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Swift Eaglet 8x42 Model 826 - opinions? (1 Viewer)

Howard,

There has to be something wrong with that Eaglet you looked at. In terrestrial viewing, I'd estimate a sweet spot from 325-350' of the 374' fov as sweet spot on mine. Looking at Jupiter, which is a good resolution/distortion test, the moons still show at about 50% from center, and planetary distortion doesn't show untill about 65% from center. Planetary distortion gets worse from there as you go out. The moons can be refocused along with the planet at 65%, but barely.
 
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Howard220 said:
I wonder if I'm more a porro man than a Pentax man. ;) Do roofs inherently have their own issues separate from porros? I know it takes/costs more to make a roof that is equal to a porro, but lighter weight and relative compactness is my goal here -- especially compared to my Audubons -- yet with "satisfactory" optics.
Click to expand...

This is the fundamental point.

So the rule of thumb (waves hands wildly!) is "for the same view a roof will be twice as expensive and weight about 30% less". I think there is enough evidence here on the forum to say that this rule of thumb is perhaps better said as "a roof will be three times as expensive and weight about third less". Good porros are much easier to make than good roofs (but the latter have better profit margins for the manufacturers). Fashion and economics have driven the market towards roofs.

You have some good porros. That's 804 may be old but it's an excellent glass. It's biggest problem (aside from being perceived to be old fashioned and rather bit heavy) is not being waterproof. The optics are fine. The 820 and 820ED that followed it (with their own "wobbly bridge" problems) are waterproof and a bit lighter are widely acknowledged as the "poor man's Sawarovski" (or the "smart man's Swarovski", your choice).

So I think you are a "porro man" i.e. you have high standard in the view you expect from your optics. Unfortunately if you want a roof that complicates things or at least makes them more expensive ;)

I think you need to look through more mid-range and up roofs (and that may not be so easy depending upon where you live). You already have the eye for this (this is rather like selecting HiFi ... trust your senses). The Pentax may work but I'm sure there are others (I'd mentioned Promaster at this point. I've not seen it but I trust the people that have and their comments are excellent).
 
Steve C said:
Howard,

There has to be something wrong with that Eaglet you looked at. In terrestrial viewing, I'd estimate a sweet spot from 325-350' of the 374' fov as sweet spot on mine. Looking at Jupiter, which is a good resolution/distortion test, the moons still show at about 50% from center, and planetary distortion doesn't show untill about 65% from center. Planetary distortion gets worse from there as you go out. The moons can be refocused along with the planet at 65%, but barely.
Click to expand...

Steve, I thought about that. I had a worse view a couple of years ago through Eagle's new version of their Ranger 8x32. I couldn't get anything to focus, and CA was very apparent. I'm glad that *yours* work well! That's the kind of quality I'm looking for.
 
Kevin Purcell said:
You have some good porros. That's 804 may be old but it's an excellent glass. It's biggest problem (aside from being perceived to be old fashioned and rather bit heavy) is not being waterproof. The optics are fine. The 820 and 820ED that followed it (with their own "wobbly bridge" problems) are waterproof and a bit lighter are widely acknowledged as the "poor man's Sawarovski" (or the "smart man's Swarovski", your choice).

So I think you are a "porro man" i.e. you have high standard in the view you expect from your optics. Unfortunately if you want a roof that complicates things or at least makes them more expensive ;)
Click to expand...

And I thought this was going to be easy. ;) But Kevin, you may be right about me and porros, and to get the assured quality view I'm, uh, looking for... it may be the Audubon 820ED. I just hope the B&H cards don't expire any time soon! Remember that I can't even look at Promaster because B&H doesn't offer it. And I'm very limited in my choices of 8x32's and 8x42's that sell from around $350 - $550 due to most of them having fields that are too small. My very minimum is 7 degrees in an 8x glass.

BTW, my 804R's weigh 30-1/4 ounces. Right now I'm not sure what I'm going to do. If anything, I won't make a purchase until at least early November, so I have more time to think about it.
 
Howard,

Selecting a binocular is never real easy. Especially when you have free $$$ from a store that does not carry everything you'd like and that in the bargain is clear across the country.

Kevin may be right in that you may be a porro sort of guy. But if you aren't happy with the field in a Swift 804, you may be looking at more $$$ than you have in gifts. The Swift 820 ED will be lighter and waterproof, but from all accounts (I have not been able to compare both) the 820ED may or may not be any better than an 804, if as good. The Swift 820 represents about the best porro readily available today, and is certainly the best one in the B&H lineup. Most $500 roofs won't be any better, if as good, than any Swift 8.5x44, whether 804 or 820. The Minox 8x44 porro is probably pretty good, but it has a pretty narrow field.

You might send your Swift 804 to Nicholas Christa. I have his contact info at home and don't remember enough of his business name to get him to Google. I'l post again when I get home. He was the chief optican at Swift and knows everything there is to know about the 804. He is a wizzard who can work wonders on your 804 if it has any maintenance issues.

Meantime, I suppose the Pentax might be the way to go, but you may need the ED to be happy.
 
So the constraints are:

  • buying at B&H (given gift cards)
  • unstated price range (but I assume $400 to $600 given the Eaglet and SP)
  • FOV > 7 degrees
  • 8x42

For 8x bins in $300 to $600 range:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...e_+300+<=++<=+599.99&basicSubmit=Submit+Query

Not a huge choice if one takes the contraints strictly.

Pentax DCF SP 8x32
Swift 820ED 8.5x44

Some others might be:

Zeiss Conquest 8x30 B T* (6.8 degree FOV)
Vortex Viper (6.6 degree FOV)
Bushnell Elite e2

and the Minox and Swift roofs with 6.something FOV.

