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Info on old Swifts? (1 Viewer)

Red_Shoulder said:
Thanks Ed, I guess it would be between 81and '87? Do the serial numbers matter? Would like to figure out those. When did Chief Cook arrive?

They are good performers and the mechanics are nice. Like a lot of older binoculars, they have fungus, quite a bit on the right side :( but I'm not sure fungus hurts resolution really, and it's not picking up flare too much. Tempted to clean them but they still work fine.
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"Chief" Cook is my affectionate reference to WJC, who was a chief US Navy optical repairman. He said (post #6) he starting working with Aerolites in 1987, which defines t=0 in his memory bank. ;)

As to serial numbers, the database Renze de Vries and I have suggests that they don't contain a date code. This is most likely because they were not made by Hiyoshi Kogagu. In fact, there may have been several Aerolite manufacturers over the years.

I send all my binoculars to Nicolas Crista (NRC Optics) for cleaning and alignment. Most older items need it, even if they stood in a box for 30 yrs.

Thanks
Ed
 
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That's right . . . pick on the fuzzy little gnome!

I did take an interest in the different models, but not as much as Ed. Dealing with the RETAIL end of binos was NOT the way of life the repair and industry aspects were; they just fed my family.

I liked the CENTER unit because of the feel, the beefiness of the bridges, the rubber abound the objectives, the ease in unscrewing those objectives, and the ease in finding the—too weak—prism adjustment screws.

The positive actuation of the focus mechanism on the earlier model was superior—there was some to a lot of lost motion in the center unit—but I liked everything else on the middle one. The newer model was good optically, but was short in the mechanical arena.

Bill
 
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Ohhhh, ok I thought you were talking about an employee of the swift binocular company.

Ahh, the poor gnomes :)

I've heard kids like to eat. :)

'81-'87 is a good estimate. My gut feeling is that I want optics first, mechanics second. BUT I like the superior mechanics of the old Aerolites compared to a rebranded Mercury 7x50's, which seem a bit sharper, believe it or not. Colors better on Aerolites, but I really like those Mercury. Might have them collimated better.

I was wondering where to send them too. I'll keep Nicholas Crista in mind.
 
Steve C said:
I happen to have the exact same binocular. Mine matches exactly with the stated field of view. Pretty decent binocular. My Nighthawk is an 8x40 and as much as I can compare 7x on one hand and 8x 0n the other, I'd say the Nighthawk is maybe a touch better. The Nighthawk likely matches the stated fov.

Wait a minute, mine are a bit different. They have an 11.8* fov and are 67-7038. Otherwise they look the same from what I can tell. Mine have BAK-4 prisms.
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Yeah, yours are probably the good version. I think mine are BAK-7, but I need to check. Here's a picture of the other 11.6° I have. You can see the narrower oculars.

20150201_140339-2.jpg
 
Steve C said:
Mine are labelled BAK-4 Prisms on the left plate.
Click to expand...

Hi Steve and Red_Shoulder:

The fuzzy little gnome has to put his curmudgeon garb on for the next few moments; ‘sorry ‘bout that.

Optical glass designations shouldn’t be used interchangeably. There is no such glass as BAK7! First, I’m holding my Schott glass catalog in my hand: The schedule jumps from Bak6 to Bak50, with nothing in between. Also, the “A” in the designation is lowercase. There may be a “BAK7” by that glass plant just outside of Moscow, but the giants we all know and love don’t have such in their offerings.
 
Hoping someone might know...

I just picked these up off of eBay. They are labeled Swift Focus and stamped Japan J-B133 Y6414. I've got several other pairs of vintage Swift bins and have done a fair amount of reading, but can't find anything on this model. They are rubber armored and appear to be 7X50, although it doesn't say so.
Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Swift Focus.jpg
 
GalvestonGuy said:
I just picked these up off of eBay. They are labeled Swift Focus and stamped Japan J-B133 Y6414. I've got several other pairs of vintage Swift bins and have done a fair amount of reading, but can't find anything on this model. They are rubber armored and appear to be 7X50, although it doesn't say so.
Any info would be greatly appreciated.

View attachment 531899
Click to expand...

