SWAROVSKI OPTIK released the NL Pure 14×52 last year in 2024 to satisfy the demand for a higher magnification binocular in the NL Pure line. The NL Pure 12×42 was quite popular when it was released and I bought this specific binocular in 2022 for all-purpose range use and was (and still am) very satisfied with it. The 12×42 offered just enough magnification for most needs with the incredible and best-in-class field of view combined with impeccable image quality.
Even with the NL Pure 12×42 offering, there were still many who opted to use the highly respected SWAROVSKI OPTIK SLC 15×56 which have excellent image quality at 15x magnification. However, the SLC 15×56 is a design that dates back to the late 1990s which was revised a few times since then. Thus, people were demanding a 15x NL Pure as to have a higher magnification binocular with a current / recent design.
The SWAROVSKI OPTIK NL Pure 14×52 has the following general specifications:
- 14x magnification
- 52 mm Effective objective lens diameter
- 3.6 mm Exit pupil diameter
- 17 mm exit-pupil-distance-eye-relief-mm
- 279 ft / 1000 yds Field of view or 5.3 degrees
- 5.3°Field of view
- 12.5 ft Minimum focusing distance
- ± 4dpt Diopter adjustment
- 5dpt Diopter correction at ?
- 91% Light transmission
- 2.2-2.9 in Pupil distance
- 27 Twilight factor acc. to ISO 14132-1
- 6.9 in Length x 5.2 in Width x 3 in Height
- 36 oz Weight
When the NL Pure 14×52 was released in 2024, I was very intrigued and had some desire for a set. At the time, I did not prioritize getting a unit because I had other things higher on my list of wants. However, word was spreading that SWAROVSKI OPTIK was going to increase prices and just before they did in September 2025, retailers were warning prospective customers. I decided to acquire the NL Pure 14×52 since I figured I may as well get a set as I was going to get them relatively soon, and would likely sell the NL Pure 12×42 at some point to offset the expenditure.
Thus, I acquired the SWAROVSKI OPTIK NL Pure 14×52 the weekend before the price increase by way of EuroOptic.
Out of the box the NL Pure 14×52 has the same lineage of the previous NL Pure variations that came before it. It has the tapered barrel form-factor that give it great ergonomics for the hands. The NL Pure 14×52 is noticeably longer than the NL Pure 12×42.
The NL Pure 14×52 is 6.9″ long, 5.2″ wide, and 3 tall vs the 6.2″ x 5.1″ x 2.8″ dimensions of the NL Pure 12×42, respectively. For comparison, the NL Pure 14×52 weighs 36 ounces vs the 29.5 ounces of the NL Pure 12×42.
The diopter adjustment is in the same location as the other NL Pure models, on the bridge of the binocular.
The focus adjustment is just as smooth and the adjustable eye cups are the same.
Furthermore, the NL Pure 14×52 uses the same forehead rest accessory that is used on the other NL Pure models. Thus, the forehead rest for the NL Pure is compatible with all NL Pure models.
It is notable that the NL Pure 14×52 uses many of the same parts that are used on the other NL Pure binoculars. SWAROVSKI OPTIK did this to make manufacturing and production efficient. It is my understanding that the NL Pure 14×52 has a 52mm objective rather than a 50mm objective because of this design intent to have cross-compatibility in parts. I believe it is also why the magnification scaling is at 14x instead of 15x (NL Pure 8x, 10x, 12x, and now 14x).
The new design feature introduced in the NL Pure lineup with the NL Pure 14×52 (and NL Pure 10×50 which released at the same time) is the tripod adapter interface.
The NL Pure 14×52 has a proprietary interface on the bridge to accept the SWAROVSKI OPTIC TAs, which I assume stands for Tripod Adapter system (hence TAs).
There is a female interface on the bridge that acts as a receiver and saddle to mate with the male interface on the TAs itself.
There is a locking lever that extends the male interface and once the binocular is mated to the TAs, the locking lever is toggled to pull the male interface in and snug the binocular to it keeping it secure to the TAs.
I mentioned that this is a new feature to the NL Pure lineup and while the NL Pure 8x, 10x, and 12x did not have this feature, new production versions of the original 8x, 10x, and 12x designs now have the TAs interface. SWAROVSKI OPTIK published a compatibility chart for the TAs:
- NL Pure 32 (from serial number BD1425291A)
- NL Pure 42 (from serial number AD1452771A)
- NL Pure 52
- EL Range 10×42 (from serial number TF1543039A)
- EL Range 12×42
You will notice that the EL Range 10×42 and 12×42 are listed above and that is because the EL Range 12×42 was also released recently with the TAs interface, and SWAROSVSKI started manufacturing the EL Range 10×42 with the interface as well.
