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

swarovision EL (1 Viewer)

Argon:
I did a search, and the winged eyecup you mention, Swaro. 44106, does not bring up much, it may be very new, contact EO, if necessary. It looks like a slip-on, over the
original eye-cup, from the pictures. Otherwise, Swaro, has supplied another eyecup,
that screws on to replace the original, as was mentioned.

If considering a new binocular purchase, the Lotu, or Swaroclean, or ? should not enter
into your purchase. You need to take some time, and handle any of the top makes, and
that includes Leica, Zeiss, Swarovski and Nikon.

Right now the newest members on the market are the Swarovision, and the Nikon EDG,
and they are both very good. They have the latest and best options in my opinion, HD glass with very bright, and a view that extends from EDG to EDG..
Leica and Zeiss, have not introduced anything new for a few years, so take that into your consideration. They are now considering how to improve the next model, as they
do need to make some improvements.

These optics are all very good, as you have often seen, it is all a personal choice. By the
way I have owned or do own these, so I speak from experience.

Jerry
 
Thank you, Jerry. Unfortunately, there is no where around here - middle of NC - to find all the bins at one place. I could find the ELs at Gander Mtn or Basspro - but I am thinking of attending the Midwest Birding Symposium in Ohio in September - so I am going to take my time. By then, hopefully the EDG will be out and readily available. I think most of the manufacturers will have booths there and EO will be there as well.
 
Taking your time is a good idea, but if you want to see a range of alpha binoculars nearby try the Wild Bird Center in Chapel Hill, a small shop with an owner who is interested in birding optics. The last time I was there she had various Swarovski models (EL, EL-SV, SLC-HD), Zeiss FL, Leica Ultravid, and Nikon EDG (first version).
 
I have the 8x32 EL with Swaroclean. From my experience, if you bird in the rain, it is a very nice feature. Water that pools on the ocular lenses can be shaken off (mostly), making the binoculars usable when they otherwise wouldn't be. It isn't perfect, which is to say that it is still possible to wet the surface of the oculars, but when they do get wet you have two options to deal with it--wipe them clean (easier to do than without hydrophobic coatings), or allow some big drips to fall on the wetted surface which can then be shaken off, carrying most of the rest of the water with them (impossible to do without hydrophobic coatings).

--AP
 
Henry,
Thanks - I had no idea. My daughter just graduated from UNC last year - and it is my alma mater as well. How about those Blue Devils?.....Rob
 
Alexis,
Thanks for the info on the Swaroclean - exactly the real life review that I was looking for. I guess the technology is roughly the same whichever manufacturer - maybe like those Rain-X commercials for your windshield?
 
Alexis Powell said:
I have the 8x32 EL with Swaroclean. From my experience, if you bird in the rain, it is a very nice feature. Water that pools on the ocular lenses can be shaken off (mostly), making the binoculars usable when they otherwise wouldn't be. It isn't perfect, which is to say that it is still possible to wet the surface of the oculars, but when they do get wet you have two options to deal with it--wipe them clean (easier to do than without hydrophobic coatings), or allow some big drips to fall on the wetted surface which can then be shaken off, carrying most of the rest of the water with them (impossible to do without hydrophobic coatings).

--AP
Click to expand...


Thanks, Alexis,

This is exactly what I wanted: a user's review, as I don't like the use of rubber or plastic rainguards.
The advantage of these is nullified by the fact that I wear specs, which get wet in the rain and are a pain when birding in adverse weather.
Nano-technology on the coatings is a major improvement.
Next for me are glasses with rain-shedding quality.

Best regards,

Ronald

PS: the thought that rainguards keep off debri and things you spill while eating is not important. When I'm eating a whopper, I'll take off my bins.
 
KorHaan said:
...The advantage of these is nullified by the fact that I wear specs, which get wet in the rain and are a pain when birding in adverse weather.
Nano-technology on the coatings is a major improvement.
Next for me are glasses with rain-shedding quality.
Click to expand...

Like you, I wear glasses and dislike rainguards. Wearing a hat helps a bit, but water still transfers from the wet bins to the glasses, so keeping the bins under an arm still pays off. I'd love to have hydrophobic glasses, but for some irritating reason, as far as I can tell no one is offering them on glass lenses, which I insist on for their scratch resistance. The lipo and hydrophobic coatings are available on plastic glasses lenses.

--AP
 
Alexis Powell said:
Like you, I wear glasses ...... The lipo and hydrophobic coatings are available on plastic glasses lenses.

