Six finger cranks is indeed what I mean Ron. One reason that this is an issue is that my focus wheel requires approximately double the pressure to turn to the right (towards infinity) than to the left (towards very close focus). This means that every time the wheel gets accidentally nudged it drifts off towards close focus. Its a pity its not the other way around, as that way it would always be close to the 5+ meter focal sweet-spot. Incidentally, does anyone know why these Swaro's (or indeed any bins) allow focusing beyond infinity? My pair allow almost 1/2 turn beyond infinity.
Hey Abbott!
I'm glad you clarified the "finger cranks" vs. turns before I got on the phone to the Guinness World Records folks to tell them about the slowest binocular focuser ever made!
I feel your pain with the too fast focuser. That's how my first sample 8x32 HG was. I actually had to keep my finger on top of the focuser to keep it from getting accidentally nudged. Drove me nuts because I kept overshooting my targets! It also played havoc with my focus accommodation and I found myself fiddling with the diopter setting for different distances instead of "set and forget".
I read in the BF reviews of this bin that others found the focuser too fast, so I figured it was just the way it was, and that in order to enjoy the superb views, I would have to live with it, but I found I couldn't. So I sold the Toulouse-Lautrec HG.
I later read on a BF thread that all HG focusers were not created equal (this was day I learned to say the words "sample variation")! So I tried another sample, and viola! the focuser was still fast (1/2 turn from cf to 8) but precise. It stayed put after I focused.
The ironic thing about this SV EL fast focuser issue is that I found Swaro focusers in the two samples I tried (SLC and EL) to be a bit too stiff (particularly in one direction). I've also read others say the same thing about their Swaros. In fact, the EL I tried had a tight focuser. The problem wasn't that it moved accidentally, the problem was getting it to move without using two fingers!
So it appears that Swaro might also have some quality control issues when it comes to its focusers. Even though how fast is too fast is somewhat subjective, I suggest you solicit more opinions from other 10x42 SV EL owners and find out if your experience is typical.
If it's not, then ship 'em back and ask Swaro to do the "Tighten Up". If it is typical, then you have to decide whether this is something you can live with (or should have to live with, given their high cost) or if it's time to move on to some other bin that will give you spectacular views
with a focuser that gets you on target both near and far at a pace you can deal with and keeps you on target.
There are other fish in the pond, even in the expensive exotic fish pond.
Costello