Poll: will you buy Swarovski AX Visio? (1 Viewer)

[tenex]

Birders and naturalists now have AX Visio, as hunters have rangefinding bins ($1500-4000). Would you buy AX, or something like it, and at what price? (Not why, there's another thread for that.)

 

[LittleBitOfBreadNoCheese]

Not enough poll options, I'd buy at 1/4 price from non-premier name if necessary.

 

[tenex]

In a decade or so we can add that choice. ("non-premier" is assumed in option B, but I can't edit the poll text)

 

[chill6x6]

Hard to say.... Appreciate the reviews for sure. I have to wonder if one gets $4800 worth of camera/binocular/bird id? From what I read it would be the camera part of the AV Visio that would give me pause. Let's face it...even in todays world $4800 is a LOT of money, especially for a binocular-ish device.

 

[etudiant]

Lens Rentals is a flourishing business here that rents out higher end cameras and lenses for days or weeks, usually with an option to buy.
Imho the AX fits that approach. The presumption is that the initial demand is from travelers who need the ID capabilities.
Those users may not want to own the glass, they just want the service it offers while traveling.
People who bird a patch by contrast are probably not the target here.

 

[NDhunter]

Never, it is just a gimmick optic.

 

[Canip]

Let's face it...even in todays world $4800 is a LOT of money,

I agree, but have to wonder sometimes - my neighbor, retired electrical engineer, just booked a 10 day cruise to Norway, Tromsø, whale watching, northern lights, etc, for himself and his wife. Cost: 8900 Euro (that‘ over $ 9‘700).
And that’s per person!!
I am sure they thoroghly enjoy their trip. Still, I guess there is somehow more money around than one might anticipate.
It will really be interesting to see how well the Visio will sell.

 

[etudiant]

I agree, but have to wonder sometimes - my neighbor, retired electrical engineer, just booked a 10 day cruise to Norway, Tromsø, whale watching, northern lights, etc, for himself and his wife. Cost: 8900 Euro (that‘ over $ 9‘700).
And that’s per person!!
I am sure they thoroghly enjoy their trip. Still, I guess there is somehow more money around than one might anticipate.
It will really be interesting to see how well the Visio will sell.

Exactly so, today'a lot of older people with decent retirement income enjoy traveling and can spend $10,000 on a trip. That is a big market opportunity for Swarovski, offer a tool that allows people to better see and understand the fauna and flora around their new locations.
Extending the identification capabilities of the AX to include plants should be straightforward, inaturalist is already available on smart phones, just as is Merlin.

 

[chill6x6]

Let's not talk about cruises....LOL!

Since you DID bring up cruises, I really CAN see usefulness when birding somewhere foreign to you. That ideal I really like. Binoculars, picture, ID assistance all in one.

 

[iseegeorgesstar]

I would have liked a 4th voting option such as "Curious but it's not a priority."

Thanks for the poll all the same.

 

[has530]

I like the idea and would buy one but not anywhere near that price. Give me $500 binoculars with a $500 bridge camera and the same mobile connective abilities for $1000 and then I would be interested for travel where I might not know what I am looking at immediately.

 

[crinklystarfish]

I'd prefer 8x32 or 10x40 but essentially approve of the concept. I can see the merits when travelling to / in unfamiliar biomes.

I can also see the possibilities in terms of such a thing engaging a whole new cohort of people and - in doing so - raising an awareness of, and respect for, what remains of the increasingly compromised 'natural' world.

I'm seeing a lot of fairly visceral negativity. It's probably worth remembering that no-one is being forced to buy such a contraption. What's so wrong with developing and marketing the option?

 

[tenex]

I'm seeing a lot of fairly visceral negativity. It's probably worth remembering that no-one is being forced to buy such a contraption. What's so wrong with developing and marketing the option?

I think the overall tone would be quite different if AX cost about a third the price and wasn't designed by some alleged genius. And what I don't understand is how many more Swaro expects to sell once someone else's does.

(But again I didn't mean to duplicate the other thread(s) here, this was just a poll on will you or won't you, no venting required.)

