Swarovski Binoculars 8x30 WMS

Good Points: A porro prism that is waterproof, dustproof and durable. A wide field of view. Improvement Points: Very noticeable internal shadowing and glare. Considering the cost and the usual high quality if Swarvoski binoculars a very disappointing view. Extremely overpriced.

Good Points: Build quality and traditional Porro design. Improvement Points: The focussing is far too stiff, affecting greatly the ability to get a sharp image. I can't see a transmission of 96%. My CL 10x30 looked brighter. Not very good eye relief. An easy decision - I didn't keep them, but will purchase a pair of CL 8x30 later this year.

Good Points: Absolutely amazing for the price!! Brilliant sharpness and contrast across the field, very lightweight and compact and superbly well made. Improvement Points: No real bad points but focussing is slightly stiffer than most roof prisms. However, this is nowhere near as bad as some make out on internet forums. Could do with a better bag/case although presumably this would push the price up.

Good Points: Amazingly sharp and bright image with stunning, natural colours along with the fantastic 3D effect only porro's can give. I have 8.5x42 Swaro EL's as well and haven't used them since I got the Habicht, 'nuff said! Improvement Points: Eye relief not great and you have to be careful how you position them but worth the effort. Significant veiling and flaring on open pupil low light when sun is at certain angles.

Good Points: Very bright, superb contrast, large sweet spot, solid build and waterproof. Some users claim that the focus is stiff, but I do not see any problem here. Certainly, the focus on the Nikon 8x30 Eii is ideal by comparison, but for a porro binocular I'd still rate the focus mechanism on the Habicht as first-class. As regards the lack of objective covers, I found the ideal solution to this problem: simply take the useless objective covers from my wife's Nikon Monarch 7 8x30s and cut them in half (trimming off the rubber bridge) - an almost perfectly snug fit! Improvement Points: Certainly considerably more expensive than the Nikon 8x30 Eii, but the Habichts outperform them marginally in terms of size of sweet spot and noticeably in terms of brightness and whiteness of image, and they're waterproof. But, taking into account the law of diminishing returns, this isn't really such a bad point.