The one that stands out is used though is the Kowa BD32-8 8x32 for $290

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/356251-REG/Kowa_BD32_8_8x32_BD32_8_Roof_Prism.html

Might be a good complement to your current bins.
 
Steve, thank you. (I'm thanking a lot of people these past few days, and I mean it.) You're right -- it isn't easy. I think the Pentax SP is what I really want. If it turns out to be optically satisfactory or better, then it will meet most of my needs in an all around bino. Since I already have a good, and large porro in the 804R Mark II, why get another one? I have Nicolas's information and will call him soon - maybe tomorrow morning. You may be right that the Pentax ED version may be what I would be most happy with, but it's really far more than I'm willing to spend at this point. The SP version would cost me about $200 out of pocket, and that's acceptable. B&H's return policy is relatively generous: I'll have 15 days to try them out, and can get a full refund if for any reason I'm dissatisfied.
 
Hope you make the right choice.

The 820ED is 24oz and I think more compact than your 804s. It's a very good bin perhaps beaten only by the Euro 3. BUT, if you wear eyeglasses it wouldn't be a good choice: it's eye relief is speced at 16mm but about 12mm of that is usable.

And thanks for outlining B&H's return policy: it's better than I thought it might be.

The used Kowa might still be worth checking out. Not a big name but they do make good bins (and are much mroe famous for their scopes). Made in Japan. The Pentax SP I would except to be similar or perhaps a small step up step from these.

The other approach is to two bins and return the one you decide not to keep. That way you do get to compare them in hand.

Good luck.
 
The plot thickens? I just tried out a Vortex Viper 8x42 at Wild Birds Unlimited. For the most part, I like it. It's very clear and sharp in the center, and its sweet spot is "sizeable." Certainly it falls off severely toward the edges; maybe that's expected. No pincushion nor field curvature. Minimal chromatic "abhoration." The spec'd 20mm eye relief is too great. I get blackout when I press up to the fully extended eyecups and therefore have to back up just a hair. I'm not wearing eyeglasses. Lightweight, and the FOV of 347' (6.6*) is "not bad" for my tastes. Focusing was good and smooth, the hinge worked smoothly and had the right amount of stiffness to adjust and keep the IPD where I set it. It felt comfortable in my hands, even though I didn't ask its opinion on that. ;) Interesting that the store's price is the same as that at both B&H and at Eagle: $499. Usually in-store local prices are higher.

They also had some other Vortex 8x32 for $139, I think, and it was, well, not very good.

Would I buy this one? I don't *think* so. I still think it's going to be the Pentax as it's a little more compact and has the [required] wider field. I just hope the Pentax is at least as good. The Pentax's aspheric eyepiece lens element may make the difference, as well as it being a much smaller objective (easier to make well?).

That may be the end of my testing before ordering, which won't come until about 4 weeks from now.
 
Howard,

FWIW, I have Vipers and much prefer them to the Pentax. There is more CA and color fringing with Pentax (to my eye anyway) than the Viper( has XD or some such low dispersal glass). I've never really thought I needed a better glass. The same sort of view I got with the Swift Eaglet. Vortex customer service is top notch. If you get them from B&H and have a problem, just send to Vortex.
 
Steve, if I order the Pentax and don't like them, then I may very well consider those Vortex (Vortices?) in exchange.
 
In case anyone's lost sleep over whatever I decided to do with my B&H gift cards, I ordered a 35mm Panoptic eyepiece for my astronomical telescopes. Having seen and purchased a used Bausch & Lomb 9x35 Discoverer porro binoculars during my trip east last week, I've put off "new" binoculars for quite some time. They're really quite nice, especially for the price, and I suspect that I may someday "revert back" to 7x binoculars due to an inability to hold 8x and 9x binoculars steady enough. The Canon IS binoculars, while technologically amazing, don't quite give me the overall satisfying view. It's not enough for me to just identify a bird or count stars in the Pleiades. It's the overall "quality field" that is most important to me. Oh geez, another search is coming...!
 
Keep an eye on the discussions of the new Chinese ED bins. More and more of them keep appearing. Perhaps by the time you feel you need a another bin you might find one amongst these (for not too much money).
 
Howard, try different models of 8x42 models in roof prisms. Some of them are easier to hold steady than others. A medium weight, 21-25 oz, is good.
 
Kevin, along that line the Chinese have been producing some remarkable, relatively inexpensive astronomical telescopes using an ED element, so I will watch for the binocular versions. Tero, maybe they'll produce a top notch, light weight 8x42 or equivalent that is also relatively inexpensive. OTOH, prism and lens alignments may be more critical in binoculars than they are in telescopes. I.e., Quality Control may be a factor.

There's just something about binoculars.... I'm up to 5.
 
There is plenty of room in the hat rack of your hall closet. Throw out the boxes, keep the bins, cases and warranty papers. ;)
 
Tero said:
There is plenty of room in the hat rack of your hall closet. Throw out the boxes, keep the bins, cases and warranty papers. ;)
Click to expand...

Next time I go to Wild Birds Unlimited I'll see if they have the Vortex Fury 6.5x32's... just to look, of course.... See, like with telescopes, we hope to find the ONE that will do it all, and we know that's not possible. But as evidenced by our purchases, we keep trying!
 
The bird stores sometimes have the same price as EO, and I know for a fact one here in town gets all their binoculars from EO, so EO models were prominent on the shelf and the locked cabinet.
 
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