Most folks base their decision to buy one brand over the other on optical quality... the image the binocular/spotting scope/ riflescope delivers to the eye. This is a logical and in many cases the easiest decision to make.
In this computer controlled world, many brands of optics have excellent optical performance. As many have written, it appears that there is not enough difference in optical performance to make the jump into the "Alpha Optics" price range.
While optical performance is important, and is what is most evident each time to use the optical instrument, optical quality is not the only judge of the quality of the unit. The mechanical reliability of the unit also plays a great part of the optical performance. The engineering decisions, materials, craftsmanship and quality control all come into how an optical products performs, but how it wears and if it will retain it close tolerances in rugged use. Not just how it looks, feels and performs when it's new.
23 years ago I purchased a Leica binocular. It was by far the most expensive optical purchase I had ever made. My friends, family and especially my wife, thought I was crazy for spending so much money on a binocular. I had done so because the older guys in my SCI chapter who were doing the type of hunting I only hopped to do in my life were using them and singing their praises. So I decided to save up and buy a pair, and I did.
I have used those binoculars on almost every hunt I have been on these past 23 years. They have been to Africa, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, and all the Western States. They have performed perfectly all these years. They have NEVER been to the repair shop, and they perform the same today as the day I bought them. Over the 23 years, these binos have been the best and most economical purchase I have made. Plus, I could sell them for what I paid for them.
This is why I buy Alpha optics... It's the best spent money in the long run, I am not buying a new pair every few years. And I have the joy of use and reliability under the worst conditions. Ovis_Chaser
