The 8x30's...
Swift Grand Prix: J-B32/J-E22, Bak4, Very clean inside except slight haze or smudge on right side prism, didn't SEEM to effect performance. Sharp out to approx 65%. Lowlight performance was not too bad.
Sans & Streiffe 801 Gamester: J-B62/J-E15, Bak4, Very clean inside except slight haze or smudge on right side prism, didn't SEEM to effect performance. Sharp out to approx 70%. Lowlight performance was just a hair below the Swift's.
Steiner Vergutet: Bak4, Hazy on both prisms, fungus growth it appears. Sharp to 55-60%. Lowlight performance was worse than the other 2.
Comments: For the sharpness test, I used the craters on the moon. The Swift and S.S. were very close during the day and night tests. The S.S. had a slightly bigger sweet spot. I almost want to say that the S.S. was just a little sharper than the Swift, but the Swift was just a bit brighter at night. Both bins had the same body, but the Swift was much heavier and just felt better in the hand. For that reason I'll rate the Swift just a bit higher. The Steiners were a noticeable step down. I'm guessing this was the fungus amungus, so it may not have been fair to this particular Steiner. I will say that they are very ergonomic, and felt great in the hand, but that is about all they had going for them. If I can figure out how to clean them without breaking them, then I'll compare them again to the Swift's and see what happens.
** Just for grins I compared the Swifts to my modern Bushnell H2O in 8x42 and in lowlight they were close, not quit the light gathering ability of the Bushnell. Put a bigger objective on the Swifts? Who knows? Not bad for a bin made in 1967.
Thanks for reading.
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