Review: Swarovski EL 10x50 SV Binoculars In the late 1980s I bought my first pair of alpha-class binoculars. Although I had never been a fan of high power binoculars, I allowed myself to be swayed by fashion. The Zeiss 10x40s were the “in” binoculars of their day. The old rule about hand-holding long lenses had become old hat. But physics and human anatomy hadn’t changed. Having grown up in the camera business I was well-acquainted with the maxim that (for long lenses) the minimum shutter speed had to be equal to or greater than the focal length of the lens to get sharp photos without a tripod. (For example you had to shoot at at least 1/250 sec. when using a 250mm lens without a tripod because you need a fast shutter speed to freeze the movement of your hands.) The same principal applied to binoculars because magnification enlarges not only the image. It magnifies the movement of your hands by the same factor. There’s no getting around the principal that you will...