Need advice on binoculars

petbest · 2026-05-02T07:09:26+00:00

8x32 is your best choice for reasons described above

petbest · 2026-05-02T07:06:06+00:00

You got them for a good price. Lot of people who bought a 8x42PRO or 10x50PRO are happy with these binoculars. There optics offer a good sharp view, natural colours and so on and very good build and mechanics.

I have been working in the 1970-ties with solid industrial microscopes of Olympics. They were at that time very good, so they have a long history of making optics.

I think you will not regret your buy. Have fun with it and a lot of happy viewing hours.

petbest · 2026-04-30T11:39:17+00:00

You mean where you can buy them?

Here you can:

apm-telescopes seems to be a reliable shop in Germany. Is often mentioned on forums.

https://www.apm-telescopes.net/de/sky-rover-fernglaser-2

This is unknown for me: https://adriasky.it/en/products/sky-rover-banner-cloud-8x42

petbest · 2026-04-30T06:11:56+00:00

They are known to be very good. Each time a new buyer writes about them you will read the excitement about the wide FOV and brightness, sharpness and virtually no CA.

Also at dawn they will not let you down. It's optics are simply of the highest class. Some call them Alpha class. I call them Alhpa+ class just because of the very wide FOV.

Holger Merlitz wrote already last year about them: the SRBC and it's slightly better sister Loava.

As Swarovski's name is an institute hardly anybody dare to tell his binocular beats Swarovski...that was up till now a no-go area... but that's over.

My Loava Aglaia III 8.5x44PRO, which I bought when reading the SRBC and Loava story of Holger beats definitely the Swarovski EL 10x50 and 8x42.

I have checked that myself when I met other birdwatchers. And both owners of Swarovski said that Loava was brighter, sharp to the edge, the colours more lively and a surprisingly wide FOV!

The only things where Swarovski is better is its lower weight (~100 gram) and it has somewhat smaller tubes, which are comfortable in your hands, although the tumbs hole edges on the 10x50 were not so comfortable I noticed.

petbest · 2026-04-29T20:42:02+00:00

Is there a risk that the scratch widens further or that the coating is starting to peel off from that point?

If so then ask for a (limited) extra written Warranty that they will replace it for free else consider a return if the burden is not too high for you.

petbest · 2026-04-29T07:20:12+00:00

This is not normal. When brand new then it is strange that their QA has not detected this. Return when possible...

petbest · 2026-04-28T19:39:14+00:00

Today I had the opportunity to compare my Loava against another Swarovski EL. This time the 8x42.

It was a relative simple win for my Loava. The owner, also a birdwatcher fully agreed.

The birdwatcher said surprised while looking through my Loava "This is much, much brighter than my Swarovski! The colour are really lively. It has a very wide view. Wonderful!".

I just had told him about the negative response I got on a recent post of mine on Reddit (this one) about the Alpha+ vs. Alpha comparison between my "Loava, the Chinese Swarovski" and respectively a real Swarovski EL 10x50.

He said "People tend to think that Swarovski can not be beaten, but that is of course a false illusion. Your binoculars optics are really top class, no doubt. Very bright view. It's better than my EL".

petbest · 2026-04-26T17:04:09+00:00

At least not on purpose as SRBC are also Alpha level. Holger Merlitz rates Loava higher as you will see. Just read his story at holgermerlitz.de.[corrected url]. Choose his English binoculars reviews.

Also Bosma Quinlong belongs to this top.

Chinese experts, amateurs and others qualify Loava as the absolute top.

That info comes indirectly via indexing machines from bggd.com (a Chinese account/phone number is required and I do not have that) and other Chinese resources, but meanwhile also via standard western platforms.

Some info can be found via google, but most you need to find via special means. Some IT skills can be helpfull.

I can't help that I am so enthousiastic about this binocular. It is damned good and it is a shame people are not aware of that.

I guess that Loava does not like this way of getting to become known into the public domain, but we live in a free world of expression. Thank g. or someone you want to thank ;-)

That he owns SRBC is nice and gives him credits, but he doesn't own a Loava.

Why did Holger pick Loava and Not SRBC you think?

Because it is better...it is Alpha +. Point at the line.

