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

Swarovski Sale? (1 Viewer)

brocknroller said:
It's a bit cheaper than the non-ED opened bridge version, and it's lighter, and a bit smaller, the ER is the same on both models, but the FOV is significantly wider on the open bridge version - 7.8* - that's more to my liking, as is the open bridge design.

However, those are the specs on the HD model, which is MIG and even more expensive than the non-ED version. Not sure about the specs on the original open bridge BL BD. Minox used to make most its bins in Japan, and generally, they had smaller FsOV than the MIG versions.

Since a bit narrowish FOV doesn't bother you, and you like bins that are light and compact, you should like these provided the image is also to your liking. Let us know after you've tried them.

Fortunately, they are black, and black goes with everything, so you won't have to buy a new handbag to match. ;)

Brock
Click to expand...

The new BL open hinge looks nice, but looks big to me.
I think this previous version that I have is a better fit for me. It's the
limited edition (MIG) that I have, but I'm not sure what's really
different than the Japanese version. It's only 21oz and is small.
It's nice to carry and hold ... My arms and shoulders appreciate it.
I used it a little today at a park. The optics are good...it's pretty sharp actually.
The Trinovid is better optically all around (without getting into specifics) and
the focus is so nice on the Trinovid. But I'm quite satisfied with the little BL.
It's unique being so light and is enjoyable to use. The chassis is polycarbonate
which is just fine by me. I wish they'd make more bins with durable plastic to
reduce weight. I baby my binoculars, so strong plastics are ok with me.
 
stephen b said:
back to Swaro current sale-

I had mentioned earlier in this thread that 3 days ago I bought a 8x42 Swaro SLC. Got a smoking deal on it with the Swaro sale and especially when on top of that at same time Cabelas was having an in store 10% sale on any purchase until 8/13. Optically the SLC was super, But.... the long and short of it, it went back to the store last night.

The more I used and checked out the 8x42 SLC- the more I became dissatisfied with the focus mechanism. The total focus wheel travel on these ( SLC's) for me from 50' to infinity is right at 1/4 of a turn or so. Really about the same as the 8x30 Habichts. Well in that turn distance and even in many other spots of the rotation there is an annoying "squeaking" sound and it is quite stiff. I could not figure out if it was coming from the wheel itself, or part of it may be coming from the very tight tolerance in space between the armoring and the focus wheel. Distance is extremely tight in this bino. I have a 59 IPD- which may contribute some; although the armoring is right up close to the focus wheel in a large percentage of the wheel.

The SLC's focus wheel on the one I bought is stiffer than the Habicht's even with their H2O proof seals. And the Habicht never bothers me at all. The SLC focus was really annoying and either seemed to be worsening, or maybe it was just bugging me more as I used it. It was "squeak, squeak, squeak"- through out all of my use of it. I have a 7x30 SLC where the focus is like smooth olive oil, and even the Habicht's is really quite great.

I thought, I am not going to tolerate, or except this ( the SLC) focus mechanism- especially for a bin that cost that much, even with the deal. So I decided to return them, and the SLC's went back to Cabelas to find a new home. Even the optics counter fella was surprised at how it felt. Real shame - because the optics are stellar. I had read about the focus deal with some of these Swaro's on here, but I had never had a problem with any swaro bino before. But the demo at Cabelas on the 8x42 Swaro was horrible and I thought mine was OK when I bought it. Except when using mine after purchase I realized that the worst part of the focus was right in the 1/4 turn of travel that I would be using 99% of the time. I just did not want to deal with it.

So, there is an update on my purchase- that many here probably do not really need to hear or care about, but that was my experience. I was just happy that it was not a mail order item, and it made it easier to return. Otherwise, maybe I would have sent them back to SONA instead of returning them. But I did not want to deal with that and incur cost and time with these.
Click to expand...

Stephan:

I want to relay my experience with the 8x42 SLC. I was in a large
sporting goods store today, and while trying some binoculars, I wanted
to try the new SLC. I was surprised when I found the same thing you
did, the focus knob needed much effort just to get it to start, and even
with a little back and forth it was the same. The salesman with me
also handled it and found the same thing. The 10x42 SLC in the case
was just fine, and had a normal focus. I have never handled a binocular
that was like this. Just very tight, and dragging.
I told him to send this one back to Swarovski for service.

