Leica Geovids or 15*56 swarovs

[DesertBull]

Leica used to own Minox. They did all the engineering but the MFG was done in Japan to lower cost. Minox spun off as their own brand when Leica was having cash flow problems several years ago.

 

The glass is top notch. The eye cups are not. They are large and hard and can be uncomfortable. The clarity and brightness of the glass is very good. They are heavy and big, but sometime heavy is not so bad...like when its windy.

 

The MSRP of Minox 15's has always been around $1,000, but the street price was been between $600 and $700 since the beginning. I bought a pair the first year they came out and paid $650 from Bear Basin in California.

[TREESTANDMAN]

Thanks for that info Desert Bull. Very interesting!

 

One reason I really like Swarovski is because of the comfortable Eyecups and ergonomics and feel of the binos.

[outdoor rush]

If you want to look through the minox let me know i work at sportsmans in mesa. When i got my binos i took them into work and compared them head to head vs the swaros, and vortex and all the guys who looked through them ranked it 1. swaros a close second the minox and 3. vortex. I can tke them into work anytime so let me know. Id rather spend 500 on a awesome pair of 15s and get to go to ohio and hunt deer plus my elk hunt in october and archery deer during season than buy the swaros and not have enough gas money to get out and use them. But thats just me.

 

jake

[catclaw]

Catclaw,

 

You may be right about the focal quality of the swarovs/leica to the Minox. If you are right I will sell my Minox for close to what I purchased them for and get some swarovs or Leicas. I've owned swarovs for many years and I do love them.

 

I have no idea if you are right about the lazer negatively affecting the Leica glass? It doesn't really make sense to me as to how it would affect it that much.

 

Have you ever compared Minox 15*58's to Swarov 15*56's side by side? With high quality glass, that is really the best way to accurately compare them which I plan to do very soon. If I feel the difference is minute....then I'm probably going to start recommending minox. The price was dropped from 1k down to 500.00 for a reason. I'm wondering if it is because the Minox binos don't fit those with narrow eyes? Or maybe the glass just isn't that great? Too heavy? The name? I've often wondered how much it actually costs swarovski or Leica, Zeiss to make a pair of 3K binoculars? All that material purchased in bulk can't cost all that much? What exactly sets a swarovski El 10*42 binocular from a Nikon Monarch 10*42 bino? Sure you can tell the difference (a little) in low light situations. But in broad daylight looking across a canyon 200 yds away the difference is very small.

 

I remember reading a comparison 3 members of this site did comparing the Swarovski EL 8*42 to a Zen-ray 8*43 ED. I was amazed that the consensus was that the zen-rays were equal if not slightly clearer and crisper than the 2K EL swarovs. The zen-ray are a $400 pair of binos with a good waranty. How can this be?

 

Sorry for getting a little philosophical. I'm excited to put my new binos to the test!!

 

 

I have tested the Zen-rays, they are very good but not as good as the ELs. The Zen Rays are the pinnacle of what China can produce right now. They are certainly not as durable as the Swarovskis but amazingly clear. The Minox as NOT as clear as the Kaibabs, which are not as clear as the Swaros but they are pretty good. The Minox are quite heavy too.

 

I have an 8x30 SLC Swaro and I compared them a few weeks ago to an EL. The ELs were a step better!

 

The main reason the Swaros and Zeiss are so expensive is that the factory workers in Austria make several times the wages a Chinaman makes. I have heard figures of about 25 Euros/hour at Swarovski.

 

The laser blocks some of the light and they have to do something special with the coatings to let the laser emit through the lenses. Like I said, I noticed it in a side-by-side with the Zeiss Victories. I hunted down the engineer at the SHOT show and discussed it with him. It reduced light transmission like 3 or 4%. When you are talking $2000 glasses- this is huge. I didn't buy any for this reason.

