Renze de Vries said:
Hi Ed and Richt,
Stop! Watch out!
Please see my last remark about names, because the confusion is in play here already. Ed, the Saratoga on eBay is exactly the one I had in mind when writing 'The Saratoga for instance was once an 8x40 in the US'. My mistake here is in 'in the US'. Of course the 8x40 Saratoga was not only distributed in the US but in Europe as well (blue ribbon=European).
So this 8x40 Saratoga is certainly not identical to the 8x42 SPWA Saratoga, it's a completely different animal!
I think what happened was that when the in the 1980's the design change took place from the older 'heavyweights' to the much lighter and easier to handle bodies, some models were discontinued completely. But of course their names were still there, ready to be used. So when Pyser started to develop a whole new range of binoculars, simply marked with SPWA (Swift-Pyser Wide Angle) + the configuration, those old names could be added to them. However, as far as I know, only the SPWA 8x42 was really marked - in print, on the lid - as Saratoga. The other SPWA's didn't carry names on the binoculars, but as this was felt impractical names were added to them in catalogues. With confusing results: the Dutch Saratoga (SPWA 8x36) for instance is not the British Saratoga (8x42 SPWA) while both are of course different from the Saratoga (8x40 Mark II/blue ribbon).
cheers,
Renze
Hi Renze and Ed
Well first off let me congratulate you both on a very strong knowledge of these binoculars and thanks for all the info
Renze i think your on the ball with the 8 x 42 info as the binocular body i tried yesterday was certainly smaller than the very early Swift's
It was multi coated rather than fully coated or fully multi coated so i think 1981 would seem about right for manufacture
This one is brand new on the display and was hidden away behind numerous Minox Pentax and Olympus models but i seized the chance to look thru it
I had around 20 mins only as i was working but the fov was very obviously much greater than the other models i mentioned above
I looked thru Pentax and Minox porros and roofs and have to say the Swift gave the easiest most satisfying overall view though perhaps the cheap Pentax porro (8 x 40) performed best for price £70
I didnt think it was quite as "wow" image wise as the 804 Audubon 's i have encountered but only marginally not so and i was limited in what i could view also these are 8 x 42 not 8.5 x 44 so the image scale presumably is lower and there is a little less light collected
Being hyper critical ( as we all are at times) the image was a little edge soft but i think this is characteristic of wide field bins and you had to look for it before it became noticeable
Holding wise i found it quite comfortable but then again i'm a big porro user
Basically when i compared outside the shop with some £400 Minox i preferred the Swift
Renze i think i will take your advice and re-check this out when i am up there in a couple of weeks (i dont think it will sell quickly at £229) the camera shop chap said all the other models sell more regularly though the Swift is excellent
I may try to work on him as regards price because even though rare and in new condition a new 820 Audubon can be had for £180-£200 in UK and these are very very old stock
Not sure as to this binoculars real worth but i intend to take my Nikon E11 8 x 30 with me next time round as this is a very good wide angle 8 x binocular imho
Its still surprised me to see this model available at such a long time after manufacture perhaps its worth a purchase even as semi-collectable
Of course i am still toying with Ed's past tip off ref the 804 "new" fully multi coated Audubon availabilty in US
I have enquired and these are still available so may have to think sooner rather than later
Regards
Rich