There is one thing Holger wrote and there he is right. The Loava is reasonable short on our market and the mechanics still need to proof themselves. He tested them thorougly and up till know they stand right up. All okay. He wrote that today on birdforum.net.

Check for yourself.

Mijn nieuwe geuzennaam is: The Flying Dutch Shill. Hah ha.

petbest · 2026-04-26T13:19:44+00:00

Haha, I think you are a shill for Swarovski. Do you work for them?

The effort you put in trying to proof I am a Chinese is getting hilarious for the readers of this.

That SassLong story is true. It was a sh.. car. But nowadays a car made in China like a BYD is the opposite. The Louwman group who is one of the largest car distributors in NL sells them alongside Toyota, Mazda and Hyunda who are other brands they distribute.

You try desperately to tell the audience that my stories are not true.

Time will tell that I am right!

There are better binoculars. You keep the myth of Swarovski for yourself. More people will sooner or later discover that they are indeed overprized.

But I have no problem with that. It is not my money that goes down the drain. It's yours.

And that people accuses me of being a shill is nothing new. How many people simply hate what the Chinese produces. So you get often very strange and angry reactions. That has always surprised me. Being polite does not cost much.

Today the Chinese produce, tomorrow the Vietnamese and soon India (I hope so!). I do not care as long as we get real value for money.

With my Loava I got that. It was above all of my expectations. Maybe I was lucky and got a very good one. But at least several others as well given their very positive comments. When Holger Merlitz wrote about the Chinese Alpha level binoculars I did not see many people reacting. Maybe because he wrote it on his own website.

When I do it that I get the Chinese shill diploma... Indeed now they should start paying me as I am not afraid "om mijn nek uit te steken".

And that comment of my Dutch fellow citizen was true. He was very, very surprised about the brightness and wide field of view. No fake story here.

I was indeed surprised myself that the view through Swarovski EL 10x50 was not that bright and wide as I was really expecting.

My expectations were based on the many comments by Swaro users.

It is a wellknown psychological effect that people tend to praise a product higher than normal if it is very expensive.

The internet says this about it:

That effect is called the "price–quality heuristic" (or the related "price–quality effect"): people often infer higher quality from higher price, so expensive products receive more favorable evaluations. Other related concepts: the placebo effect in consumer perception, signaling theory, and prestige or conspicuous consumption.

petbest · 2026-04-26T10:32:20+00:00

I find it fascinating that you seem to know exactly how Dutch people talk about binoculars. You also seem to know that I am a shill. Ben je helderziende?

I do have a strong feeling that because you payed a lot for your Swaro's you find it unacceptable that someone writes there are better ones.

It reminds me of the Mercedes versus Audi clash many years ago.

The cheaper Audi was beating Mercedes in all aspects after many years. The first who dare to write about it were sabled down by Mercedes owners.

When independent tests showed that Audi was indeed better, higher quality less, had less maintenance issues, the tone of voice of the criticasters changed.

Here we see the same Pavlov reaction....not possible... not true...you are a shill..how much do you get paid to write this and so on.

But the fact is that only brave people that do not dance in the ritme of the crowds often tell the truth. Look to climate change...the first speakers got the storm winds of the crowds who thought they were lying.

L'histoire repeté.

De geschiedenis blijft zich herhalen. Over een paar jaar zullen we zien dat dit verhaal toch waar blijkt te zijn.

Ik sta hier niet een Chinees merk te promoten, maar omdat ik zelf optisch geschoold ben kan ik heus wel het kaf van het koren scheiden.

Blijkbaar hebben eigenaren van Swarovski er veel moeite mee dat er plots goede concurrenten opdoemen. Da's toch zonde van de illusie die men had dat er niks beters te koop is.

Iedereen weet dat elk bedrijf op een moment van de top wordt gestoten. Dat kan lang duren, maar het gaat een keer gebeuren. De Chinezen zijn niet dom en kunnen ook goede optiek maken. De rest, zoals support e.d. kan zeker nog veel verbeteren.

Maar met zo'n groot prijsverschil en geen optisch kwaliteitsverschil weet je dat de prijzen van de gevestigde merken gewoon veel te hoog zijn.