 

[pbjosh]

Still, I guess there is somehow more money around than one might anticipate.
It will really be interesting to see how well the Visio will sell.

Indeed, though Switzerland is likely one of the world leaders in people who are quietly quite well to do / financially comfortable.

I sort of split my life and family and friends between a few countries and it is constantly present for me the casual yet drastic differences in buying power / disposable income in different parts of not just the world but within countries as well.

 

[Mike Crawley]

I would not have one at any price or from any manufacturer.
As I commented in the other thread, this equipment isn’t (in my humble opinion) aimed at the majority of birdforum.net members.
It’s aimed at "money no object" beginners.
Good luck to them, I hope they enjoy their version of the hobby but fingers crossed that they’ll become "proper" birders and start making their own I.D. decisions in future.

 

[crinklystarfish]

But again I didn't mean to duplicate the other thread(s) here, this was just a poll on will you or won't you, no venting required.

Of course, and accepted.

It's interesting to see the various reactions and thoughts on purchase, but given that the birdforum.net 'Binocular' landscape is largely inhabited by optics aficionados who are generally already very knowledgeable about birds; I'm not so sure the right subset of potential purchasers is being interrogated.

The AX Visio is arguably more of an IT gadget that's simply underpinned by a (presumably) decent quality optical instrument, and it's not beyond the bounds of possibility that the tech-gadget market is the one that Swaro is most optimistically eyeballing.

It would be interesting to see how a similar poll would fare on forums dedicated to gadgetry.

 

[pppppvvvv]

Of course, and accepted.

It's interesting to see the various reactions and thoughts on purchase, but given that the birdforum.net 'Binocular' landscape is largely inhabited by optics aficionados who are generally already very knowledgeable about birds; I'm not so sure the right subset of potential purchasers is being interrogated.

The AX Visio is arguably more of an IT gadget that's simply underpinned by a (presumably) decent quality optical instrument, and it's not beyond the bounds of possibility that the tech-gadget market is the one that Swaro is most optimistically eyeballing.

It would be interesting to see how a similar poll would fare on forums dedicated to gadgetry.

Yes there is that, but the Tech crowd divides up with a significant number who prefer to make things out of cheaper components, raspberry pi, open source software, etc

I think we're down to the small subset who buy drones the size of a family car!

 

[Canip]

Birders and naturalists now have AX Visio, as hunters have rangefinding bins ($1500-4000).

Right, and some have also nice night vision and thermal imaging devices (which, if they are from Zeiss, Leica or Swaro, cost the same or more than the Visio)

 

[tenex]

it's not beyond the bounds of possibility that the tech-gadget market is the one that Swaro is most optimistically eyeballing.

Is the average tech geek interested in going on nature hikes to identify species, when he can sit on a couch with a VR headset? (And remember, AX doesn't even find anything by itself...)

 

[mbb]

On the one hand part of the features sound interesting to me, but on the other hand I think that I would most likely end up not benefitting much from it after some time.

Most of the nature and birdwatching I do is for enjoying watching the animals/birds in their daily habitat and behaviour, most of them not rare at all or not in any scenery that would result in a valuable picture. (A great or memorable view doesn't make a great or memorable picture. How many pictures do we have "somewhere on some drive/cloud/..." that we barely watch ever again, since we have smartphones with cameras. At least that is the case for me... :-/)

I also tend to accept much more now then some years ago the fact that I didn't ID some bird: that became secondary to me, personally. (Sounds strange?)

I would probably end up playing with it a lot in the first days/weeks/walks, but afterwards just using them as regular binocular...and then end up leaving this 1kg at home for another 8x32 weighing half of it, with similar optical level. (The optics and ergonomics do matter for the experience, to a certain extent.) Probably sometimes I would think "argh, they would have been useful this time".

This is very personal and pure speculation for now of course: I would like to try it out in the field once and see for myself ;-). But I won't pay such amount of money just to know, and I would be very very surprised if I would ever pay that much to own one.