--AP
Click to expand...



Really?!

I thought Zeiss had LotuTec on glass lenses in specs?! Like they have on their binoculars.

I'm really confused, now. You could be well right. Wasn't there an earlier thread somewhere which explored the same issue? Can't remember when and where, though.

Best regards,

Ronald
 
Zeiss don't make glass lenses for spectacles: they're all plastic so the LT coating is a bit different in design.

Zeiss patented using hydrophobic coatings on plastic spectacle lenses but didn't patent it for sport optics on glass. Bushnell did that with their Rainguard epoxysilane coatings. Zeiss now license the Bushnell patent though I suspect they use their own design of coatings.
 
I do see that Zeiss still make high-index glass lenses (I wonder what the Abbe number is like on that ... high index plastics have poor Abbe numbers). That surprises (and interests) me!

I was under the impression US liability law had removed glass lenses from most opticians and labs. Did you sign a liability waiver?
 
Kevin Purcell said:
I was under the impression US liability law had removed glass lenses from most opticians and labs. Did you sign a liability waiver?
Click to expand...

No, no waiver, and glass is still very much available in the USA. However, these days most shops do not retain the ability to cut the lenses for final frame fitting, so they have to send the order out. I've been told this is more a problem in upscale fashion oriented urban shops and that in many smaller towns it is still possible to do in shop. My impression is that shops probably don't like glass because it is too durable. Uncoated glass lenses, even when abused, can look better after a decade of use in comparison to scratch proof plastic and polycarbonate lenses that are less than a year old. Biggest mistake I ever made was getting coated glass lenses (they are oleophilic, making regular cleaning more necessary and difficult, and were well scratched after a few years use). I'm protective of my bins but really hard on my glasses. Most folks probably aren't as abusive, appreciate the potentially lighter weight of plastic, and since their fashion consciousness dictates getting new frames all the time, they replace their lenses regularly anyway. I've been using the same modified aviator style frame since I bought them in ~1995. Recently, I've been getting compliments from strangers on them because they are the latest fashion!

Long live glass glasses!

--AP
 
Last edited:
Swarovision Winged eyecups now available.

Just a heads up that the new winged eyecup is now available for the
new SV. I like winged eyecups, and this is for those without eyeglasses.
The SKU is 44106, and should be available from many sources.

I have them and like how they work. These are different from the previous
EL winged, which replaced the screw-in, as these now slip over the eyecup, and they do include a nice winged rainguard. Often found for $30.00.
 
NDhunter said:
Just a heads up that the new winged eyecup is now available for the
new SV. I like winged eyecups, and this is for those without eyeglasses.
The SKU is 44106, and should be available from many sources.

I have them and like how they work. These are different from the previous
EL winged, which replaced the screw-in, as these now slip over the eyecup, and they do include a nice winged rainguard. Often found for $30.00.
Click to expand...

Hello Jerry

Been looking at getting a set for my 12x, whats the material of the guard like? hard or soft, have you got a picture? ...thanks.
 
Ingle:
I'm not sure how to post the link, but you can find a nice pic. at the Eagle Optics site,
under Swarovski binocular accessories, (44106).
The cups are rounded and semi-soft, and I find them comfortable. And I like the winged
rainguard better than the standard one.
I hope this helps.

Jerry
 
I bought the winged eyecups w/rainguard for my SLC HD"s. I agree with Jerry in that I like this setup better than the standard one. I also like the fact that you can remove them easily and even use them on another bino if you want. Very comfortable and they fit just right IMO.
 
jgraider said:
I bought the winged eyecups w/rainguard for my SLC HD"s. I agree with Jerry in that I like this setup better than the standard one. I also like the fact that you can remove them easily and even use them on another bino if you want. Very comfortable and they fit just right IMO.
Click to expand...

Thanks JG and Jerry

I dont like the standard guard at all, using an older Variant on my SLC-HD, the SL guard, its big and has deep cups, and sits perfect, no need to check if its correctly seated or not.
Aesthetic it is not!.
 
I guess the SV rainguard comes down to opinion. I love it (as a glasses user so no winged cups for me). It fits on snugly so it never falls off (e.g. in my backpack) but easily comes off when I use it in the rain. The mechanism to keep the IPD generally stays fixed but when it changes it's easy to adjust back to the correct value on the bin.

All in all I think it's very nicely designed.
 
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