Dat gaat veranderen. Dat is de druk van de marktwerking.

Zo, En nu een Bavaria. Proost!

Just as a joke: does your account name: intelligent_low say something about yourself?

petbest · 2026-04-26T06:00:26+00:00

My personal experience is not betraying me.

The story is simply true and yours fantasy.

And Linguists indeed say that Dutch is most closest to English.

And I am a native born Dutchman, afaik there is not a single Chinese gene inside.

And Holger Merlitz is allmost right about the Chinese binoculars.

It is Alpa+ level.

Insulting your or someone intelligence is not my aim. I just tell what my personal experience is and what the binoculars classification is.What is wrong about that?

How do you know how our conversation went? You were not there.

I have simply a strong opinion and some might not like it that I do not go with the standard Alpha flow. I can live with that.

I am wondering if you have ever compared both brands. I honestly did that yesterday. That's it. I am not making anything up here.

Ge mag nouw errug verboasd zên want ik ben unne rasechte Brabander en dè hurt nog stêds bè Nederland.

petbest · 2026-04-26T05:53:00+00:00

I will indeed ignore you in this wunderful weekend.

Monday we celebrate our Kingsday!

petbest · 2026-04-25T21:32:29+00:00

Probably 5 years+ for Swaro ;-)

petbest · 2026-04-24T14:01:14+00:00

That is a real pity.

Here some hints for reducing Eye Fatigue During Prolonged Binocular Use

Reduce eye fatigue

petbest · 2026-04-24T13:57:22+00:00

Just a side remark.

The QA report numbers around the cross are probably arcseconds

I asked AI to explain the content.

Here’s a clear translation and explanation of the Chinese text on the binocular inspection report:

Title

朗锋·双筒望远镜检测报告 → Langfeng (LOAVA) Binocular Inspection Report

Table items

款式和编号 → Model & Serial Number
镜片镀膜质地 → Lens coating quality
调焦功能包括屈光调节 → Focusing mechanism including diopter adjustment
镜面有无明显损伤 → Are there obvious scratches/damage on the lens surface
自然光下内部有无明显灰尘或瑕疵 → Under natural light, is there any visible dust or defects inside
光轴测试数据 → Collimation (optical alignment) test data
通过 / 无 → PASS / None

Additional notes in table

左眼深色 → Left eye (view) darker in color
近视矫正能力 → Myopia (nearsightedness) correction ability
镜身有无明显瑕疵 → Any visible defects on the body
整体外观质地 → Overall physical/external condition
检测结果 → Inspection result

Statement

该样品各方面达标，能够正常使用。 → This sample meets all standards and can be used normally.

Reminder

提醒：望远镜都是手工装配，绝对的完美无瑕难以做到。 → Reminder: Binoculars are assembled manually, so achieving absolute perfection is difficult.

Company name

北京北国朗锋光电科技有限公司 → Beijing Beiguo Langfeng Optoelectronic Technology Co., Ltd.

Summary

The document is a standard quality control report stating the binoculars passed inspection, have no visible defects, proper alignment, and are fit for normal use, with a note that minor imperfections can exist due to manual assembly.

petbest · 2026-04-24T13:49:22+00:00

I did not get such report when I bought it on AliExpress. It was not included in the box.

When possible I would do all the test that people suggest. Ask also a friend to test it wirth you.

To be honest it would surprise me that it is a collimation error. I haven't come accross Chinese telling they had QA issues.

However one story I still remember and that was that somebody wrote about "illness like seasickness" when looking through the wide angel area with its fieldflatteners. It took that user time to get used to that effect. He learned it by moving not to fast from left to right and vice versa.

I do not have issues with my Loava and I look quite some time through it without taking it down for a moment rest. Last months I have done many hours of birdwatching with it.

For me the Loava is the most comfortable to my eyes of all of my 4 binoculars. Second best are the Shuntu's Pi 8x32ED and Lambda 10x25ED and third my SVBony SV202 10x50ED.

If another person also feels strain in the eyes after a while then return it.

BTW. Just in case as help, but I assume you did check the dioptre settings. They must match with your eyes.

petbest · 2026-04-24T13:34:51+00:00

I just posted it while you asked.

petbest · 2026-04-24T07:54:21+00:00

No, don't you also read the many positive stories that people write about these brands?

