I have an opportunity to purchase a pair of about ten year old Swarovski SL 8x56 binocs in great shape with new lense covers for $850. But I can get a pair of Burris Euro Diamond 12x50 binocs brand new for $750. I know Burris makes pretty good scopes, but I don't know anyone who has ever owned a pair of Burris Binocs. I have read some reviews claiming the Euro Diamonds are somewhat comparable to Swarovski SLC's, but I also know that with optics, you usually get what you pay for, and the Burris is about a third the cost of the Swarovski's new. I wouldn't consider myself a die hard hunter, so I would probably never consider dropping $2000 on a pair of new Swarovskis, but $850 sound like a great price to me. Next to overall clarity, light gathering is probably my #1 priority with binocs, and from what I've seen Swarovskis are the best for that. Does anyone have any experience with Burris Euro Diamonds? And do they even compare to Swarvoskis? Which ones would you buy? Also wondering if there is a big difference between a 10 year old pair of Swarvoskis and brand new one's due to technological improvements? As you can probably tell, I don't have a ton of experience with high end optics so just about any advice you could give me would be useful.

"...........I would probably never consider dropping $2000 on a pair of new Swarovskis, but $850 sound like a great price to me." Ruff


Me too !


Quality will last for generations.


Should have added; all my rifle scopes are Burris, binos & range finder are Nikon (with my money, I'll live with that)

Thanks for the reply, and the great Abe Lincoln quote!

mainly you pay for shipping and tax on swarovski...burris makes nice glass.

I use a set of 8x40 mm Swarovski SLC's that are 8 years old. Drop dead clear and concise. The 56 mm shuld should provide excellent low light performance and the 8X is plenty for glassing several hundred yards. I am not familiar with Burris' binos.