Me playing model with a new 8x42 SLC HD.
Photo by Reinhard Hölzl, one of my favorite nature photographers.
Photo by Reinhard Hölzl, one of my favorite nature photographers.
I first got to use a pre-serial production SLC HD near the end of last year and I really was very impressed by it. My first impression was that it was at least as good as or better than any binocular I had ever tried before (excluding the new EL42 Swarovisions, of course, which are in a league of their own ;-).
You can see the official SLC HD microsite here so I will try to limit my commentry to my personal impressions of the binocular.
Me playing model with a new 8x42 SLC HD. I am also using the new tripod head DH101 there.
Photo by Reinhard Hölzl, one of my favorite nature photographers.
Photo by Reinhard Hölzl, one of my favorite nature photographers.
My first Swarovski binocular was an SLC 10x42 (bought as a student with the money I had been saving for my first car - good choice for my fitness ;-) and I used this beauty of a binocular for many many years. It saw lots of forests, cliffs, holes, trees (falling from trees), beaches... and all round mis-treatment. And still everytime I looked through them I loved what I was seeing.
This new SLC HD binocular gave me that same reassuredness that I could take it anywhere and I would always be happy. But the most noticeable change is in just how much this binocular has shrunk. They are not just ~150grams lighter, they are a whole lot smaller and slimmer - no longer a brick around my neck. The central bridge has been compacted which makes for nice ergonomics - works well with my little girl hands, and my bear-hand-possessing father-in-law finds them the most comfortable he has used.
Optically, they are lovely. The view is not quite as incredible as the EL42 Swarovisions, but it is still impressive, with a great big sweet spot with high transmission (I think the official figure is at least 91 or 92%) despite keeping colour fidelity a nose ahead of anything from other companies There is always a compromise between transmission and colour fidelity which is why some binoculars with high colour transmission have such strong colour biases.
The SLC HD is a completely new binocular; the High Definition (HD) objective lenses mean that chromatic abberration (purple finging) is brought to an absolute minimum, close focus is 2m, wide field of view, good edge-sharpness and all the latest coatings.
New multi-function field bag. Water-resistant, well padded, comforatble to carry, space for a bird book, and removable strap.
The SLC HD is available in 10x42 and 8x42 and shipping starts in June 2010.
Happy birding,
Dale Forbes
1 comment:
Hi Dale,
They seems to be very nice, but you forgot to mention the price ;-) When will they be in the selling book?
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