Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Swarovski Range VS Leica HD-B

I have used the Swarovski rangefinders for over a year and cannot really find anything wrong with them. It was hard to get used to the belly on the tubes, but it was only cosmetic as they really didn't interfere with the use of the binoculars.

I found them to be very good optically, but not as good as the Swarovision binoculars I had previous. It should also be noted that they were never sold as an optic equivalent to Swarovision.

There is one reason why I bought the Leica HD-B. They are made with a porro prism rather than a roof prism and that should be an advantage over the roof prism binoculars so prevalent today. I was hoping to get the quality of view with the Leica that I had with the Swarovision.

The Leica is advertized at 2,000 yards, surpassing the advertized capabilities of the Swaovski. I did side by side comparison while at the Big Whiskey BPCR shoot near Big Timber in early September. It did appear that up to about 1400 yards the Swarovski was faster and read the distance more often than the Leica.

The pictures will illustrate that the Leica's are a bit bigger and near the edge of what is considered a hunting binocular and not a truck binocular. They are easy to hold, the range button is on the right side, which I believe is an improvement over the left on the Swarovski. I could care less for all the ballistic crap that you can utilize in the Leica, a good rifle with a Swarovski Z-6 scope and a BRH reticle will do everything you need to when shooting long distance.

I have been using the Leica's in the field for a couple months now and still like them. Will I keep them? I don't know at this point, I still need a few months and lots of hunting conditions to really determine that. The idea that you can tell what a binocular is capable of by looking at a few black lines in a sporting goods store is a joke.

This is a work in progress and I can tell you that by this time next year I will be able to tell you which I do really prefer. Until then it is still testing...

Keep us posted. The HD Bs are the only ones of the big 3 I haven't owned. Swaro, Leica, Zeiss. I like the angle compensation on the Swaros.

Nice report & good info; thanks for taking the time to post it.

The Leica's really don't look like a traditional porro prism bino.

MM

I like everything about mine so far except the physical size/weight and the fact the lens covers are pure crap.
Don't take my comment the wrong way they are very ergonomically pleasing and feel great in hand, they just are pretty bulky.

My thoughts exactly.

Not nearly as bulky as the originals............

MM

I like the way the new HD-b's feel and I can agree the lens covers are complete junk. But the ballistics on an SD card flat out works, been shooting 3 different guns all summer long and it hasn't had a hiccup yet. Steep angles and high heat it spits out the right dope!

A good friend of mine is a swaro dealer and bought the Leica's thinking he would like them better for bow hunting (right hand operation). He called them "junk"..What do you expect from a swaro dealer tho..I've used them both and could go either way. But i'm one of the few that dont care for the rangefinder in my bino's, especially since the G7 range hit the market..

Shrap, have you used the 12x50 EL SV's much? I wrote them off cuz i have 10's and 15's, but I hear they are not too much to steady off a tripod, unlike the 15.

I had the HD-B's out today antelope hunting, got an easy reading at 1936 yards. The conditions must have been good today, getting good readings at a lot of yardages.



I haven't used higher than 10 power on binoculars as I think it is too much to handle and I would always endorse the 8.5 Swarovision EL's as the best out there. I did look through some stabilized Zeiss 20X binoculars and found them quite easy to use, but $6,000.00 is a bit out of reason...

Got a 1936 yard reading on an antelope???!!!

Have used the Swaro and the Leica at these ranges, but have found the Wild much more accurate at this range and beyond.....
but PG seems to know all so perhaps he can share some of his wisdom ??????

Great write up, shrapnel! I'm looking forward to your impressions on the Leica's in the field.

-John

So did you find this to be true? Is the glass better than the EL Range, maybe as good as the Swarovision?

Still pissed because you're too [bleep] stupid to figure out an angled spotting scope?

I haven't had the luxury of comparing Swarovision, side by side. I can honestly say that every time I would look through my Swarovision binoculars, I would get a good dose of the "WOW" factor. There are some that claimed there was a rolling ball effect with the Swarovision, but I never experienced that and I figure it is just operator error.

The EL range were not Swarovision and they were optically great, but not Swarovision. At this point I have been impressed with the HD-B, but I just can't say that the same "WOW" factor is there I noticed with Swarovision. I haven't had them through a hunting season yet to give it all the low light trials yet. I do find them very nice, but I also have a set of EL 8X32 that I use a lot and haven't used the HD-B enough yet to say thumbs up or down on the optics.

As compared to the Swarovski EL range, they give up nothing in that regard other than the EL is smaller. The rangefinding capabilities are a bit farther with the HD-B...

Good stuff, thanks.

Good info, thanks.

I have lost one of the flimsy lens caps after it fell off while duck hunting...Calling Leica on Monday.

Shrapnel:

How about an optical comparison of how these 2 perform, not
considering the RF.

Some are thinking Leica will be bringing out a new line
of binoculars with the Perger prism.

How is the glass?

Would be interested in comparing these two to the Zeiss Victory 10x45 RF, as I'm quite impressed with my Victory 10x42's.

Thanks!