My current "best" binoculars are Zen-Ray ED (the original ones, not the ED2 or ED3) in 8x43. I'm looking to replace them with something nicer and based on what I've looked through recently, I'm leaning towards the Zeiss Conquest HD 10x42. These will be mainly for hunting in South Carolina with 400 yard max needed.

I haven't been able to compare the Zeiss side-by-side with the Zen-Ray, so I'm wondering how drastic the upgrade will be. How about in dusk/dawn situations? I know the exit pupil is better with the 8x, but I'm hoping the extra resolution of the Zeiss will overcome this (I'm mid-40s for reference).

The other binocular I have been looking at is the Swaro SLC 10x42, but I'm not sold on the difference being worth the additional $800.00 to my eyes.

Any recommendations?

Meopta B-1 10x42 HD. Awesome bino for the price. Goes head to head with the best of them and gives up nothing.

Patience... I sold a pair of swaro 10-50 for $1000, bought a pair of brand new re furbished classics for 3 bills... Beyond popular belief, classics don't even begin to hang with Swarovski but will make a great truck/traveling glass.. I.e.; Hawaii etc

Seems like you could get Tract for less and still have top notch. do some search on here.

Meopta Hd is great, Toric is equally great for lots less $$$.

I found some 10x42 Steiner Peregrines on sale a few years ago. I think I walked out the door with them for $800.

Simply awesome binos, except for the stupid ass, cheap eye cups. When my Swaro 8.5X42s froze solid, the Steiners didn't flinch. They're clearer than my Zeiss too. Not as clear as my Swaros, but much more reliable when its 20 below.

If you're patient and can find closeouts on certain premiums, that's the way to go IMO.

Thanks for the advice so far. I will check out the Meoptas HD. I've looked thru the standard ones and they were good, but not as good as the Conquest HD to my eyes.

In regards to the Toric, have there been any qualitative tests/comparisons done?

Just took delivery of a Trijicon 8 x 42 HD for about $663.00 on Amazon. I believe this is a Meopta product branded by Trijicon. It is excellent. I have a hard time seeing any difference between the Trijicon and my $2300.00 Nikon EDG 10 x 42 bino, which one birding site rates as the number one Alpha glass in the world. After looking through these Trijicons, I'm starting to really question the wisdom of spending more than $700.00-800.00 on a bino (though I do have a Leia Noctivid on order. )

Jordan

I have a pair of as-new Zeiss 10x32 Victorys right at your price point listed here at the 'fire.
Why bother with the conquests or go cheap when you can have the world class brightness of the Victorys?
If these don't completely impress send them back to me...

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/11401026/FS:__Zeiss_Victory_10x32_FL*T*#Post11401026

With that budget I'd go with Leica trinovids from Doug, a lot of bino for the money, lifetime warranty.

Conquest HD 10X42 can be found for significantly less than $1000 also. Hell, you could buy mine for $650. I am with some others in that, for that money or less, you are hard pressed to beat the Meopta HDs, in my opinion.

Meopta HD-great but weigh the most out of any you would be considering.

Tract-Toric, Zeiss Conquest HD,Vortex Razor HD,Maven B2, Leica Trinovid (produced in the last 5 years) or the most recent HD version-all in your price range.

Personally I would look for a deal on a lightly used or new current Swarovski SLC if you end up spending near $1000.

T
I've been thinking about those Swaro 8.5's but I occasionally hunt Canada in late November and it can get way below zero there.

How cold was it when they froze?

The Swarovski 8.5x42 El does not freeze up, that includes
all the models. They are good to go. Don't let that post
stop you, they are very good, for a one and done binocular.

I've been happy with my Meoptas. Like someone else said, the old Trinovids that are on sale now for 8-900 are a heck of a deal in my opinion.

Meopro or Meostar?

Meostar HD, same as Cabelas euro HD.

Thanks.

