Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Swarovski 8x30 WB SLC

Here are some additions to what has already been mentioned on
the SLC 8x30. I gleaned much of this from Birdforum posts over
the years. The dates may be approximate. Some of these changes
in models may or may not apply to other SLC models.

The first version is the Mk. I, Not waterproof, fold down eyecups, Mid. 80's
The Mk. II was next and added phase correction, and another
lens to the front for waterproofness.
The Mk. III model had a
body change and pullout eyecups. In 2003 there was a big
change and that was Swarobright, di-electric prism coating.
This helps with higher light transmission, truer colors, Higher
contrast and sharper. Also sometime in there was the change to
twist up eyecups.
2006, Easy to Clean was added which helps aid
cleaning and water repel.

Then the SLC Neu, armor change, along with the current Swaro. textured grippy feel. All along the way, were other coatings changes. To find the year of MFR. add 30 to the first 2 numbers of ser. #.

Any of the 8x30 SLC's are very good optics. The largest improvement in my opinion would be after 2003 when Swarobright
was added. That will increase your ability in low light.

Like Llama mentioned earlier, the nice thing about the Swaro.
8x30, is its smaller size and lighter weight, around 20 oz. and that is one good reason many want this quality lightweight size.
When you compare that to some other 32's that are much heavier, then for my choice I would go right to a 42mm when you get to 27 oz. or heavier.

GW is absolutely correct here when he says it is "Your" eyes that are the final judge.

I did most of my testing with the Meopta 8x32 Meostar (and I think GW knows the exact sample of Meopta 8x32 that I used for testing) against the Pentax 8x32 DCF ED that I have. I was actually planning on loving the Meopta and figured I would sell the Pentax, but that did not happened.

In my back yard on my deck I can look 300 to 400 yards down to the River and I can also look a couple miles across the Valley at the south facing hills across the valley. I watch Eagles, Osprey, other birds, moo cows, horses, the river rapids and lots of other stuff and also what few game we have left here in Oregon as test subjects. I also take the binos out in the field lots of places in the state. Again this is testing for me- for my own eyes.

I thought the Pentax 8x32 ED sample that I have was better built, better focus (mine is like butter), brighter etc. And the real test for me as a hunter is in the last few minutes of light- I could pick out a lot more detail with the Pentax ED than I could with the Meopta. My Pentax I actually thought beat out the 2009 8x30 SLC sample that I had in the last few minutes of light test as far as being brighter and picking out detail. For this test as a hunter, you really do not care about FOV, because your eyes are burning a hole right down the center of the optical field to glean as much detail as you can. For me the Pentax was better in this regard.

I thought the 8x30 SLC was a better overall package than the Meopta. But I am a Swaro fan.

Like they say- different strokes for different folk's "eyes".

Farmboy1 is right here on the dates. I looked up some notes that I had down on the SLC's/ Els' from Swarovski and The Swarobright was first started by Swarovski for some of their bins in about '98-'99 and did not make it to the 8x30 SLC's until 2003. Now I remembered that I do not think they ever had the Swarobright on my beloved 7x30 SLC's since they did not get on the 8x30's until '03 and they stopped production on the 7x30's in 2002 (mine are 1999).

But.... my 7x30 SLC are to my eyes every bit as good as the 8x30 2009 that I had. But that might be my jaded "sentimental" eyes since the 7x30 SLC was my first top tier binocular purchase.

I think the first bins that Swaro. made with Swarobright would be
the EL series, first introduced in 2000, and all of the EL's have it. The SLC's got the di-electric prism coatings a short time later. It seems the 8x30SLC has had changes made on its own
and not like the other SLC's.

I bought a Swaro 8x30 over 10 years ago. I have to say that I use it more than any sport/hunting/camping item I ever bought. I use them for everything - sports events, concerts, boating, hiking, sightseeing, camping, and of course, hunting. They were great out of the box and they are still as good as new. I also have the 10x42 EL's but I find the 8x30's are still the bino I use the most.

I have a pair of 8X30 Mark IIs that I bought around 2000. I used them heavily until last year and was very pleased. My wife and I planned a trip to Wyoming and Montana in Sept of 2009. I sent the Swaro's in for the eye cups to be replaced and and a internal cleaning for the trip. What I got back did not resemble what was sent in. The bino's had new armoring, screw up eyecups, the prisms replaced along with 2 pages of other up grades. The price was $25, this was on a pair of bino's that I payed $415 for 20 years earlier. The view was far and away better than what I had previously. I know this is not the question that was asked but i also own Minox, Zeiss, and others but from this day forward Swarovski will be the only optic I will buy. Just my experience and opinion.

Wow!
I really appreciate the time y'all have taken to reply to my question! I never expected this much information.
The 8x30's should be here Monday. I'll be sure to post an evaluation.

Enjoy! Like what was stated by others above, they are great and will last a lifetime if you want. Will be all you'll ever need if that is your desire.

You are possibly mistaken/incorrect about the upgrades to the SLC NEU and upgrades to SLC models in general. Also one must remember that around the time when Swarobright was added Swarovski also went to more neutral lenscoatings in their binos.

This is a quote from Swarovski product literature around 2008 in reference to the NEU SLC models.

