WTB Swarovski 10x50 SLC NEU

[grizzly_]

If you have some SLC NEU 10x50 you're looking to sell, shoot me a pm with your phone and/or email.

Not looking for any other versions, just that specific model. Thx.

Grizzly

 

[Stubaby]

Hey Grizz


http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=678&ad=40663005&cat=&lpid=4

 

[grizzly_]

Met up with the KSL guy tonight and made a deal. Thx for the help.

 

[Stubaby]

No prob. You think those are better than the new 10x42s you are selling? I'm not being smart, I'm really asking.

What are you up to with glass? I have new 10x42 slcs and a 65mm HD spotter with the wide angle eyepiece. Find me a deal on some 15x56 slcs will ya?

 

[grizzly_]

I'm hesitant to say anything because everybody seems to take optics opinions personally and all that happens are a bunch of personal anecdotes... but here it goes.

Years ago I had the SLC 10x42 NEU and they were spectacular glass. When Leica came out with the Geovid (non-HD) I snagged some of those but immediately noticed a decrease in optics quality from the Swarovski but I kept them anyway for the rangefinder aspect. My wife, who is an accomplished hunter in her own right, owned both Nikon and Vortex during this time. I was selfish and willing to spend the big money on myself but tried to get her by with a mid-grade binocular.

One day a few years ago we were sitting on a mountain in Idaho in late October and I was bugged at her because I didn't feel like she was really trying to help spot game and kept putting her Vortex Razor 10x42 down and scanning with her bare eyes. She told me she couldn't see anything so I switched her binoculars for a minute and it felt like the Vortex were covered in wax paper compared to the Leica. When we got home from that trip I found a guy that had some Swarovski SLC 10x50 NEU on Ebay that I bought for $1,000.

We didn't really get a chance to try her new glasses until that winter when we were Barbary Sheep hunting in New Mexico. Also on that trip was a buddy of mine that works at Sportsman's Warehouse and gets "pro deals" on optics and had the new Swarovski EL Range. After putting her 10x50s, my Geovid, and my friends EL Range next to each other on tripods for 5 days of hard glassing, it became painfully obvious to everybody there (including 2 other guys with lesser binoculars) that the SLC 10x50 were in a whole other world compared to everything else. There was one spot in particular that a blue mylar balloon in the distance just seemed to pop into view in the 10x50, while everybody else had to search with their eyes to see the balloon. I left that trip and came home and decided that I needed to sell my Leica and get back into some Swarovski glass so I picked up the newest style of 10x42 because I liked the compact size and light weight. I hate to admit it, but I would find myself taking my wife's 10x50s if I was every going hunting and she wasn't coming along. I guess I knew deep down that her "old" 10x50s were better than my "new" 10x42s.

As of a week ago, I had the SLC 10x50 NEU, the SLC 10x42, and an ATM HD 25-50x80 spotter but decided I wanted a pair of the new SLC 15x56 to go with it all. On last Saturday night, myself and three friends drove to the Cabela's in Farmington, Utah to look at them as the sun was going down. I ended up running into a couple of other friends while down there and another hunter that was at the optics counter also walked outside with us to try out all the Swarovski glass. I had brought my wife's 10x50s as well as tripods and mounts so we could compare them all side by side. We ended up lining up her 10x50s, the 15x56, the new 10x42s, and the EL 10x50s. This allowed us to compare the smallest SLC, the older 10x50, the current EL 10x50 as well as the 15x56 that I was intending to buy.

The results, while viewed through the eyes of 8 different hunters, was unanimous. Every single person agreed the SLC 10x50 NEU was the best glass there. Believe it or not, the EL 10x50 were the first to be set aside. People agreed they were exceedingly bright, but felt the color hue was toned down and objects didn't stand out as much on the mountains to the east. Then the 10x42 were set aside because the brightness wasn't there to compete with the SLC 10x50 and the magnification wasn't there to compete with the 15x56. So now we were down to the SLC 10x50 and the SLC 15x56. I really wanted the 56s to prevail since I had driven to Cabelas with the sole intention of purchasing them.

