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Swift Audobon Hr5 (1 Viewer)

Ed, To confirm the colour of reflections on your 10x50 Kestrel, my 2000 model has only green reflections on both ocular and objective lenses. However, if held to reflect light at an angle from a bright source (sunlit window) the light reflects as purple on the green lens surface. In comparison, my Audubon big-body 3b has very pale yellow/gold coatings which, at an angle from the window, produce pale yellow reflections with perhaps just a hint of purple. Compared with the Kestrel, the Audubon view is slightly "washed out" but a larger field (as you'd expect). Don't know if this is any help... Jim.
 
Ed, Some further snippets on coatings. My Asahi Pentax 7x35 (1970s, & marked j-B21 on the left and j-E25 on the right) with 11 degree wide field and "coated optics", resembles the shape of Swift binoculars. Objective coatings are purple and oculars are vivid gold. The result is a view which is quite sharp, but 'cold' compared with the Audubon. Perhaps this 'Pentax' was made by Hiyoshi Kogaku? But I don't want to start a hare running...
Jim.
 
New information coming up, well I'm color-screwed up anyway so here we go again.
My rule of thumb appears to be of no value at all, because my 10x50 Audubon (no Kestrel on it yet) from 1992 shows red (next to green and blue) in the oculars, while Ed's later Kestrels don't.
I think the story should be rewritten like this, more or less:

On older, pre-1985 Audubons amber-coloured coating (call it white, or yellow) is used.

This amber (plus green and blue) is still used on early post-1985 HR/5, gold dot or 804R Audubon oculars.

On later Audubons and early Kestrels (where are we, 1992? Or earlier?) red or orange shows up, replacing the amber.

In the last phase of Audubon and Kestrel production red or orange is gone again, it's just blue/green.


Notes:
It's very well possible that the red/orange found on Audubon 804ED oculars is not a quality sign at all, but only indicates a coating production phase. Ed's 804ED as well as mine are from 1993/94 and I've never seen an ED with a serial number considerably higher.

Renze
 
Here is a picture of the two different coatings on my HR5's On the left is the FMC labeled binocular and on the right MC. You might note that the lens on the right has what looks like a green tint to the lens when looking at it from a certain angle. The lens on the left however looks green from every angle.
 

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Renze, no argument with your thoughts. I have a Swift brochure dated 1/01 which actually states which binoculars were discontinued as of that date. Quite remarkable. On the list is the 804 and 804ED. The Kestrel isn't listed, but isn't mentioned in the brochure either. We know that they were manufactured as late as 2000. It's hard to say when Swift quit making the 804ED, since they could have just been selling off stock for several years until 2000, — but I wouldn't be too surprised if one shows up with a "00xxxxx" s/n.

Simon, my own standard 804 HR/5 has green objectives like your FMC. However, mine is marked MC. This may confirm an earlier conclusion that FMC was used for a time even though the cover plates were not yet upgraded. If so, Simon's 804 FMC should be newer than 1995. Is this correct? BTW, my guess is that you will see an orange reflection in the ocular of the FMC, and basically white ones in the MC. Please confirm/refute. More pictures would be outstanding.

James, your Asahi with J-B21 corresponds to Kokisha Co. Ltd., Tokyo, being the final product integrator, and J-E25 to Zuiho Kogaku Seiki Co. Ltd., Tokyo, the metalwork manufacturer.

I've been led to believe that Hiyoshi Kogaku makes the 820, but I have not seen any makers marks.

Ed
 
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With respect to the MC and FMC pictures, what I see in the left picture (FMC) is green+blue, what I see in the right one (MC) is green+blue+red.

Renze
 
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