Paultricounty
Well-known member
I’ve had very similar experiences. I had a dozen 10’s I bought over the last few years, and I sold most of them. I think I still have four, all are 42’s. Although I like the image in the Leica 20’s , I really prefer the 7x21 Swaro when it comes the compacts, their brighter, sharper, more comfortable eye box and the 7x DOF.I should clarify a little: If I was going to a concert, or somewhere where I literally want a pair of bins in my jacket or even shirt pocket, then yes, the 8x20 are great (and why I still own them). But for any kind of nature, bird, etc. observation, the physical diff between 8x30 and the 8x20 is tolerable, whereas the optical difference is HUGE. 8x30 are 'real' EDC bins and if anything they have questioned my need for 8x42 etc. The 8x30SFL are a little fiddly, but they could be my birding bins for 95% or more of my outings. Also I'll note that I wear specs, so avoiding the 'peephole' effect with 20's is a lot harder.
For the sake of keeping on topic, I'll just add that I've owned several 10x in the past years and have ended up selling them all. I simply find them harder to hold steady (particularly if hiking etc), and if anything, I'm often wanting to migrate to 7x (from 8x)
Paul