“I have been using binoculars my whole life. I’m an avid hunter hiker outdoorsman, and I’ve used binoculars my whole life. As I’ve gotten older, I had a medical issue that left me with some significant vision problems. Some of the problems that I have is with contrast and color, not just blurry vision. Because I want to continue to hunt I decided I needed to upgrade my binoculars considerably. MY GOD I have never held a set of binoculars much less used a set of binoculars this good. Even the feel of them in your hand is like nothing I’ve ever experienced. The clarity, how quick the focus is. I got mine in a 12 x 42. Mostly because of my vision issues I needed the 12 power but like everyone has said before, the 12 power makes it so you may have to have a very very stable platform to set your binoculars on to keep things from moving around. Because it magnifies things more the slightest movement in the 12 power Will cause the item you’re looking at to jump around quite a bit.
So I still stick by my choice of the 12 power even though I do need to brace it on something, so my hiking stick or a branch or anything is great Top quality!”
“Verdict:
Very good. Very Very good.
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Strengths:
Very good image.
Very good clarity, contrast, and "3Dness" when looking through bino. Quite likely best in the world.
Good lowlight perf.
Good dawn and dusk performance within reasonable requirements.
Very Good FOV.
You'd get a 10x mag bino FOV, in a 12x mag bino.
Very good handshake control.
With the extra $169 foreshead rest and the extra $45 winged eye cup, you'd get a 10x mag bino handshake, in a 12x mag bino.
Good magnification rating.
Even among other NL pure binos, the 12x42 truely hits the spot. Any less or more magnification would entail insufficient detail or excessive shake and size. An 14, 15, or 20 mag bino would likely result in tripod support, in which case, might as well go all the way with a spotting scope.
Good form factor.
Good size and weight with respect to other alpha glass.
Good rubber armor.
Rubber armor feels nicer than other alpha glass. Also nice color. Feels very good in the hand.
Solid Warranty
From my readings, any swaro binos have superb after market service.
Nice strap.
The included strap connects nice.
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Shortfalls:
Good-ish price.
I would give a 4 or even 3 star review given the exorbitant price of bino. However, price is not more than other alpha glass.
Bruises like peach.
Be very mindful of keep bino lens away from dirt, dust, and oils. RARELY Use ONLY distill water and hot breath to clean. Do not even use dust blower let alone alchohol to clean lens. Any small mistake will smear lens coating...
Unique shape, but not necessarily meaningful.
Holding the binocular on the end will aid stability. So, if you hold the bino at the end, the advertised hourglass shape ergonomicness is lost. If anything, the hourglass shape is more of an fashion advertisement.
Vexing bino mount options.
Need to buy extra dedicated $199 Swaro Bino mount. Other 3rd party ~$100 options are available, but will require some research and reading. But other alpha glass also fall under this pitfall.
Excessive Swaro logos.
Along with the included strap, there are a total of 4 eagle logos, and 2 Swaroski letterings. Excessve with respect to other alpha glass.
Not-So-Nice Strap.
Strap is not compatible with any other 3rd party straps.”
“Great glass...Finally decided that 12's made sense for chasing elk, after many years of carrying 10x42 SLC's. Chose the 12x42's because of weight...They are still bright and clear. First look through the glass was able to pick out two crows chasing what looked to be a red tailed hawk at close to a mile away. Impressive.”
“These are wonderful binoculars, even better than my beloved EL 10x42. The optics are as you'd expect from Swarovski, and even at a premium price are worth it to dedicated birders. (I resisted buying these, especially since my EL's are still in fine shape, but my husband pointed out that I spend thousands of dollars on trips to see birds, so I should actually optimize my chances of actually seeing them!) I chose the 12x42 because as I age, my eyes are seeing less color and detail, and I need all the help I can get. The weight is a bit more than my EL 10x42 but the indentation fits my hands very well and seems to reduce the impact of extra weight. The focus is much faster than my EL, which is really the only irritation I have with the ELs. I like the clarity throughout the entire circle of view, with the only distortion my bifocals at the bottom, and no black circles at the edges. Overall, what you pay for and expect from Swarovski.”
