Photography Equipment
1.5K-2K for bins really worth it?
I don't know maybe I am not sensitive enough but I looked through the almost 1.5-2K Zeiss, Lieca, Swaro bins and I gotta say I do not see the justification for such a mark-up on binoculars. Life pair aside I just do not get it. Do enough birders really pay this for bins? Or is it that their sales have dropped off and need to raise the price in order to compensate for a lack of demand?
I know that they are better then my Eagle Optics Platinums but how much so? These Eagles have served me so well. I have never thought wow I wish I had one of those 1.5-2k bins it really would have made the difference here. When I looked through these 1.5-2K models I thought they looked slightly better then what I had nothing more.
[QUOTE=nightheron28;940115]I don't know maybe I am not sensitive enough but I looked through the almost 1.5-2K Zeiss, Lieca, Swaro bins and I gotta say I do not see the justification for such a mark-up on binoculars. Life pair aside I just do not get it. Do enough birders really pay this for bins? Or is it that their sales have dropped off and need to raise the price in order to compensate for a lack of demand?
I know that they are better then my Eagle Optics Platinums but how much so? These Eagles have served me so well. I have never thought wow I wish I had one of those 1.5-2k bins it really would have made the difference here. When I looked through these 1.5-2K models I thought they looked slightly better then what I had nothing more.[/QUOTE]
Good question.
And a tricky one.
It is in the eye of the beholder.
Is a platinum ring with a diamond better than brass with a polished quartz?
Is it worth one-hundred times as much?
Is a Porsche 911 better than a Toyota when you go at pedestrian's speed in a city?
You have to bear one thing in mind: Binoculars are status-symbols of the birding community. The model and how it is worn tells you about the rank in the pecking order.
Hunters have a penchant for 8x56 models - even if they are too old to make use of the power. They like theirs big and bulky - ever pondered the similiarity to antlers?
Birders like theirs expensive. Full stop.
If you don't need it, you're lucky. You're saving a lot of money.
Stay sober and sensible,
Tom
[QUOTE=nightheron28;940115]I don't know maybe I am not sensitive enough but I looked through the almost 1.5-2K Zeiss, Lieca, Swaro bins and I gotta say I do not see the justification for such a mark-up on binoculars. Life pair aside I just do not get it. Do enough birders really pay this for bins? Or is it that their sales have dropped off and need to raise the price in order to compensate for a lack of demand?
I know that they are better then my Eagle Optics Platinums but how much so? These Eagles have served me so well. I have never thought wow I wish I had one of those 1.5-2k bins it really would have made the difference here. When I looked through these 1.5-2K models I thought they looked slightly better then what I had nothing more.[/QUOTE]
Interesting post, Nightheron...a question I often ask myself, although Iīve spent oodles on top range bins. I donīt understand the economics of the optics industry, but there must be enough demand out there and overpricing an item in a tiny market wouldnīt be viable. Are they worth it? That depends on the marginal utility they afford the individual user. You pay a lot for marginal increments in your chosen area, be it less CA, more FOV, or whatever. Different folks have different requirements...I choose to spend as little as possible on beer, cars or clothes, but Iīve spent lots on bins and bicycles. But unless you really want the absolute top-notch in bins, Iīd say you get 95% as good a view from a pair of 500 euro Avians, for example, as you do from a 1,600 pair of equivalent Swarovskis. Just how much one is prepared to pay for that extra 5% is, I suppose, how Swaro, Leica and Zeiss make their margins. Hereīs the funny thing....after buying two pairs of Swaro and a pair of Leica compacts, I now find myself using a new pair of Canon IS bins nearly all the time.They cost...500 euro. Iīve just fallen completely in love with Image Stabilisation, and reckon that despite the lower-grade optics, you see a lot more detail in a stable image. And seeing more detail, really, is what itīs all about, no?
I may end up using my Swaros as bookends.