Please give me your thoughts on the following binocs
Audubon Equinox HP 8x42 out 5/1
Nikon Monarch ATB 8x42
Alpen Apex 8x42
Swift 828 HHS 8.5x44
Swift Ultralite 929 8x42 New
Sightron SIII 8x42
As you can see I am looking for a decent roof that is phase corrected, lightweight, twist up eye cups, waterproof, for $250 to $330. Which one would you get?? Thanks.
Being the same bin in different wrappers, it is up to your subjective opinion. Of the list I would probably pick the Swift 828 HHS because of the extra 2mm (adds about 9% surface area per lens, nothuing to sneeze at) and the extra .5x (about 6% more detail delivered to the eye). Second maybe a tie between the Equinox with its nice handling (to me) and the Nikon (good name recognition and light weight). I would not look twice at the Alpen as the company has never impressed me, they seem to put their badge on the bin and do nothing else to distinguish them from anyone who has an established line. The Ultralights across the board have been dissapointing since the redesign, since Henry died the company is losing ground, the new designs are not optically "special" like we expect from Swift, and they spent their R&D making them marketable to an audience who buys on looks without improving the optics (if not going a step back optically). I have no experience with the Sightrons.
Deja Vu? http://www.birdforum.net/showthread...&highlight=8x42