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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

So I was wondering ? (1 Viewer)

My watch tells me Im good to go down to 3900 metres or 12,800feet, I'll let you know if I ever do it:t:
 
The latest Swarovision FieldPro is really nothing but "Birding Bling" when you think about it since it really does nothing a Zeiss FL doesn't. But it's performance figures give an indication of it's potential and its construction. Not to mention the pure beauty of its design. Fine timepieces have always represented milestones in human achievements in engineering and science....and, yes.. art. I heartily suggest you learn something about Horology before you reveal your ignorance further.
 
I find its impossible to interest most people in the joy of mechanical timepieces, for me no plastic arm clock or smartphone can be considered a timepiece.

Also for us Wis, a watch is a lifelong purchase, we expect them to outlive us so we can pass them on to the next Wis generations, they may be endangered but they are still out there, my good friends son only 18 just bought his first "real" watch, a Seiko SKX009, and even though its a modest movement, looked after he will still be enjoying it when he`s my age.
 
Nonsense.They are slightly less accurate, but represent craftsmanship in engineering.
And you don't have to replace batteries.

Mechanical watches certainly represent old fashioned craftsmanship although for the popular well known Swiss manufacturers many components are made in China and assembled in Switzerland. One of the few watchmakers that are totally in house is Roger W. Smith in the UK and I understand prices start around £25,000. All are handmade to the customer requirements, see their website.
Mechanical watches can no longer compete for accuracy as the Olympic games can confirm. Computers and GPS/Sat Nav require very accurate timekeeping way beyond mechanical capability. I understand you can purchase watches with GPS timekeeping. Batteries are not an issue with my modest Citizen watch which uses solar energy.
On a personal note my old Omega apparently requires servicing at least every six years at a cost of at least £600 (two helium valves need replacing).
It would also appear from what I have learned on this thread that many watches are over-engineered. This is in line with a popular saying that the difference between men and boys is the price of their toys.
 
Fun colour Julie! I must admit to preferring a more drab colour in the field. However at less than fiver a watch you can afford a "palette" of coloured watches.
 
Mechanical watches are less accurate than quartz and are now mainly used as "Bling", to demonstrate how wealthy the wearer is.
I don't do much birdwatching at a depth of 3000M (see above) mainly because my Citizen watch is only water resistant to 300M,so unsure why that feature contributes to the ultimate birdwatching watch.
Many naturalists especially botanists but including birdwatchers can see the advantage of a watch with GPS when compiling their field notes. But in our technological world smartphones are probably more useful.

Many of your points are not really applicable Robert.

1. A watch in the field doesn't need to be accurate down to the nano second.

2. The more water resistant a watch is, ensures that in hot, tropical or monsoon conditions, it has more chance of surviving. I once wore a cheapo to bird the forests in Malaysia and it filled with condensation within 3 days and then stopped.

3. Smart phones are big and take up space, are easily broken and if you're in the field with no way to recharge, totally useless.

My watch (Raymond Weil) cost me £200 over twenty years ago, it's been all over the World and is still unscratched and going strong, I call that a bargain.


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A nice mechanical Swiss watch makes a great bribe for a policeman / official in "tropical conditions".

Or marks you as a robbery target :)
 
A nice mechanical Swiss watch makes a great bribe for a policeman / official in "tropical conditions".

Or marks you as a robbery target :)

I don't think that many people would recognise it as such, especially in Malaysia where it would probably be assumed to be fake.


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Many of your points are not really applicable Robert.

1. A watch in the field doesn't need to be accurate down to the nano second.

2. The more water resistant a watch is, ensures that in hot, tropical or monsoon conditions, it has more chance of surviving. I once wore a cheapo to bird the forests in Malaysia and it filled with condensation within 3 days and then stopped.

3. Smart phones are big and take up space, are easily broken and if you're in the field with no way to recharge, totally useless.

My watch (Raymond Weil) cost me £200 over twenty years ago, it's been all over the World and is still unscratched and going strong, I call that a bargain.


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Point 1 The time keeping device does if you are using a GPS facility in the watch, which was my point.The watch as on hand held GPS devices simple displays the radio signal from the satellite.
Point 2 My Citizen "Royal Marine Commando" has a titanium case with no back plate, water resistant to 300M. Probably good enough for rain forests, I know Ray Mears (survival expert) uses a similar watch to mine
The glass is made from a highly scratch proof material and after 6 months constant wear shows no sign of scratches unlike my Omega with plexiglass. The glass on both my Seiko's are both highly scratched.
All battery powered devices are useless if the battery runs out - my watch uses ambient light to power it. When using my camera I always have a spare fully charged battery naturally.
I am not against mechanical watches but they are now traditional/craft technology.My Citizen watch has had its time adjusted since we changed the clocks in October and is now 16 seconds fast which I can live with, by contrast my Omega may have been about 18 minutes fast, therefore needing several adjustments.
Hope that answers your points.
 
All battery powered devices are useless if the battery runs out - my watch uses ambient light to power it. When using my camera I always have a spare fully charged battery naturally.
I

I doubt that there's a single, mechanical watch whose battery runs out daily?

I'm not 'techy' at all but don't many of the functions on a smartphone depend on internet connectivity?


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Watching/reading all this banter (some quite vehement) about "mechanical vs. digital/tech" is entertaining, and has made me appreciate how much of a minor miracle it must have been to divorce myself from watching the time so much outside of work. I wish I could be away from the anchor of time more often, but kinda glad I've managed what I have; it's calming.

Y'all should try it. :cool:
 
Watching/reading all this banter (some quite vehement) about "mechanical vs. digital/tech" is entertaining, and has made me appreciate how much of a minor miracle it must have been to divorce myself from watching the time so much outside of work. I wish I could be away from the anchor of time more often, but kinda glad I've managed what I have; it's calming.

Y'all should try it. :cool:

Good luck making your next flight then,,:-O

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