Leica Geovid HD-B vs Swarovski EL Rangefinding Binoculars

Most things I have read say its down to personal preference as they are both top of the line.

Leica

Pros:
- Better range finder
- Integrated custom ballistic solution capability

Cons:
- Bigger and heavier
- Another chunk more expensive

Swarovski

Pros:
- Lighter compact unit
- Better price

Cons:
- No custom ballistic solution
- Range finder not as grunty (but still plenty good enough)


I have also been told by retailers that their experience has shown Swarovski much easier to deal with for warranty issues and repair / replacement etc. I cant go wrong either way but keen to see if anyone has experience with both.

Cheers team.

Was thinking about the same issue last week and ended up ordering a pair of the Leica's, decided the ballistics program was worth the extra weight. And the model seems more up to date than the swaros.

Will let you know how they go, should turn up in the next few days.

The Swaro's used to be a similar price to the Leica's but the middle man was dropped out of the equation and the cost came down to something approaching reasonable. I don't know whether you could say the Leica has a better rangefinder although it has more range.

I found even the Swaro EL Range FP too bulky and thus only used a couple of times.

Swaros warranty system is easier but it needs to be. Seen quite a few swaros back.

What year were the EL's updated ???
End of subject in my eye

I’ve used all of these. The Zeiss are better than both of these. Sit right in the middle for all your pros and cons of size and weight. As good a range finder or better as leica. Much better custom bullet data that is easy to adjust in the field when setting up. Can hold 9 rifles plus 4 different dead out options including mil, moa. The leica is so limited because it is on a SD card.
The next best option at half the price is the SIG BDX 3000 binos. These are exceptional for the $2400. Ballistics only goes to 800m with app without a kestrel. With the kestrel it will do till the rangefinder stops I think. I’ve ranged that to 4000m. The rangefinder is the fastest you’ll get.
Glass clarity and usability is pretty damn good compared to the high end binos. Also lifetime warranty.

I have a pair of Swarovski and the range finder is very average won't give a reading when alot of cheaper ones will.
I may need to get them looked at.

Sent from my CPH1903 using Tapatalk

Have the Leica HDB's - had them about 3 years now and the price is definitely cheaper now.
The ballstic program combined with your dial up scope reticle is simple, quickto use, and extremely accurate.
In this class of Bino, there are no con's, just pro's.

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Originally Posted by Sarvo

What year were the EL's updated ???
End of subject in my eye

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The Swaro EL Range was updated about three years ago to the Field Pro model. Supposedly the same optics but Swarovski never say when they do slight changes to their glass coatings. The FP model upgrade includes a different, better feeling covering, a faster rangefinder, different rangefinder button, different strap system and much better objective lens cover retaining system.

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Originally Posted by Cowboy06

I’ve used all of these. The Zeiss are better than both of these. Sit right in the middle for all your pros and cons of size and weight. As good a range finder or better as leica. Much better custom bullet data that is easy to adjust in the field when setting up. Can hold 9 rifles plus 4 different dead out options including mil, moa. The leica is so limited because it is on a SD card.
The next best option at half the price is the SIG BDX 3000 binos. These are exceptional for the $2400. Ballistics only goes to 800m with app without a kestrel. With the kestrel it will do till the rangefinder stops I think. I’ve ranged that to 4000m. The rangefinder is the fastest you’ll get.
Glass clarity and usability is pretty damn good compared to the high end binos. Also lifetime warranty.

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Had a look through a pair of the new Zeiss RF binos and they are certainly very nice. Quite a bit more expensive than the Swaro and Leicas.

Happy with my Leica HD-R's 10x42.

They fog up a bit too much for my liking though, dunno how I can avoid that.

Keen to hear peoples experiences aswell for when I upgrade my binos

Something I forgot to note. The swaro doesn’t give you angle compensation past 1000m if that happens to be of concern. The angle compensation is not entirely correct past a certain distance either, maybe 700m we have tested it and it seemed out.
We did test some range finders against some survey equipment at 1 mile. Definetly used zeiss RF 10x42 and the sig bdx 3000. I think we use Ltd the leica aswell. Were all within 1m.
One difference with the Zeiss is it ranges on release of the button not press so is a bit steadier. The sig is better at longer ranges with the scan as it gets lost of hit attempts so it usually doesn’t fail to get a reading. When others can be surface dependant.
The Kahles probably has the poorest range finder 1000m reliable. Most others including the new vortex are effective to 1500m then target surface selective after that.
The furthest was the sig at over 4000m. Zeiss can work to 3300m with the 2265m furthest I had data but wouldn’t be accurate because of the bc in software would not have been degraded. Need the kestrel for that which can be used in the sig bino.

At that end of the market they are all pretty much the same in terms of function.

Far more important is how they look to YOUR eyes. I’ve changed between Leica and Swarovski a couple of times in the last decade because of changes to my vision more than any lens coating they may have rolled out.

And trying them both in store proves nothing. Unfortunately they really need to be tried side by side on the hill to really make a decision.

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Originally Posted by Proudkiwi

At that end of the market they are all pretty much the same in terms of function.

Far more important is how they look to YOUR eyes. I’ve changed between Leica and Swarovski a couple of times in the last decade because of changes to my vision more than any lens coating they may have rolled out.

