10 X Binos- birder/hunter for >50 yearsCost at Cabelas 2023:Vortex hd 10 x 42 - $1000Vortex uhd 10 x 42 - $1700Svarovski el 10 x 42 - $2400 (considered by most as THE best!)Similar specs for all. Fantastic image for all. Vortex hd is lightest, shortest, has widest field of view. All have phase corrected APO optics (three or more lens elements in ocular - very unusual - noticeable improvement in chromatic and spherical aberrations. Difference: vortex hd has Schmidt Pecham prisms, vortex uhd and svarovski el’s have Abbe-Koenig roof prisms (considered better - but increase length and weight of lenses). When I bought my vortex hd’s in 2012, I carefully and thoroughly compared them to the svarovski el’s with my friend (president of HBMO) and a svarovski ... More10 X Binos- birder/hunter for >50 yearsCost at Cabelas 2023:Vortex hd 10 x 42 - $1000Vortex uhd 10 x 42 - $1700Svarovski el 10 x 42 - $2400 (considered by most as THE best!)Similar specs for all. Fantastic image for all. Vortex hd is lightest, shortest, has widest field of view. All have phase corrected APO optics (three or more lens elements in ocular - very unusual - noticeable improvement in chromatic and spherical aberrations. Difference: vortex hd has Schmidt Pecham prisms, vortex uhd and svarovski el’s have Abbe-Koenig roof prisms (considered better - but increase length and weight of lenses). When I bought my vortex hd’s in 2012, I carefully and thoroughly compared them to the svarovski el’s with my friend (president of HBMO) and a svarovski representative (head of cape may New Jersey bird observatory). We all agreed the image from the vortex was indistinguishable from the svarovski’s. The director of cape may pointed to the extreme effort svarovski puts into assuring product quality and German manufacturing excellence. (Vortex however, has an unconditional, lifetime warranty which I have utilized - the clasp on my case broke - they sent me a new case within a week). Vortex at that time claimed its lenses were made in Japan (high quality) but there was some question regarding a Chinese source. Current vortex hd’s have lenses made in china - UHD’s lenses made in Japan. In any case, we all agreed the vortex provided an excellent image. I have never changed my viewpoint since then! Go to Cabelas and compare the three! I recommend the vortex hd’s as the best 10x binos for the money!(For 8 power binos, I might recommend differently).

Before using these I had no idea what a difference higher end optics can make. I used to glass for several minutes and take a break, now I can glass an entire hillside without needing to put down my binoculars. The optical clarity is amazing. With my previous binoculars I would stare at deer rocks and bear stumps, waiting for movement so that I can figure out what I was looking at. Now I feel like I'm actually up close to the object I'm viewing. I can't recommend these enough.

I received these about three days ago and I love them. The view is extremely clear and sharp with almost no chromatic abberation in the centre of the field and very minimal in the edges. About a 9.5/10 here. The edge to edge sharpness is very good, but not quite the best at this price range. I’d rate 8/10. These are extremely comfortable to hold, I can hold them steady for long periods of time and the thumbdents give me a perfect grip when I rest my elbows on a surface. Definitely a 10/10 here. I love how Vortex has used a 42mm body and only the objective lens is longer and fatter. People with short fingers (I have many friends and family that do) can grip the slimmer barrel much easier. I have used these in northwest China and taken them from a cozy 24 C room ... MoreI received these about three days ago and I love them. The view is extremely clear and sharp with almost no chromatic abberation in the centre of the field and very minimal in the edges. About a 9.5/10 here. The edge to edge sharpness is very good, but not quite the best at this price range. I’d rate 8/10. These are extremely comfortable to hold, I can hold them steady for long periods of time and the thumbdents give me a perfect grip when I rest my elbows on a surface. Definitely a 10/10 here. I love how Vortex has used a 42mm body and only the objective lens is longer and fatter. People with short fingers (I have many friends and family that do) can grip the slimmer barrel much easier. I have used these in northwest China and taken them from a cozy 24 C room outside where it is exactly 0 C and there was absolutely no fogging up. The rubber was grippy even in the snow. Also, as I said earlier, unless you look extremely hard for it, chromatic abberation is not present, even on the contrast between white snow and dark ashphalt. The tethered eyepiece cap is really nice, some manufactures don’t do that and you have to stick it in your pocket but Vortex’s attaches nicely onto the included neck strap. Unfortunately, the carry bag is a let down. It is very similar to Vortex’s glasspak binocular harness. The stretchy rubber enclosure broke on the first day. My binoculars would not fit into the case properly, I had to insert them with the objective’s pointing up. This meant they wobbed around a bit and was top heavy. It seems Vortex has placed a 50mm binocular in a case designed for the shorter, slimmer 42mm binocular.Personally, I have taken these hiking with me and they feel extremely solid in the hands but in my backpack, they hardly weight more than a bottle of water. I enjoyed using these for watching ducks from the shore of a lake, looking at mountains and cities from lookouts. I can’t wait to use these for stargazing or test out how they fare in low light. I’m sure they will excel seeing my previous experiences. A quick comparision to other binoculars I have used, including: 15 x 70 Celestron Skymaster Pros, 10 x 42 Nikon Monarchs, 8 x 42 Celestron Granites, Steiner HX 8 and 10 x 42s and even Swarovski 8.5 x 42s, I can say these beat all of them in every area and tie with the Swarovski’s. The Swarovski’s have less chromatic abberation in the edges of the field and slightly better edge to edge sharpness but you pay way more for them! Unfortunately, the Steiners have better edge to edge sharpness at a lower price point. Maybe it’s because of the smaller objective lens? Regardless, the Vortex produces better saturation, contrast and a brighter image than the Steiners.Please note, the photos were taken with an iPhone that was held to the eyepiece by hand and should be used as a rough guide only. The vingeretting of the second image is caused by improper alignment of the phone on my part. The actual image was perfectly round with no glare.