"Quality control of the roof prisms has been refined to less than two arc seconds"
"Production accuracy standards of the lenses have been raised to the finest , premium photo quality level"
"Improved color fidelity has also been acheived through refined lens coating application.

Swarovski did more than just change the armor on the SLC NEU , they improved the optics, and later added the easy clean coatings. On the previous SLC they added swarobright and went to more color neutral lens coatings.

IMO an SLC from 10 years ago is not in the same class optically as a recent NEU SLC. Even a early production SLC with Swarobright does not compare to a NEU SLC made in the last couple of years.

Yes I guess I could possibly be mistaken/incorrect with my previous info. But my info was not based on my opinion or from any advertising literature from the company. I posted info that was directly from Swarovski techs that work on the products every day. They said and I quote- "the only coating up grade to SLC's since Swarobright was the lens exterior coating "Swaroclean" put on to protect the lenses- it does not change the optics." They said that is the only basic difference between a 2004 SLC and a 2007. Same with the EL's- other than a change to a different focus speed in 2004; the only other change was the Swaroclean put on in 2006. And I really do not see that there would be any real difference between a 2007 Swaro of any model and a 2009. I looked at a 2007 EL and 2009 EL, and I could tell NO difference; and I think anyone that tells you different is blowing smoke. In fact if both were in new condition and you had someone go back and forth between them with out knowing which one was which- I do not think they could be able to tell you.

Every company makes changes and upgrades and I am sure Swarovski is one of them with their quality controls. But if we are talking about real changes to the optics- that has not been done according to them. Same thing with the 8x30 SLC's and a 8x32 EL- they said the lenses and coatings in them are identical. Just the body style and size of the objectives are different.

Every one needs to come to their own conclusions. I believe what they told me; and my own 2 eyes "to me" verified it. I looked real close at a 2003 8x32 EL and a 2009 8x32 model and I or any one else would be hard pressed to see ANY optical difference. And other than magnification even my 1999 7x30 SLC, did not look much different from a 2005 SLC 8x30 that my brother in law had and also a 2009 8x30 SLC that I did have.

When my 7x30 SLC was in for a tune up and I was also looking to see if they could put the lenses with the easy clean on them, they told me like I quoted above in an email directly from them that:

" When you called you asked for the new lenses with the EZ to clean coatings , unfortunately the glass is not available for 7x30 SLC�s, they have been discontinued. According to the technician, your lenses are in almost perfect condition."

I also talked on the phone after that with the tech working on them and asked him his opinion about any difference he saw between my 1999 7x30 SLC and a 2009 8x30 SLC. And he told me that "other than the obvious mag. difference, it is only the outer armor of the NEU and the easy clean lens coating-there is no real optical difference; that 7x30 of yours is in perfect shape and is a fine piece of glass."

To my eyes (the only ones I need to please) I am happy with what I now have. And I personally would not hesitate to buy an early-mid 2000's SLC and feel that they are just as good as the new ones. Also there have been some reports from the people that have tried out the new ones that the focus is somewhat stiff. I found this out with the 2009 SLC that I had- I thought that the focus was a little sticky. Because my 1999 7x30 is silky as olive oil. That may be an issue where the new ones will loosen up, but I found it a little bit of a problem especially with the 30 mm format with the focus out in the front of the bino-because I focus my 7x30 with my pinky or ring finger and it is no problem.

IMHO -Everyone just needs to see what works for them, but I would be confident that a well cared for older SLC, is still a great piece of glass.

Timber:
I agree with much of your post, as the newer SLC's with the Swarobright are better than the older ones. As far as the older ones, the slightly yellow cast aided lowlight viewing when many hunters need the help. Unless you are a birder looking at plumage and are fussy about color, don't be concerned.

For most here the changes are incremental on the newer SLC's, and I have a late 8x30 SLC NEU, and have compared to an older version. So that means anything from 2003 onward is very good. The later twistup eyecups are great along with all
the rest of the changes in armor with its great grippy feel and balance.

Well, the SLC's showed up at the PO today.
I know there are lots of binos that are "better" and more expensive, but I have no idea how y'all measure the difference.

Anybody that spends a lot of time outdoors needs to own at least one good piece of glass of some kind, whether it's binos, a scope, or a range finder.

lots that are better, maybe a few but not "lots!!!"

You DO realize that you've purchased some of the best glass that money can buy and that anything that could possibly be better is quite subjective anyway. Right?!

Skane, this is the second set of Swaro binos that I've ever seen. I've never even seen any Leicas or Zeiss, so I have nothing to compare to.

But I don't see how it could get a lot better.

They're right, it doesn't get much better.

wow thats amazing. leupy GR over the slc neu? i have compared and couldnt disagree more.

I don't see how You guy's can tell the difference between any of the $750.00 + bino's, to My eye's the difference's are so slight as to be almost undetectable, I certainly don't see the extra money when You pay twice that price and even more, unless a man has more money than brains that is ........if that be the case, more power to ya rich guy!!!.........................Hillbilly.

ok if you say so

Well, there isn't a difference..................until you stare through them for 10 straight hours.

There is more than just the glass amigo - how they fit your face, ergonomics etc.....