Trinovid HD all the way. I went through this dilemma a few months back and am very happy with the Leicas.

The eye doctors have us look through lenses and tell them what we see best for with!

I looked through mine again just now and the economy Nikon Action 7-35x35 vari power binocs could tell what is it the best for me from our backyard. I looked over the pond down there at about a mile and they could make out 'what is it?' better than the others.

The others are Hensoldt Wetslar Nacht Dialyt 8X56's! and Bushnell 7x35 WA's.

Here they are. More information later.


From the bottom up. Leupolds, Hensoldt 8X56, Leica rangefinder, unknown, Nikon Action 7-15 x 35mm,

Appreciate the guys throwing our name into the ring. You certainly don't need to spend the money to get the alpha glass anymore. Feel free to shoot me a message if you have any questions on the Tract Toric, which looks like it may fit your wants.

Just throwing it out there as well....a coupon will be coming out very shortly for our optics....

I'm sure you meant 7-15X35. I have some like that and compared them to my favorite binoculars; the Swarovski 8.5X42. As soon as I turned up the Nikon for checking long range detail the Swarovskis were out of the running. But for constant use I would take the Swarovski. After all, once I find game I can take an up close and personal look with the Bushnell 6500 4 1/2-30X50.

I hunt in South Carolina with a max of 400 too

I have two binoculars-

1) Zeiss Victory 8x32. Found them like new on eBay a couple years ago for about $1200 I believe. Awesome binoculars I use the most for deer and turkey hunting. Small and light enough that they are never in the way, but great glass and resolution.

I would go to a used Swarovski if I had a $1K budget.

I have tried other brands and still go back to Swaro.

donsm70

IIRC, it was about 20 below in the mornings and hovered around 0 during the day. This was in Nov 2014. Firing pin was sluggish too. I had to degrease it one evening and put on dry lube.

I killed this buck around 11 AM or noon one day during that cold snap, and he was froze solid within an hour or so.





Other people have not had these issues with Swaros, but that experience left a bad taste in my mouth. I still use them though (in warmer weather) because they blow everything else away as far as clarity and keeping eye strain at bay for me. My Swaro spotting scope power ring has also got pretty sluggish in really cold weather.

SCS,

I went thru a similar situation last year. I had the 7x36 ED2 and then went to the 10x42 Zeiss HD. To complicate matters, I previously had the 8x30 SLC-neu, which the 7x36 ED2 met or beat for me. In particular, the ED2 killed the SLC-neu in lowlight and straylight/glare.

I spent a bunch of time comparing the ED2 to the Zeiss. In the morning lowlight, overcast, bright sun, evening low light, fog, rain, etc. At well past 400y, there was nothing that I could see with the Zeiss that I couldn't with the ED2. Or 6x30 Yosemite, for that matter. And I had elk and other animals in the brush, grass, etc. to view. Of course, at much longer distances there was a difference but not at 400y.

The 10x42 Zeiss were just as bright as the 7x36 ED2. I guess it depends on how you view this but it's impressive that a 4.2mm exit was just as bright as a 5.1mm. Or, is it more impressive that a $350 bino (ED2) was just as bright as a $1000 bino (Zeiss HD)?

I also compared the 10x42 Zeiss HD to the Euro HD and there was no comparison to my eyes... the Zeiss were noticeably better in terms of resolution and light transmission, at least the samples that I tried. I compared the Conquest HD to several pairs of the 10x42 Swarovisions and had a hard time finding a difference with a quick eval. I suspect with more time, I would have found the SV better... but it was not obvious to me like the Conquest vs. Euro/Meopta.

What I do know is that the 8x alphas do 'pop' for my eyes compared to the 10x Conquests and 10x alphas. The 8x SV is great to my eyes. And so are the 8x FL. Even the 8x Conquest HD are nice. None of the 10x alphas seem to give a substantial jump in brightness or perceived clarity over the Conquest HD, to me.

