Cameras and Lenses
Help me choose: Swarovski 8x30 WB vs. Nikon 8x30 EII
Sorry people, but its it’s another one of those “help me choose” threads…. 
Basically I want a new pair of good quality 8x30 porros (due to various personnel reasons I prefer them to roofs) and have, after much deliberating, narrowed my choice down to the above two. It’s going to be almost impossible for me to view them side by side before I buy so it would be nice to get some opinions about which pair would be the best for me.
Waterproofing is not a really a criteria and, as I don’t need glasses (yet!), eye relief is also not really an issue. What does matter to me above all is optical quality, followed by durability (I would hope to get a decent 10 to 15 years use out of them ) plus after sales service.
My feeling is that I should go for the Swarovski, even though they are dearer, not simply because they have the better optics (I guess that there is little to choose between the two in that respect) but because of their build quality and Swarovski’s good service reputation.
Any one have any thoughts on what I should spend my hard earned cash on?
Cheers!
Gary
Gweller, you've answered you're question! Unless you can try them side by side, you're going to gather info and then decide by using theory / advice and written spec from others...Purely on after sales service and their reputation it should be Swarovski - Swarovski Optik also offer a longer warranty, their bino is claimed as waterproof and the optical performance is right up there. However, there are also a huge amount of very happy Nikon E and E II owners as well as Nikon SE owners!
My advice to you....please make an effort to get to a dealer (who has both models in stock) where you can view them side by side, even if it means a long weekend over to the UK. Good luck.
PS. There are not that many retailers who keep the Swarovski porros in stock or demonstration so find one first before venturing out
I owned both models at one time and sold the Nikon to placate my wife's insistence that one of the two had to go. Two years later, I still have no regrets. The Nikon 8 x 30 EII is a terrific binocular with excellent performance and superb ergonomics but I thought the Swaro's optics were marginally better with build quality and warranty support that were each substantialy better. The Swaro's main defects are shallow eye relief and stiff rubber eyecups making use with eyeglasses very unsatisfactory and very stiff focus, probably due to waterproofing seals. I also admit (and it was a factor in my decision) that I prefer the look of the Swaros, which strike me as very much an updated and much better built Zeiss Jena Deltrintem.