't yet met anyone who's looked through them who liked their own bins better. Still, I wouldn't have bought them at full price, and now they're $500 or $600 more. However, there have been several pairs of alphas in the classifieds here at sub-$1,000 prices over the past several months.

If I were doing it all over again, I'd have to look through some different bins to see where my eyes quit seeing an improvement.

FC

I'm keeping an eye on the classifieds. I'm dyed in the wool for 8x42 and most seem to be 10X or 8X30.

It's never a bad thing to go on more hunts.

I have a great friend who's never been able to see any difference between his VXI scopes and ANY scopes that cost more. He kills lots of critters, has a whale of a good time doing so, and spends less than I do. And yes, I do kind of envy him.

a birder might tell you that a nikon se or a swift 820 audubon is an alpha binoculer...not a birder myself, but after giving those two a shot, i replaced my "big three" roofs

Because the neighbor lady across the street is smoking azz hot and my Tasco's kept fogging up!...

amen.....

For me it has always been the WOW! factor....when I started hunting and taking it seriously in my late teens,there were not the choices that provided that effect that there are today.

Back then, the hardcore hunters I knew used Leitz Trinovids,B&L,and when they came out, the Zeiss Classic...I bought a 10x40 Classic and used them everywhere for 18 years..They cost me $750 and when I sold them for $500 18 years later, I figured I had rented them for $250 bucks, for 18 years...I had looked through the same bins with the new Phase corrected coatings....and some Swaro Porro Prisms that were a notch above the old Zeiss.

Things have changed today of course,and it's harder to tell the difference between all these bins.....but I don't have the time, money, or opportunity to test a bunch of bins,so tend to own no more than two at a time......so they are both top tier (Swaro and Leica),and leave it at that.

But today these are really getting expensive and I don't want to chase tiny, incremental optical improvements I can barely see.....it gets confusing and expensive.

Today I would look very hard at a top end Minox if I were in the market.

My viewing with them is limited, but I have been impressed with anything Minox turns out.

Mike,

I own a couple of "alpha's" but I bought both pair as-new at a discount. While I love both the Leica and Swaro EL, the glass from some of the other makers is getting to the point where it's so close that it's hard to justify the sky-rocketing prices of the big three any longer.

Minox, Meopta, ZenRay, ProMaster, Vortex (likely missing one or two) all have a product or two that will hang (at one level or another) with the big three. That said, I simply have not run across a bino that works for me (both in glass quality and ergo's) like the Swaro EL. Window pane POP that seems to fit my hand and face to perfection.

I'd not buy any of them without being able to compare a bunch of them side-by-side - they need to work for you. Give Doug at Cameraland a buzz to discuss how you might be able to spend some quality time with several of them.

Bob,

The top-end Minox binoculars now have near-alpha prices....

MD I'd like to know what your pick of the litter is currently. Sorta like what you thought about the Pentax DCF WP 15 years or so ago.

I'd be interested, too, especially since my quest may turn from finding a pair of compacts to supplement my 10-year-old Pentaxes, to finding a replacement since they aren't turning up in a search of the house!

Still using my Nikon 8X32 LX Refurbs from Doug. They were great then and still are now. The big 3 might (big might) control flare just a tad better, but the view from the Nikon is good as any I have ever tried.

I'm pretty much now in the camp with those that believe that anything much over $1000 is "sort of" wasting my money.
That doesn't mean I'm going to sell my Leicas, however. They are as tough as anything ever built for one. That means alot to a guy that knocks his rifles and binoculars around in tough country.
The other is that the ones I have are heavy. Really too heavy for all day wear around the neck while spending the day going either up or down in the mountains. But when it comes to glassing for hours at a time, that weight means alot more than tiny improvements in image quality.
BTW, compared to testing scopes, which I firmly believe need to be hunted for a few years to properly evaluate, binoculars can be evaluated rather easily. For one, guys like Doug at Cameraland will sell you one with a full money back guarantee if you want to try it out. Send it back in original condition in seven days and you get a full refund. Cabela's will do the same thing.
The only thing you can't get a good feel for is how well it will hold up with lots of service. Still, this is alot easier than evaluating scopes.
What it boils down to is that I am not planning to buy another Leica if I decide I must have a 10X40 binocular. It's going to be one of the $1000 or less class of heavy binoculars like the Leupold GR or the Meopta. E