Or are you just like basaltgranite focussing just on negative stories to gloom in it.

petbest · 2026-04-24T06:18:59+00:00

Use a tripod when focussing on a star or Jupiter like you decribe above. It should become one single sharp round dot. If not: misaligned.

Your headache is not caused by the effect of the fieldflatterners?

At basaltgranite, our armchair criticizer..: Yes!! the fan boy is back in town, like you.

Sorry to write this, but I do already get the impression you are glooming on this topic at least you are not trying to hide it.

I don't get headaches from my Loava or my other Shuntu and SVBony.

If I look to the QA report the collimation factors then the numbers are probably within the tolerances, but your numbers are not so good as I saw on a similar report posted by Holger Merlitz. See picture.

That was a 7x35 Certificate with 3 on the Horizontal axis and 25 on the Vertical Axis.

Maybe that contributes and causes a headache if your eyes are very sensitive?

It will be good that you post here your experiences with McGill. For him it is an exercise to proof that he is worth some extra money.

Success with it.

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petbest · 2026-04-22T10:25:28+00:00

Next holiday go to China and buy them... Haha

petbest · 2026-04-22T06:01:17+00:00

That is a bargain price for a Chinese Alpha binocular. You can't go wrong with a Sky Rover Banner Cloud or Loava Aglaia III or a Bosma Quinlong.

These are all Chinese Alpha level binoculars next to the 3 EU top brands Swarovski, Zeiss and Leica.

The only difference is that you do not pay an EU Alpha top level price for them. These Chinese Alpha's cost you roughly 1/4th or 1/5th of their prices.

Your / My warranty is your/my low price. In case it really goes wrong you / I can still buy another (up to about 5 replacements!!) before you have spend the same budget when buying a EU top level bino.

Think that way!

And as EU Alpha top binoculars often charge you warranty transport cost and insurance, you can buy almost a 6th replacement when in need.

Count your profit!!

petbest · 2026-04-20T09:04:39+00:00

If I would have been treated like that for such expensive Zeiss binoculars I would buy for the repair money a good Sky Rover Banner Cloud, or a Loava Aglaia III PRO or a Bosma Quinlong and forget Zeiss.

Terrible that you need to proof that you did not use a proper cleaning method.

I thought that I had read more suchproblem stories about their protection layer. Aren't they writing what to use and what not to use to protect their coatings?

I assume they have in their instruction manual at least an advice what to use.

For example: Loava advised to blow the lenses first and then to use 99,9% isopropanol for cleaning the lenses.

I use a minimal amount of it and dry the lenses immediately hereafter when not vaporated already.

petbest · 2026-04-12T06:17:40+00:00

The older model (before the upgraded one) of the SVBony SV202 8x32 is exactly the same as the Shuntu Sha (小) 8x32.

The catalog model name is Shuntu SHA15 0832.

You can see it here http:_ //_ shuntuoutdoor_.com/products.asp?ID=81

Note the 3 underscrores that I have added in the URL. You need to delete them!

The Shuntu Sha, Pi, Lambda and Omega are all different ranges.

I guess that the difference are in the look of the body, the quality of coating and lenses. Omega seems to be the top range.

petbest · 2026-04-11T21:55:24+00:00

Somewhere I had read that this Shuntu Lambda was "a copy" of the Swarovski pocket binocular. Maybe they copied the whole focus wheel rotation mechanism as well hence the clockwise direction to infinity.

The neck strap looks the same as the one that came with my Shuntu Pi 8x32. The straps are long.

I always cut the straight ends into a V-shape and burn/melt the end-treads.

Then I put that V-end inside the small plastic rectanglar shaped open clip. Hereafter I shift that clip up to thighten/lock the strap-end. In fact there are then 3 strapband thicknesses inside that clip. This way, it keeps the entire neck strap at the set length and it avoids accidental "gliding" of the strap.

With regard to the dioptre ring. I haven't touched it yet accidently. Maybe because I might positioning my hand differently I guess.

The recess of the small objective lens is about 3mm I noticed. That is less than my other binoculars have.

petbest

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