 

I may splurge and get the EL's now that I have been enlightened- pun intended. When you get your Minox- I will be glad to sit down with you and do and side-by-side. My buddy just bought some and I have compared them. They are good, but they are $1500 cheaper for a reason. Optics are competitive- China aside, you get what you pay for to a large extent.

 

I wish I had some to try out before ordering them but not many stores carry them.

 

Mike

 

[40-year-AZ-hunter]

In my humble opinion, asking which is better Leica or Swarovski is like asking whether you prefer blondes or brunettes. Both are great and to each his/her own.

[Stallone A.]

Other on this sight said it already its like anything else you got to test what works for you. I would just say go and test them all out before making your decision. In my eyes the Swark 15X56 work best for me, however I have a cousin that loves his Minox 15 X 58 and can't see clear out of my Swark... Go figure Good Luck...

[catclaw]

The 15x56 SLCs are only able to accommodate down to about a 62-63 mm IP distance. If you have eyes set closer than this, they will be tough to use. The Geovids are a little wider yet. The Kaibabs will easily work down to 60mm. This is the biggest drawback of the roof prism binocular. 56mm Objective lens makes it tough to get them close enough for all eyes to use them. There are two hunters on my street that cannot use my 15s. I have to pull the lens cover straps apart to make them overlap or I can't even use them. Might be the reason some prefer the Minox- maybe they will squeeze closer together. I really find it hard to believe that someone would prefer them otherwise. Ergos are not as big a deal on big glass as it is mounted on a tripod, the view is pretty much everything.

 

I wish that they had quit putting research into the porro prism designs and we still had a choice out there. Remember when the 15x60 Zeiss used to be the Gold Standard?

 

Well the really good ones are still porro prism style: Kowa Highlander, Doctor 30s etc.

[Coach]

I don't think the comparison in this case is on track. If you need a range-finding biocular, Leica Geovid is the best range-finder/binoc on the market, despite the button being in the wrong place for archers and most hunters. If you are looking at a "glassing" bino, Swarovski 15x56 are the BEST glassing binocs available.

 

Here's where I see the difference. The Geovids, by design, aren't meant for mounting on a tripod. The center tripod mount is where they chose to put the lazer range finder, so you have to buy some kind of plate with a velcro strap to even adapt them to a tripod. Geovids are designed specifically to be worn around the neck, to quickly look at an animal and have the capability to acquire the range. They just happen to have glass that is superior to that kind of usage - and better suited to glassing off a tripod.

 

Swarovski 15x56 SCL, on the other hand are not a very handy "around the neck" pair of binocs. They are heavy, big, IMO too magnified for a hand-held bicoc, and don't incorporate any kind of range finding. They are meant for a certain job, and that job is glassing in extreme detail, from a tripod.

 

I'd love to have a pair of Geovids, simply because it's a pain to switch from bino's to range-finder. But I'm not forking out 3 grand for that convenience. I'd rather sit between my Swaro 10x42s, and 15x56 to find out what I'm going after, then rely on my range finder to play it's specific role when the time comes.

 

One of these optics companies *might* finally get it all right at some point. A compact, variable 8-15x (on the same level as a Leica Duovid) with built in, angle compensating, laser range finder, that can still be mounted on a tripod for extended long range glassing with super high quality glass -would be the ONE single piece of optics any Western hunter needs. It's not out there yet, and it might not ever be. Western US hunters aren't exactly dictating to German optics providers where to allocate their annual R&D budget. They make way more money on consumer and prosumer grade cameras than they ever will off of all-in-one optics designed specifically for Western US hunters. It's just a matter of "consumer base".

 

As it stands now, no one offers that "holy grail". You need a quality 8-10x around your neck, a bigger 15x type for digging into details and a quality stand-alone range finder.

