Today I received the new Swarovski 8x42 HD. I've only tried it for a little while to get a first impression. Spontaneously, I think it feels nice to look through - the field of view seems somehow larger than that in the EDG. Possibly it is slightly brighter than the EDG, seems to be at least as sharp (if not sharper) as the EDG - but the focus wheel is not as smooth as on the Nikon and the contrast not as high. Furthermore, it seems to handle chromatic aberration in a similar way as the EDG. Neither better nor worse as I can see right now, although I sometimes get the feeling that it actually shows a bit more CA than the EDG. It surprises me a bit! The colour seems to be neutral.
But I will compare them more accurately those coming days. I know that it can be a difficult decision to make, which one should I keep and which of them should be sent back. Time will tell..
I took a picture of the Nikon EDG 8x42 and the Swarovski SLC 8x42 HD so you can see how they look next to each other..
Kingfisher,
Just a comment on the field of view. I haven't seen the 8x42 EDG yet, but I have compared side-by-side the 8x42 SLC HD and the 8.5x42 SV. Between these, the subjective field of view should be wider in the SV, and probably is if one calculates it, but the image circle looks bigger in the SLC HD. This is because the SV's magnification diminishes markedly towards the field edge (as Henry Link showed in the photos he took of the SV's field edge some while back) whereas the SLC HD has a more constant magnification. Perhaps there is more of a magnification change in the EDG's also, since they also strive for a flat field and good edge sharpness.
Kimmo
I think the Swarovski HD looks better than the EDG. Must be the Habicht emblem.;-)
http://images.search.yahoo.com/imag...ekv5&fr=yhs-avg