And trying them both in store proves nothing. Unfortunately they really need to be tried side by side on the hill to really make a decision.

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Damm - I'd have to agree with that, bout the first thing ever you've posted I can say that about eh Proudkiwi Haha. When I bought mine I called at every shop between Invers and Chch to compare. Especially don't get hung up on the power, there is no practical difference in spotting game etc between 8 and 10 power, but there are often huge differences in how your eye will work with the bino for scanning, to me most 10x sets feel like I'm looking down a pipe, and I went with Leica 8x in the end. Most stores will let you take them outside and have a decent test . . . .

Go and use a normal pair of ELs for a while and then go use a pair of EL range... the normal ELs are noticeably better than their range finding counterpart. They're still good binos but if I was forking out the money for them I would be a little pissed to discover what they gain by including a rangefinder is lost in quality of the glass.

Crazy why would they not use the same glass you have to wonder ? I have a pair of Leica Geovids ( 10 yrs old now ) they have served me well and up to about a year ago the picture was mint , I now need glasses to read and I just cant get the focus perfect like I used to .
I need to have a look through some other brands and having a TBR on them would be nice , but really need to field test the dam things , not look down the street .

The rangefinding binos are too bulky/heavy imo. And they'll be obsolete soon enough, when the next piece of whizz bang technology comes out. I've only owned/used the Leicas and Swaros, but according to reviews, the new Zeiss are at the front of the pack - both in terms of ergonomics and optical quality.

I think an ordinary pair of high quality binos give you more: both in terms of image quality and peace of mind that they won't be superseded by something 'better' in a few years.

It's a big 360 for me, because I've been down the RF bino path several times, and it just wasn't worth it.

It always seems to happen. You splurge a great deal of cash on the most sophisticated gear, then you take it into the field and deer start popping up at 50m haha. The animals are the way they've always been - we're the ones complicating the game. For some of us, that's part of the fun, I suppose. :)

Leica swaro and zeiss’s top tier non rangefinding Binos all have slightly better glass, something to do with integrating the rangefinder and electronics and the coatings required to send the laser. If that subjective 5% better glass is an issue, then go for the stand alone Binos. I’ve had both ,Far more convenient to have rf Binos than carrying a rangy and Binos for me, I find the tiny light rangefinders a lot harder to hold steady and generally have a shittier darker image, as well as being another thing to lose. Each to their own though

I am pretty confident the glass quality of rangefinding Geovids and ELs will blow my mind compared to what I currently use so that does not worry me. Kit will forever be upgrading for as long as I live so If I am gonna let that stop me from buying the latest thing then I will never get anything will I haha. I was sold on getting some Swaro's but the more I look into the Geovids the more they seem to be ahead of the game at this time. Zeiss look pretty good too but yeah another step on the dollars game. Cheers for the inputs thus far.

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Originally Posted by stagstalker

I am pretty confident the glass quality of rangefinding Geovids and ELs will blow my mind compared to what I currently use so that does not worry me. Kit will forever be upgrading for as long as I live so If I am gonna let that stop me from buying the latest thing then I will never get anything will I haha. I was sold on getting some Swaro's but the more I look into the Geovids the more they seem to be ahead of the game at this time. Zeiss look pretty good too but yeah another step on the dollars game. Cheers for the inputs thus far.

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leicas have real nice glass. my personel opinion. They are heavy though.

Yeah I was worried about how they look heavier. After comparing the weight of running two individual units though the combined weight difference seems almost non existent. + or - 50grams or so.

Yes weight in both the EL and HD-B - but - holding a heavy bino has advantage of less shake and can hold steady as a rock on object at distance

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Originally Posted by ARdave

Leica swaro and zeiss’s top tier non rangefinding Binos all have slightly better glass, something to do with integrating the rangefinder and electronics and the coatings required to send the laser. If that subjective 5% better glass is an issue, then go for the stand alone Binos. I’ve had both ,Far more convenient to have rf Binos than carrying a rangy and Binos for me, I find the tiny light rangefinders a lot harder to hold steady and generally have a shittier darker image, as well as being another thing to lose. Each to their own though

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The EL Range has less interference than most due to the rangefinder electronics being housed in the two humps under the main barrels. Downside to that is the two humps.

The best combo I had was the EL 8x32 and a separate Leica rangefinder but my eyes were giving me trouble at the time. I find the smaller size of 8x30/32 binos are less intrusive and they're also useful to just glass with. Each to their own though, as you say.

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Originally Posted by Ryan_Songhurst

Go and use a normal pair of ELs for a while and then go use a pair of EL range... the normal ELs are noticeably better than their range finding counterpart. They're still good binos but if I was forking out the money for them I would be a little pissed to discover what they gain by including a rangefinder is lost in quality of the glass.

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Couldn't tell the difference between them apart from the flat field of view and that was after some very expensive eye surgery and nor could two other people. That was with the latest EL Range which may or may not of had a slight tweak to the optics.

I currently used a pair of el 8.5x42 and a Leica rangefinder with ballistic program.(2000 b or 2400b, I don't remember)
And thinking the same, going down to a pair if 8x32 Swarovski and keeping the rangefinder.
Cutting down the weight