Without markings I think these might be the 7x42 Model 754 Armored Osprey. If so, they would have been made around 1990, FOV=367', and weighed 29.5 oz. Distinguishing features are high eye relief of 19mm and close focus of 13'.

It's just a guess.

Ed
 
WJC said:
Hi Steve and Red_Shoulder:

The fuzzy little gnome has to put his curmudgeon garb on for the next few moments; ‘sorry ‘bout that.

Optical glass designations shouldn’t be used interchangeably. There is no such glass as BAK7! First, I’m holding my Schott glass catalog in my hand: The schedule jumps from Bak6 to Bak50, with nothing in between. Also, the “A” in the designation is lowercase. There may be a “BAK7” by that glass plant just outside of Moscow, but the giants we all know and love don’t have such in their offerings.
Click to expand...

I will apologize profusely to all for sticking the A in BAK-7 ;)

Oh wait...I guess I didn't commit the sin after all ...whew B :)

I think BAK-4 is OK though. Somewhere I think I read that you need BAK-7 glass to see fuzzy little Gnomes in their curmudgeon garb
 
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GalvestonGuy said:
I just picked these up off of eBay. They are labeled Swift Focus and stamped Japan J-B133 Y6414. I've got several other pairs of vintage Swift bins and have done a fair amount of reading, but can't find anything on this model. They are rubber armored and appear to be 7X50, although it doesn't say so.
Any info would be greatly appreciated.

View attachment 531899
Click to expand...

I vote for them being Aerolite armored 7x50 versions with the fast focus system.
 
Thanks Ed & Steve,
I appreciate the quick reply. They look like the Osprey but the objective lens are definitely bigger than my Swift Audubon which are 44. I'm pretty sure they measure just under 2 inches. I just started collecting about a year ago and have enjoy learning about the history that goes along with it. Usually there is a lot of info on them to help narrow it down, but these just say Swift Focus on the center focus adjuster and J-B133 Y6414 on the front hinge center post. I think you are right about the early '90s and am thinking they were a cousin of the Osprey. Sort of like the Saratoga/Commander. I'll post anything I discover. Thanks again for your help
 
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I was hoping they were something a little more exotic than the Aerolite, but you are likely correct. I'm pretty sure they are 7X50. Here is another pic.
 

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Yeah, I'm pretty sure they are NOT the Osprey, and are indeed the Aerolite.. The Osprey is marked clearly what it is, and I don't think it ever had the Swift Focus system. It is a lot better binocular too. I've got into bidding wars over several, but always quit because the price way out of hand. Well maybe not out if hand but for more that I wanted to go at the time.
 
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Hold on. I found it. Looking at the second picture I'm sure it's a Model 781 Armored Swift Focus. The attached pictures are from the 1980 Swift catalog.

"Swift Focus" is a distinct series, and somewhat more expensive than the budget Aerolite series. This one cost $122 in 1980, or $381 today.

Ed
 

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You're welcome, GG. The exercise has also had a great side-benefit for me; namely, learning that the fast focuser is based on the use of "cam action," rather than just a standard gear ratio.

CAM = ... a rotating or sliding piece (as an eccentric wheel or a cylinder with an irregular shape) in a mechanical linkage used especially in transforming rotary motion into linear motion or vice versa.
Click to expand...

An "irregular shape" can be used to design any number of functional relationships between focuser rotation and movement of the internal optics, and this is what I initially thought was incorporated into the recent Swaro SLC-HD binoculars. Apparently not, but my thoughts were not entirely crazy.

I'm interested to learn what you think of the focuser, even though we know from history that it didn't catch on.

Ed :eat:
 
Thanks for that Ed. I had it in my head the Swift Focus series was based on the Aerolite. I wonder what regular focus series of the Swift line was used as the basis. Seems weird to design a whole different binocular for a fast focus system. But you never know I guess.
 
Not sure but it might be revealing that the armored Swift Focus & Aerolite both share model #781. As far as the focus system, I compared it to my Swift Skipper Trilar and couldn't tell much difference. However, I'm new to this game and not a great source to evaluate. I will say this, those old Skippers are as sharp as anything I've got, including the Audubon MKII. I think I just got a great example of those : )
 
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