I was finally able to handle the Zeiss Victory HT, and also the
Swarovski CL 8x25. I will comment on those later, on the proper
thread.

Jerry
 
ceasar said:
Jerry,

Was the bad one the "floor model" behind the counter that everybody gets to handle?

Bob
Click to expand...

Bob:

The one I handled was in the locked glass case, and looked new.
Hard to explain, as I like Swarovski binoculars, I have several
models.

Jerry
 
Jerry,

Not surprised that that was your experience. One I returned was a brand new in the box; it was a bit better than the floor model- which was terrible. You would think that floor models would loosen up.

Without going into details- and anyone could find this out on their own; but one call into SONA the other day confirmed that they are well aware of this focus issue with these new SLCs. And it sounds like it is a legitimate issue. I called because I was thinking about maybe picking one up again before the sale is over and possibly send them in.

Jerry- regarding the Swaro CL 8x25, when I returned the SLC the other night, I caved to the pull of the Swaro sale and the extra 10% off at Cabelas; and walked out of the store with a 8x25 CL. Plus on top of that the CL's have an extra 10% back dollar value club point offer on them when using Cabelas visa. It was just too much; I know- I was weak.

I think I will just hold off on any of these SLCs. I think a 8x30/32 SLC HD- if they would make one, could possibly tempt me again. Who knows when, (if ever) that will happen.

B :)
 
I like Swaros, too, more than any other roofs I've tried, but the smoothness of their focusers is always a crap shoot. You might get a good one, you might get a so-so one that while not ideal you could live with, or you might get one that's so stiff it's unacceptable for birding. I've experienced all three.

I agree with Stephen that a squeaky, stiff focuser shouldn't be tolerated in a bin that cost so much money. I wouldn't even like it in a cheapo bin.

With continued use, perhaps the squeaky wheel would have quieted down and started turning smoothly like Ed's sample, but it could have stayed the same or gotten worse. We've read reports of all three results, and I've tried examples of all three myself - one focuser that was good out of the box, one that got better with use, and one that had gotten stiffer over time.

I can't fathom why Swaro, a top sports optics company, continues to see returns for poor working focusers month after month, year after year, and doesn't redesign their focusers. I can no longer write it off to the fact that their chief customers are hunters. There are plenty of birders that also use Swaros, and more and more continue to report problems with their focusers.

I don't buy the excuse that redesigning the focuser would add cost to an already costly bin. Swaro redesigned the focuser on the new SLCs, and it actually brought the cost down. Besides which, if the focuser has a design flaw, which seems to be the case, Swaro should redesign the focuser and absorb the cost. They take pride in their customer service and repairs, why not in the mechanics of their bins?

In order to change something, you'd first have to acknowledge that something was wrong, and I haven't heard anything from Swaro to that effect. How many returns does Swaro need to get before it acknowledges that these are not anomalies?

It will probably be some time before I can afford to buy a Swaro SLC-HD, and I'm hoping that by then, they will have stepped up and gotten this issue straightened out so that I can start using the bins right out of the box without worrying about focuser problems.

Brock
 
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SLC focusers

Last year at the Bird Fair I tried out the SLCs and really liked them and especially noticed the nice feel of the focusers.

During this year's Bird Fair I tried two SLCs and their focusers were not nice at all. One was gritty feeling and in some parts of it's travel it felt tight while it was looser elsewhere. The other one was also inconsistent in its feel but also had a strange 'disconnected' part of its travel where movement of the wheel meant no movement of the focus. Yes you would normally call this free-play or slack but this was over a longer rotation distance than you get with free-play and there was no sensation of the drive suddenly engaging at the end of the slack part when the focus would start to respond.

The nearby ELs were quite acceptable.

But don't worry Mark and Jerry, this won't set Brock off ranting again as he doesn't read my posts :t:

Lee
 
As far as the sale is concerned, i have seen plenty of websites offering mid summer sale now like Eurooptic. But yes its not only on Swarovski scope but lots of other gear are on offer.


Cheers
 
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