 

I've got 8x42 Swaro SLCs around my neck, with a Jim White tripod adapter so I can glass by hand or quickly off of a Slik Sprint Pro, In my pack are the Swaro 15x16 SLC for getting in tight, with the same adapter so I can just plop them up for a more detailed look without going to a bigger tripod. In the front-left pocket of my fanny pack is a Nicon 800 yard lazer range finder. 3 three tools can handle pretty much any job. If I fail, it's not because the equipment didn't do it's job.

 

 

[TrentSwanson]

I agree with Coach on all points except one: if you choose to use a Leica Geovid or the Zeiss RF rangefinding binoculars that do not allow you to mount a tripod using the center hinge, the Outdoorsmans makes an awesome mount that slips over one objective lens. It is lightweight and solid, and is of course optimized to use with their tripod susytem, but it can also be used with just about any tripod plates. It is called the Ring Adapter and comes in 42mm, 45mm, or 56mm.

 

Just for the record, I have always used Leica or Swarovski 10's around my neck (because I have to carry them somewhere when they're not on a tripod... ha!) and recently started using the 15x56 SLCs. I carry my Leica CRF 1200 in a pouch on the belt of my pack and carry a Swarovski 80mm spotter in my pack. Each tool serves a specific purpose.

 

I think the ideal setup (short of the all-in-one optics nirvana Coach dreams about) would be tripod-mountable, lightweight 8x32s around your neck, 15x56 SLCs for true glassing, an 80mm spotter for trophy judging, and a small, lighweight, accurate rangefinder.

 

If you get a chance, head up to the Outdoorsmans to take a look through all the different optics. At the end of the day, the best choice for you is the binocular that looks the best to YOU and feels the best in YOUR hands and against YOUR face.

 

Good luck!

[The Claw]

Personally, I will never do without a rangefinding binocular. It has proved invaluable many times when time was of the essence, and yes seconds do count as you know. I have owned the 10 X 42 Geovids since they were available on the market. I love them (other than the button being on the left side of course which is a problem while bowhunting or if you have short fingers). The Zeiss have the button on the right side but they are more expensive. I also use and love the Duovids. I do my initial scanning from a spot in 10X and then if needed pick everything apart under 15X. Some will argue that the edge to edge clarity with the dual power is not the same as the Swaro's or even the Leica Ultravids which is true and light transmission is even a little less. However, this is minimal in both cases and in real life hunting situation it is negligible. The benefit of having both powers in one unit is much greater. Both products by Leica offer real advantages in hunting situations that are well worth their money if you plan on buying in that price range.

[catclaw]

I agree with Coach on all points except one: if you choose to use a Leica Geovid or the Zeiss RF rangefinding binoculars that do not allow you to mount a tripod using the center hinge, the Outdoorsmans makes an awesome mount that slips over one objective lens. It is lightweight and solid, and is of course optimized to use with their tripod susytem, but it can also be used with just about any tripod plates. It is called the Ring Adapter and comes in 42mm, 45mm, or 56mm.

 

Just for the record, I have always used Leica or Swarovski 10's around my neck (because I have to carry them somewhere when they're not on a tripod... ha!) and recently started using the 15x56 SLCs. I carry my Leica CRF 1200 in a pouch on the belt of my pack and carry a Swarovski 80mm spotter in my pack. Each tool serves a specific purpose.

 

I think the ideal setup (short of the all-in-one optics nirvana Coach dreams about) would be tripod-mountable, lightweight 8x32s around your neck, 15x56 SLCs for true glassing, an 80mm spotter for trophy judging, and a small, lighweight, accurate rangefinder.

 

If you get a chance, head up to the Outdoorsmans to take a look through all the different optics. At the end of the day, the best choice for you is the binocular that looks the best to YOU and feels the best in YOUR hands and against YOUR face.

 

Good luck!

 

 

That is exactly what I now use; an 8x30 SLC around my neck (don't like the harnesses), small compact Nikon rangefinder for archery or Leica for rifle hunting, and my 15x56s and 80mm Spotter in my pack.

 

When guiding, I would like to have an 8x42 Geovid but not for hunting.