Furthermore, SWAROVSKI OPTIK will retrofit earlier production units of the following binocular models if the owner desires:
- NL Pure 32 (up to serial number BD1425291A)
- NL Pure 42 (up to serial number AD1452771A)
- EL Range 8×42
- EL Range 10×42 (up to serial number TF1443008A)
I sent my EL Range 10×42 TA purchased new 2023 to SWAROVSKI OPTIK for the retrofit. The parts and labor were free of charge by providing proof of purchase of the TAs and I only needed to pay to ship the EL Range 10×42 TA to SWAROVSKI OPTIK.
What is my assessment of the NL Pure 14×52?
First off, the optical clarity of the SWAROVSKI OPTIK NL Pure 14×52 is what you expect from the NL Pure line: Perfection.
The optical clarity is undoubtedly best in-class and while competing brands may come close in some regards, the NL Pure is still on the throne in terms of optical performance.
Edge clarity is superb and any fall off is nearly indiscernible and the edge distortion is non-existent thanks to the field flattener lens technology, aka SWAROVISION.
It is not going to be able to do the image quality justice, but I have included a few phone camera photos through the lens of the NL Pure 14×52.
Keep in mind that photos through the binocular are not going to be true to what your eyes see and will capture a lower quality than real life simply because you’re using a camera lens behind another lens of a completely different and separate optical system, which introduces refraction and other light noise. Not to mention the phone cameras interpretation and translation of the image will be vary based on the phone and the conditions.
The above photo shows the field of view around a freeway sign at around 400 yards line of sight. As you can see, the 5.3 degree field of view is very usable at mid-range distances (where I define mid-range between 300 and 800 yards).
The above image is resized and not cropped, and you can still see the clarity of the text on the freeway sign and the Amazon truck container.
The photo below is shows a longer distance field of view, where the freeway signs in the center of the image are just over 4100 yards line of sight. Again, keep in mind that this image does show edge vignetting which isn’t present when using the binocular normally, and is a by product of the camera phone lens on the digiscoping adapter not being truly centered and flush to the eyepiece, resulting in refraction and other light noise.
This next image is a 1:1 crop of the above image with just the freeway signs.
If you enlarge the photo (by clicking on it), you will see the text of the freeway signs are readable, even with the haze and mirage due to the mid-morning heat coming off the freeway surface on a sunny and warm Southern California day.
Again, while I feel these photos do help show the impressive image quality of the NL Pure 14×52, they still don’t do the binocular justice given the amount of noise and artifacts introduced by this digiscoping method of a phone camera attached to the lens.
The ergonomics of the NL Pure 14×52 are on par with the NL Pure 12×42 with great feel in the hands thanks to the tapered barrels. The location of the focus wheel is where my index finger naturally want to go to and it feels effortless to use the binocular.
I appreciate the addition of the new Tripod Adapter system, which negates the need to get the Outdoorsman (third-party) NL Pure adapter stud.
As a long time user of the Really Right Stuff Cinch-LR binocular tripod adapter, I am finding the center mount tripod adapter facilitated by the SWAROVSKI OPTIK TAs to be more preferable.
The RRS Cinch-LR is a handy way to get a lower profile mounting solution for a binocular, especially one that does not have a 1/4″-20 thread on the bridge like the original NL Pure line did not have. However, having the binocular offset with the right (or left) barrel directly over the center axis of the tripod does feel awkward at times, especially when panning.
However, with the Tripod Adapter system from SWAROVSKI, the capability to get the binocular centered over the tripod center axis is now available.
This does feel more balanced when panning an area from a tripod.
The TAs discussion does segue to one of the aspects of the NL Pure 14×52 that are cons. For one, the TAs is not to the Really Right Stuff 1.5″ dovetail specification.
The bottom of the TAs is a square dovetail for Arca-Swiss, so that it can sit in either orientation for an Arca-Swiss clamp.
I have discussed this in other articles and in some videos on my YouTube channel, but I will mention that there is no true Arca-Swiss standard. Arca-Swiss is an actual company who created the dovetail and clamp system for tripods and photography use, and this style of clamp was adopted by more companies such as Kirk Photo, Acratech, and of course, Really Right Stuff.
Back in the 2000s when I started using Arca-Swiss plates and clamps for cameras, I found that plates from one manufacturer often did not fit in the clamps of another, either being too wide or too narrow, resulting in the clamp not being able to close on the plate or the plate sliding in the closed clamp.
Really Right Stuff was the company that I settled on for my camera L-plates for no other reason that I liked their company marketing and how they presented themselves (back then they did not even market for shooting sports). RRS published the exact dimensions for the dovetail they cut for their plates and what they design their clamps for.
Really Right Stuff’s popularity in the photography community eventually got them noticed by the shooting community when people started gravitating towards tripods, and RRS eventually became the unofficial ‘standard’ for Arca-Swiss in the shooting community.