By now the sun was setting and we were focused in on the houses high up on the mountains to the northeast. I know people are going to say we were nuts, but through the 56s we could see the varying colors of stone on the houses. Through the 10x50s we could see the actual grout lines in-between the stones. The decision was unanimous that of everything available on the market today, the SLC 10x50 NEU was still the best out there. On Sunday I went to the Sportsman's Warehouse in Logan, Utah to do a quick check again and even the salesman at the optics counter begrudgingly agreed that the 10x50 NEU surpassed anything else on the market today. My theory is that the exit pupil of the 10x50 being 5mm verse the 3.7mm exit pupil of the 15x56 (a difference of 35%) exceeds the benefit of the increased magnification. Whether there is a mechanical difference in construction or prisms, I don't know. But the winner was clear (no pun intended).

Again, I know that people will be offended that my opinion differs from theirs. I certainly don't mean to be offensive in any way. What I wrote above was just the opinion of myself and the hunters at Cabela's that looked through all the glass that night. There is a ton of really great glass on the market right now and different eyes see things differently so there isn't necessarily a right or a wrong. If I upset anybody, I apologize in advance.

 

[Stubaby]

so now you have two pairs of 10x50 neu? What about the old 15x56 neu? Is that exit pupil the same as the 10x50?

I was up glassing last night and with my 10x42 slc hds and my spotter on tripods, I can do some serious damage.

Your description makes me want to find a pair of those 10x50s. What did the guy from Preston sell you those for?

I thought I had the best when I found some Swarovisions in the EL 10x50. I get that rollerball effect and it makes me sick.

Thanks for the post. I'll take my 65hd spotter with the wide angle eyepiece over anything from Votex or Meopta.....regardless of size. Vortex fanboys always say they are happy with their purchase of spotters and binos. That means one of two things.....

1. They haven't looked through a swaro sidexside on a mountain at an animal at low light.
2. They are in denial and want to make themselves feel better.


I have and love 4 Viper HS-LR riflescopes. But as long as they hold a zero that's all I need. I spend hours and hours behind my binos and the swaros just make it a pleasant experience. When it comes to a hunt on the line, eye fatigue, or just plain enjoyment of glassing............I don't want to hear "good enough"....."works for me". Sell whatever you have and buy the best optics.....period......the first time!!!!

"See what you've been missing"......that's a true statement. Its like watching a Monday night football game in HD for the first time. You get used to it and you don't know what you have till you look through the other stuff, and it's like.....Judas man......how do you hunt like this? It's the truth.

 

[grizzly_]

I now have a pair of 10x50 NEU for myself and a pair for my wife. The 15x56 NEU has the same exit pupil as the current 15x56. Exit pupil is merely the objective lens in mm divided by the magnification. So 56 divided by 15 is 3.7mm, which is the exit pupil.

I never would've believed it if I hadn't have seen it myself, but if you get a pair of the old 10x50s to look through I think you'll be surprised. I bought my wife's 10x50s for $1,000. My brother then bought a pair for $1,200 and I paid $1,300. The price seems to be going up though you might find a bargain sometime and get them cheaper.

I agree with you the wide angle eyepiece on the spotter (that's what I've got) and on the quality of the Vortex HS-LR (I've got two of them). The key for me is I might spend 10 seconds in an entire season looking through a rifle scope, but I spend countless hours looking through my binoculars.

 

[MrsElkHunter]

Hi Grizzly,
I don't know if you or anyone else are still looking to buy these or not, but I have the Swarovski 10x50 SLC NEU binoculars. They are basically brand new. I bought them for my husband before he passed away and he only used them twice. They also have a really nice harness. They are still in the box they came in. They are incredible but too large for me, so I bought another pair for myself. Of course they aren't as good as these but they work fine for what I need them for. I can't see keeping something Im not going to use. I may as well try to get some of my money back that I paid for them. I want $1,300 for them with the harness. That is $350 less than I paid and like I said they were only used 2 times.

I signed up on this site but could never get logged on. Maybe I am now being I can type this. If not, I don't know how anyone can reply back or if I am able to even put contact info on here. Guess I can always check back to see if anyone replied.
Desiree

 

[JBURGER59]

you still have these shoot me an e mail [email protected]