Zeiss or Swarovski?
 

Looking for advise. I can purchase a 8X40 Zeiss or a 8X30 Swarovski binoculars for about the same price. Your suggestions.

I mostly hunt from an old broken down farm house in the middle of a field of beans surrounded by some trees, mostly pines. The deer move from about 4:00 until dark to a bedding area and cross the field ata maximum range of 300 yards.

I also plan a trip to Wyoming next year to hunt elk, don't know range or light conditions I will find there.

Thanks much.

RE: Zeiss or Swarovski?
 

Which Model Zeiss ?

RE: Zeiss or Swarovski?
 

which Model of Zeiss and what model Swarovski

RE: Zeiss or Swarovski?
 

Only Zeiss that I know of the Classics might have been made in 8x40 all their new stuff is 8x42 ..8x is all the glass one needs for deer hunting or hunting out west. It is not too powerful that you have to hold it too steady and powerful enough to spot game at long distance and then evaluate with a spotting scope. I have Leica BA in 8x42 which are a tremendous binocular and I also have Meopta Meostars in 7x42 which are great binoculars as well.

The 8x 30 swaros are sure nice to have around your neck all day when stalking since they are roughly 10-12 ounces lighter then the SLC's or my Leicas.

RE: Zeiss or Swarovski?
 

The Zeiss Conquest, the SLC Sawr's, it is the cheaper model about $800-900.00.

Maybe I should have asked for the best binos for less than $1K

Thanks to all who have commented so far.

RE: Zeiss or Swarovski?
 

YOU can buy Zeiss Classics at Camerlandny for under that you can easily buy SLC 8x30's as well and you can get Meopta 8x42 in the 700 range

RE: Zeiss or Swarovski?
 

An SLC Swaro. for $800?? Where. I want one. Tom.

RE: Zeiss or Swarovski?
 

Tom, if you find a dealer with old stock you might be able to get one for just north of 1k I know the guy around the corner from me has new stock 7x42 for 1100.00 but yeah I would buy new ones all day long for 800;)

RE: Zeiss or Swarovski?
 

A couple of times a year a local sporting goods store or two put them on sale, not advertised specifically. They are closer to $900 not $800. Thanks.

RE: Zeiss or Swarovski?
 

I bought a pair of the 8X56 SLC's two years ago for $1200. And I thought I got a good deal then. Even at $900 I would definitely go with the Swaro. Tom.

RE: Zeiss or Swarovski?
 

Yeah now that is a serious lowlight bino ..I need to get a pair one of these days 1200 would be a good deal for those

RE: Zeiss or Swarovski?
 

In general I prefer the Zeiss "view" to that of the Swaro. However, the Zeiss Conquest ABK 8x40 isn't really at the same optical or quality level as that of the Swaro SLC. For many years the SLC line was Swaro's type of the line model. Only after the ELs were introduced did the SLCs start playing second fiddle. Swaro updated many of the SLCs features a couple of years ago including the prism coating. Optically they are a bit better in almost every category (apparent sharpness, size of sweet spot, field of view, weight) in comparison to the Zeiss Conquest ABK. Probably the only area where the Zeiss's truly shine (pun intended) is in their brightness level. The Conquest ABKs utilize Zeiss's Abbe-Koenig roof prisms which actually are capable of producing a brighter image in almost all viewing conditions. The use the same prism design in their high end FL series but with a different glass arrangement to control color fringing and to produce a sharper image.

Tough call between the two. If compactness is your primary consideration then I would probably go with the Swaros. If a slightly more well-rounded configuration is what you are after then the 8x40 Zeiss would be the way to go. Keep in mind though that the Zeiss typically sells in the $800-$900 price range normally. The Swaro goes for right at $1000.

Hope this helps.

RE: Zeiss or Swarovski?
 

I will admit that the 8X56's are heavy. But they are worth every ounce in the field. Until you use a binocular like this for a year or two you can not appreciate what they can do.When you can look at color differences in the bark of a tree at a couple hundred yards--well that is true definition.

I enjoy reading some of the arguments made by some binocular buyers when the handle good glass for 5 minutes at the store. There is no doubt that good glass is worth the extra, but until a hunter actually uses better glass in bad situations, they can not understand the difference. It is that simple. Tom.

RE: Zeiss or Swarovski?
 

Thanks to all, I will probably go with the SLC's, thanks again.

RE: Zeiss or Swarovski?
 

I Tom I am guilty like a lot of people are when it came time to buying good glass. I could have bought another pair yet of fine binos with the money I spent on inferior glass all those years. But about 10 years ago or so I had enough of 2nd place opticsOnce you buy your first piece of good glass(in my case Leica trinovid 8x42BA) you can't go back. Yes those 56"s are topnotch for hunting deer. I wouldn't lug them around my neck on an elk hunt but other then that for all lowlight purposes just super super optics

RE: Zeiss or Swarovski?
 

See if you can try both sets out in a side by side comparison. Buy whatever fits YOU the best. I was set on Zies from reading all the reviews but after trying out all the high-end binos I surprisingly ended up with Liecas!! I have probably owned well over a dozen different pair and now am strickly using Liecas. I currently have two and one is the range finding type.
WW

RE: Zeiss or Swarovski?
 

Reckon i will have to stick to Nikon. Those are just to pricey for me.