audubon build quality

[matt green]

greetings all,i'm tempted by the audubon porro prisms [820 ED],they seem to be highly rated but from one or two sources there has been some mention of build quality and durability.are there any users of these that have actually had problems with them in use?,and is there a uk based service and repair centre should they need any attention.

any thoughts welcomed

matt

[Andrew Rowlands]

I've never had the opportunity to try that model, Matt but i have a birding friend who's used an older model (HR5 8.5x44) for over twenty years - they've fogged up once or twice after being out in heavy rain, otherwise still a great bino :t:.

There are many dealers that offer repairs in the UK but how long is the current warranty on Swift products?

Andy.

[John Traynor]

greetings all,i'm tempted by the audubon porro prisms [820 ED],they seem to be highly rated but from one or two sources there has been some mention of build quality and durability.are there any users of these that have actually had problems with them in use?,and is there a uk based service and repair centre should they need any attention.

any thoughts welcomed

matt


Matt,

Bill Cook is the man to answer this question, but I'm not sure if he's still on the forum.

John

[elkcub]

greetings all,i'm tempted by the audubon porro prisms [820 ED],they seem to be highly rated but from one or two sources there has been some mention of build quality and durability.are there any users of these that have actually had problems with them in use?,and is there a uk based service and repair centre should they need any attention.

any thoughts welcomed

matt

Matt,

You might wish to look at Kimmo Absetz' comments: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=40531&highlight=kimmo+swift

In particular:
The Swift Audubons 8.5x44 [820ED] which you asked about are optically very good also, but mechanically they xxxx. Their eyepiece bridge does not move in and out evenly when you focus, and this means that it is impossible to have the individual diopter adjustment stay reliably where you intended it to be. I have tried about five pairs, and every time this drove me crazy. Incidentally, the shop where I tried the HR WP had the Swift, and for my eyes the Opticron had a better image.


I have compared the 820/820ED against a standard 804 HR/5, and, sad to say, would rather own the HR/5. I've never looked through an 804ED HR/5, which is said to be even better. They are very hard to find nowadays.

Several folks have pointed out that the 820ED is not really waterproof, so ... the conversation usually turns to the merits of a Nikon 8x30 E2, which can still be bought (in the US) for around $275-300, or the Nikon 8x32 SE priced at $600. If you like a wide FOV the E2 is an excellent choice.

Elkcub

[matt green]

thanks for the above comments folks,that bridge problem would send me crazy too,my current porro's suffer the same.think i'll hunt down an internal focusing pair.still have the choice of opticron HR WP and minox's new internal focusing porro though.i'd love to see the nikon se models with internal focusing,watertightness/nitrogen purged and twist up/down eyecups,there's no reason why this can't be done,maybe the big four want to maintain the icon status of the more expensive roofprisms?.

matt

[henry link]

The Nikon SE has a very robust bridge. I've used a pair for 8 years without the slightest play developing in the bridge or the focuser. The EII uses the same bridge, but the eyepiece optics barrels in it have only a tiny area of contact with a thin ring inside the prism housing tubes. That makes for easy focusing, but is not as robust as the construction of the SE in which the eyepiece optics barrel and the prism housing tube slide snugly against each other with a large area of contact. However, the outside area of contact between the bridge and the prism housing tubes is the same in both binoculars and has very little play, so I would think the EII ought be nearly as resistant to bridge flexing as the SE.

[marcus]

I've had those new 8.5x44 porro Swift Audubons. The one thing that I couldn't stand about them is that they had an 'old-fashioned' diopter, that never stayed in place, but seemed to move everytime I picked them up. I bought mine in 2000. Maybe they've been improved since then.