At 400y, I think the binos that you have are probably pretty dang good. I really liked the 10x42 Conquest HD, but I wouldn't rule out trying the best 8x that you can afford for comparison. I know magnification can help with perceived brightness, but a premium 8x is a more noticeable jump in image quality compared to the ED2 than is a 10x for my eyes.

Edit - The 6x Yosemites did NOT work as well in low light compared to the ED2 or Conquest HD, but under most conditions were not too far behind, especially at 400.

Used pair of alpha glass if can swing it. I paid $1400 for a set of Cameraland 10x42 Ultravid HD's...and I've NEVER regretted it.

Yes, the broken record is back........

If you do not at least try a Toric 8x42 you are doing yourself a disservice. They are fantastic, and I've owned and compared loads of high end glass. Jon LaCorte at Tract is a pleasure to talk to and deal with.

Happy Labor Day everybody!

Used 10x 'Ultravid' binoculars for $1,400!!!!!!!!!!!!

Non-HD Euro's $499 -10% w/ promo code "6tenoff" has them on your doorstep @ $449.

$$ vs. performance makes the below linked mighty hard to beat:

http://www.cabelas.com/product/bargain-cave/optics/binoculars|/pc/105591780/c/105675480/sc/105676380/cabela-s-euro-trade-10x42-binoculars/720657.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fbinoculars%2F_%2FN-1102694%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_105676380

That's a killer deal.

This is a Great Deal!!

The only knock on these binos is they are a little on the heavy side if weight is a concern

That is a great deal.

I was able to compare several Binos at a local store and the Conquest HD bettered the Meopta non HD for me. I also didn't see much difference compared to the Swaro SLC, definitely not $1K more as I found the conquests for around $750 new, plus they have a $50 rebate right now.

That puts the cost not much different than the Toric.

Also, the Victory Binos made me a bit seasick. They were definitely sharp, but moving them around messed with me. I guess that's the rolling ball effect folks mention?

Still gonna look around some. Thanks for the advice so far!

I have the Cabelas 10X42 Euro HD's the glass is very clear and doesn't give up much to the Swarovski ED.

I got them for $800 last fall when Cabelas had them on sale and 10% off if you used your Cabelas card.

I was in the same mode 2 seasons ago and found new Swaro 10x42 SLC's for 1300 from a sporting goods dealer on eBay. They are certainly a pleasure to use and have helped me spot and identify elk and deer that I might have missed but they aren't a lot better than the Meopta HD's. I wasn't impressed by the Conquest HD and Zeiss is typically my favorite glass.

At that over 800 dollar price point the differences seem fairly small and based on individual preference to me. I think it took me buying 8 different binoculars to get to the Swarovskis and it was probably not the most cost effective route.

The Conquest HD has a 5-year no fault warranty.

Zeiss Conquest HD Binocular Durability Test

I had to laugh out loud with that.
Zeiss Victory binoculars have no "rolling ball' effect. That is mentioned with Swarovski swarovision binoculars--due the field flattening properties of the lenses; and most never even experience it.
You likely had too much power for the conditions with those Zeiss, and/or you were moving the glass whilst viewing.

For the money, the Victory series is the best buy in alpha glass right now. It is superseded by other, newer Zeiss models like the HT and SF series, making the now-discontinued Victory a real bargain with just a bit of looking.

I picked up a mint set of 8x42s for $800 for a family member last year.


Neither am I. It isn't even in the same league as their flourite FL*T lenses in the Victorys.
It's like comparing a set of Swarovski SV's to their CL companion series.
Not even close.
Every company has their second tier glass, Leica is probably the best out there with the Ultravid/Trinovid.
The Trinovids are fantastic.
Why guys settle for second best, non-alpha glass over a hundred or two dollars (pre-owned, with a bit of looking of course) is baffling. $1000+/- will buy some fabulous glass with patience.

My wife's swarovisions were $1195 as new in box.