Looking at the Leica 10x42 Geovid HD B and the Swarovski EL 10x42 both with built in rangefinder. Any one with hands on experience who has pros and cons.
I've had my Leica hdb's for 3 years now. Absolutely love them. I've ranged 2100 yards before on a house. Longest I've ranged on an animal was 840. They seem to be extremely accurate and not too heavy. The glass is awesome and I can compare it to my upper end Leupold and Swarovski scopes. Only thing I've done to them is a cleaning and battery change. I chose them over the Swaroski el's because of the curved shape body, they seemed to range a little quicker and they Leica's were on sale at the time.
I have/had several each of Zeiss, Leica, and Swarovski. As an eye glass wearer, the Leica Trinovid and Swarovski EL were a bit short on eye relief so I had to sell those. Good luck.
I have had the Leica 10x42 Geovid for the past 9 yrs now. I love them but they are not the HD. The HD when they first came out were a bit better but you had to be very careful with what you used when cleaning the lens so you would not scratch them. I have a buddy who has the Swarovski 10x42 EL rangefinding binos and got to use them a bit when glassing for Mule Deer in West Texas during various weather conditions. Compared to my non HD Leicas I would take the Swarovski's hands down. I have ranged a Mule Deer at over 800 yards with my Leica and with his Swarovski's I could range the same deer over 1000 yards. I could range larger non-game targets farther with the Swaro's than I could with the Leica's.
I have the Leicas. I absolutely love them! I never thought I would own such an expensive pair of binoculars. After a few years of owning them, I have zero buyer's remorse. Great glass and the range finder and built in "ballistics calculator" is the icing on the cake. That being said, Swarovski makes a great product. Sounds like you can't go wrong. Go with the pair that seems clearest to you.
I've used both and they are both very good binos. I don't like the new Leicas as much as the swaros and I believe the Swaro has a bit better glass, but like was said above, it come down to what feels best for you.
If you decide to go Swaro, I'm a dealer for them and will get you a TBH discount if you order from me.
I have both except my Swaro's are not range finding.
Both are top of the line and if you can tell a difference in glass quality you are something special. My Leicas are my go to glasses because they are range finding. Had my Swaro's had range finding functionality, they would be my go to glass.
You cannot go wrong with either brand. Just because Swaro spends a lot more money on marketing and has their own tv show does not make them better glass.
I like them both.
the swaro's are lighter in my opinion. The glass and ranging ability is excellent on the HDB's so I love that glass but if i had to do it again I'd have gone with the swaros.
Part of the reason I went the way i did . . . . it's really much easier to find a good deal on the leica's vs the swaro's
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