Swarovski EL Swarovision 10x50 Binocular

Birders get more use out of their binoculars than any other binocular-use activity. Hunters and sports watchers use binoculars, but not like birders, so I feel this justifies having a decent pair. I had a very decent pair of binocs for about two decades -- the Leica 8x42 Trinovid. When I bought those many years ago, I justified the cost of $1100 by amortizing it over a lifetime. The old Leicas are outstanding and they held up over the years without any problems. In fact, I dropped the Leica Trinovids for the first time a month ago on the deck of a boat, and I thought they were ruined for sure, however they are still good as new.

There was really no compelling reason to buy a new pair of binoculars until I tested the Swarovision series and the Leica Ultravid HD series. Both are unbelievable -- glass even better than the old Leicas, and much closer focus range than the old Leicas. The image quality is phenomenal -- noticeably better, although the new Leicas optics are just as good. It was a difficult choice between the new Leica Ultravids and Swarovision EL, but I chose the latter because of the incredibly fine focus granularity of the Swarovskis. It can sometimes take a little longer to initially find the focus on an object with the Swarovskis, but worth the trouble because of the clarity of the image when it is in focus. In dense cover, the focus granularity can be adjusted for objects with resolution of just a few inches fore and aft, which allows you to stay on the object and ignore everything else that is blurred out of focus. I do not know if that makes sense the way I have articulated it, but I feel the fine focus capability provides a distinct advantage for birding.

Like I said it was a tough decision because I am a big fan of Leica for durability and top of the line image/glass quality. Really, it is a draw between the Swarovision EL and Leica Ultravid HD series.