Steiner Discovery Binoculars

[wizzo]

Do any of you guys have any experience of Steiner's 'Discovery 8x44' Bino's. I was wondering how they compare. to the Leica's and Swavorski's, considering the not so inconsiderable price difference. Everyone keeps telling me that the Swavorski's can't be bettered Thanks

[Cellarman]

All the Steiners I've looked through have a colour cast. We get the rep round regularly, but don't rate them enough to stock them. Swarovski ELs are without a doubt the best binoculars available today, but at what price? The new EL model, which will be available around the middle of January, have a SRP of £1745 for the 8.5x42 and £1815 for the 10x42.

If you want a reasonably priced pair of good quality binoculars, have a look at the Hawke 8x43 ED model which sells for around £300.

[freefeet]

Originally Posted by Cellarman

If you want a reasonably priced pair of good quality binoculars, have a look at the Hawke 8x43 ED model which sells for around £300.

I got a brand new pair for £219 off eBay in February.

For the money.... WOW! Excellent value!

[wizzo]

Thanks again folks. When you say the 'new EL's' - were the original ones cheaper? £1750.00 is rather steep. The 'Hawks' sound a better comprimise. Having never owned a decent pair of bino's it's easy to get carried away. The niggling thing is that, I'll probably never be in a position to afford the expensive ones again. I'm such a spend thrift!! Ok, deep breath....(note to self) sleep on this one.

[Cellarman]

Originally Posted by wizzo

Thanks again folks. When you say the 'new EL's' - were the original ones cheaper? £1750.00 is rather steep. The 'Hawks' sound a better comprimise. Having never owned a decent pair of bino's it's easy to get carried away. The niggling thing is that, I'll probably never be in a position to afford the expensive ones again. I'm such a spend thrift!! Ok, deep breath....(note to self) sleep on this one.

Swarovski have been steadily increasing the price of the ELs in preparation for the introduction of the new ones. I guess the idea was to make the difference in price to be less of a jump. At the beginning of this year, they were around the £900 mark, but by July, they had increased to £1400 ish. Now Swaorovski say that the increase is due to the difference in the Pound against the Euro and had 3 price increases this year, but I don't believe that the Pound dropped by 18% in June, because that's how much they increased their prices that time!

[wizzo]

That's almost word for word what a dealer in Bristol told me this morning. They bought up about a dozen pairs of the Swavorski bino's and are selling them for about £1200.00. They said that the new 'HD' models just don't justify the price increase. It's that kind of thing that puts me off of certain manufactures, no matter how good their optics are. Back to the drawing board

[Gill Catton]

A £300 pair of binoculars will be fine, I had a pair of deltas which were about that much and they have been brilliant for about 7 years until I dropped them into a river (but that was hardly their fault!)

I don't think I could ever justify spending £17500 on bins, maybe on a scope or a camera or maybe if the binoculars hovered by themselves and followed you around or something so you don't have to carry them

[freefeet]

Originally Posted by Gill Catton

A £300 pair of binoculars will be fine, I had a pair of deltas which were about that much and they have been brilliant for about 7 years until I dropped them into a river (but that was hardly their fault!)

The Hawke ED's are waterproof. Not that i plan testing them in a river though.

I would agree about the £300 pair being fine. I can't imagine for a moment that spending £1500 on a pair will make my binocular viewing experiences 5 times as good as they currently are.

[wizzo]

Thanks Gill and Freefeet! The Hawks you mention keep cropping up time after time and I've yet to hear anything negative about them. Now then......what am I going to spend the excess money on..........

[freefeet]

Originally Posted by wizzo

what am I going to spend the excess money on..........

A nice camera!

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by freefeet

The Hawke ED's are waterproof. Not that i plan testing them in a river though.

I would agree about the £300 pair being fine. I can't imagine for a moment that spending £1500 on a pair will make my binocular viewing experiences 5 times as good as they currently are.

Yes it was certainly an accident and I didn't so much drop them in as they came in with me when the boat capsized! Thank goodness I hadn't had my camera with me too!

[JeffH]

Hi Wizzo

I've had a pair of Steiner Discovery 8 x 44s for nearly 18 months now and I reckon they are the best pair of binoculars I have ever owned or tried (and as a birder for nearly 35 years I've tried a lot )

I should add that before I bought mine I had the opportunity of field testing them alongside the equivalent models of Leica Ultravids, Swarovski ELs and Zeiss Victory binoculars. At that time the price difference between all these leading brands was only about £150 so price wasn't really a factor in making my choice.

To my eyes and at that time, there was little to choose in terms of optical quality between the 4 leading brands mentioned and I selected the Steiners simply because I found them easier to use than any of the others. As a spectacle wearer I found the other 3 models more difficult to align on putting them to my eyes, whereas with the Steiners (which have the largest ocular lenses of the models mentioned) I have never had any such difficulty.

As for the colour cast mentioned by Cellarman, this is barely noticeable and in my experience such casts are a common feature in many binoculars resulting from different lens coatings.

Here's a link to a review in Birdwatch magazine which may help you in deciding -

http://www.steiner-binoculars.co.uk/.../BirdWatch.pdf

Having said that, there really is no substitute for trying out all the binoculars on your short list for yourself and whatever anyone else may say or think of them. What suits others may not suit you so it's well worth investing some time in visiting one or two of the optics retailers stocking the brands you're interested in (preferably those offering a suitable test view rather than a high street location ) to try them all for yourself.

Hope that helps

Jeff
(Schedule 1 Licence holder for Kingfishers, Avocets and Barn Owls)
Jeff Harrison - Wildlife, Nature and Landscape Photography

[wizzo]

Well thanks a bunch Jeff!! There was me about to spend just £300 quid on the 'Hawks' and now you've managed to sell me the Discovery bino's again! Obviously, Im pulling your leg mate I live close to Chew Valley Lake, near Bristol and guess what, there's a new shop called 'Lakeside Optics' that has opened that overlooks the lake. Not only do they have all of the top end scopes mounted on tripods and displayed outside of the shop, alongside mid-range models and budget scopes, they actively encourage you to handle the binoculars and scopes without rushing, whilst answering every question with patience and politeness. This was in stark contrast to Jacobs of Bristol, who made it quite obvious, that they prefered me not to take the Leicas outside of the store. Unfortunatley, Lakeside Optics didn't have the Steiners in stock, but they were quick to praise both the Hawks and the Discovery optics. In terms of handling, I loved the Swarovski bins but could see little difference between those, the Leica, and the Zeiss (all 10x40 or thereabouts). They are going to order a pair of the Discoverys so that I can have a look. At a relative bargin price of £875 for the 8x44's, I'm definately interested. I know this is the wrong forum Jeff, but I have a budget of roughly £4,000-4,500 to spend on the photographic side of things. This would include a body (Nikon D300 or D700) plus lenses for wildlife and landscapes. Could I be cheeky and ask for your advice? I noticed that you're a landscape photographer. Thanks again everyone for your advice. Wizzo