After a brief slowdown, the development of the optics manufacturers' market has been gaining momentum again in recent years. The top manufacturers are finding it increasingly difficult to compete purely on optical quality with the influx of new, low-cost brands from China—offering, and it must be said, increasingly decent-quality glass at significantly lower prices than premium-tier products. A demanding user will still notice the difference and appreciate a branded product, but even that may eventually not be enough. It is therefore no surprise that binoculars and scopes are increasingly enhanced with additional features such as stabilization, autofocus, or rangefinders, and more recently also photo and video functions with AI support.
Steiner has just introduced a completely new product to its lineup. The binoculars are built on the Steiner 10x42 platform, already known from the manufacturer’s range for its excellent, sharp image quality. It has been integrated with a Sony CMOS sensor capable of capturing up to 4 photos in burst mode at 12 MP or recording video in 4K at up to 30 FPS. The binoculars feature 64 GB of internal memory.
After pairing them via Bluetooth with the Steiner Connect 2.0 app, it is possible to stream the image over Wi-Fi to up to 5 devices at once. Thanks to compatibility with Google Lens, the user can identify animals, plants, and elements of the surroundings in real time — anything that Google Lens is able to recognize.
The eDiscovery binoculars, like most models in the manufacturer’s lineup, feature a durable, rubberized, and waterproof housing rated to IP67 (the same class used in, among other things, Steiner’s marine binoculars). As a long-time user of the Steiner Navigator 7x50c model, I consider these binoculars to be genuinely trustworthy for use in harsh conditions. The electronics are powered by a 18650 Li-ion battery, providing up to 32 hours of operation.
While multispectral binoculars with a digital daytime mode and image recording capabilities are no longer surprising (one of the first was Pulsar with its Merger model, introduced about 6 years ago), fully-fledged analog binoculars with high-end optics and the ability to capture photos and record 4K video is still a novelty on the market. Two years ago, only Swarovski introduced a similar concept with the AX Visio 10x32, also offering photo-video functionality of comparable quality, though with different optical parameters. The new Steiner eDiscovery model uses a 10x42 optical system and, with its larger objective diameter, should perform better in low-light conditions. The binoculars naturally differ from each other, including in some features, but the key difference lies in the price — Steiner’s model is expected to cost around €2000, while the already available Swarovski binoculars cost about twice as much.
There is no doubt that Steiner and Swarovski are paving a new path that others will follow in the coming years, and the technology of combining top-tier optics with digital assistance opens an entirely new chapter in the segment of analog binoculars (and scopes), including specialized and military applications.
Photos: Swarovski Optics