Thus, whenever I use any type of Arca-Swiss mountable plate, I expect it to work with RRS spec clamps since that is what I use and that’s what the shooting community has unofficially adopted.
With that said, the SWAROVSKI OPTIK TAs is too narrow for the RRS 1.5″ dovetail spec. Ever since RRS released the adjustable versions of their clamps (where the width of the clamp on closure can be adjusted), all my tripod heads have been converted to adjustable RRS clamps. However, whenever I have the clamps set for any confirmed RRS spec dovetail plate (either RRS branded or dovetails I know fit a RRS non-adjustable clamp), the TAs is not secure and will slide in the clamp when closed.
Whenever I wanted to use the NL Pure 14×52 with the TAs in my tripod head, I would have to remember to adjust the tension and then when done, I’d have to re-adjust/reset the tension back to what it was prior so I could use my other Arca-Swiss mountable devices (whether a camera, glass, or a rifle).
In order to mitigate this need to constantly readjust the clamp, I acquired the “200 Spot” Spotter R-Lock Dovetail Mount from Sawtooth Rifles. It is basically an adapter plate to fit on an spotting scope or other device with a flat edge ‘foot’ and a 1/4″-20 tripod thread on the bottom, so that it can be adapted to Arca-Swiss clamps.
With this, I simply threaded it on to the bottom of the TAs to get a true RRS 1.5″ specification dovetail. While I am clamping an Arca-Swiss dovetail onto another Arca-Swiss dovetail so-to-speak, I found it necessary for my specific equipment needs (not to mention I gain RRS-Lock capability with the 200 Spot).
My one other gripe is with the objective lens cups. These are the same cup design from the previous NL Pure and these are notorious for breaking / tearing at the stem close to where they attach to the objective mounting point.
The only other criticism I have regarding the NL Pure 14×52 is the price. Before the SWAROVSKI OPTIK price increases in September 2025, the NL Pure 14×52 MSRP was $3499 USD. After the increase, the NL Pure 14×52 is now $3849 (10% price increase). While these are the best-in-class binoculars you can acquire, the price is definitely the highest-in-class as well.
Would I recommend the SWAROVSKI OPTIK NL Pure 14×52?
Simple answer: Yes.
The more complex answer is, of course, it depends.
The SWAROVSKI OPTIK NL Pure 14×52 is going to give you high magnification (for a binocular) with superbly clear image quality with no discernible distortion or artifacts in an ergonomic form factor. The field of view is more than adequate for scanning an area and is quite impressive for a 14x magnification binocular.
14x magnification binoculars are not going to be the easiest to handhold for most people and requires the use of a tripod or other support. If the intent is to use these for handheld scouting and observation, then you’re likely not going to get the 14x and stick with more conservative 8x or 10x binoculars.
Furthermore, you do have to factor in whether or not 14x is sufficient for your use cases or if you’re better off running a spotting scope to get more reach and detail.
But the NL Pure 14×52 slots right in-between the handheld scouting binocular and the ultra-detail high magnification spotter, which is a common use case in shooting sports when one is spotting shots on steel and/or calling wind.
To build out a glassing kit, you could run an 8x or 10x laser rangefinding binocular for general purpose and ranging, and the NL Pure 14×52 for static long distance glassing where you do not need the detail of a high(er) magnification spotting scope. From there, add a spotting scope to round out the kit.
Price is likely the biggest hurdle that people will hit when deciding if they should get the NL Pure 14×52. At the current late 2025 price of $3849 USD, it is one of the most expensive binoculars in this class and given the state of US-imposed tariff policy, it is unlikely to decrease in price anytime soon, if at all.
I think that the SLC 15×56 is still a viable option. A new, current production SWAROVSKI OPTIC SLC 15×56 is $2699 while used units for $2000 and under if you shop around. If you can get a used SLC 15×56 for less than $2000 and if you do not need the form factor of the NL Pure 14×52, the SLC 15×56 is a great “value buy” when it comes to high quality optical performance with high magnification. While the 234 ft at 1000 yd (4.5 degrees) field of view of the SLC 15×56 is less than the NL Pure 14×52 (279 ft at 1000 yd), you may be willing to sacrifice field of view along with ergonomics / form factor for a less expensive binocular.
With that said, if you glass for long periods of time where you want more detail and resolution without having to lug around a spotting scope, the SWAROVSKI OPTIK NL Pure 14×52 is going to a great solution for you. If the high price is a deterrent, you should keep your eyes peeled for a used SLC 15×56 or even a used NL Pure 12×42, as you may start seeing more of these on the secondary/used market as people ‘upgrade’ to the latest NL Pure offering from Swarovski.
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