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SLC WB Focus Wheel Update (1 Viewer)

S

Steve260

Active member
About a month ago, I purchased a pair of SLC WB 8x42s. Outstanding optically, but after only a few days the focus wheel started to squeak, and felt pretty rough when turned in either direction. So, I sent them off to Swarovski, and in 2 weeks I received them back repaired under warranty. Silky smooth and no squeaks.

Fast-forward to last night. I received an email from Swarovski with an attached survey, asking me to rate my experience/satisfaction with the binoculars. At the end of the survey, there was space to enter any additional comments or questions, so I entered the following and returned the survey to Swarovski:
"I am concerned that the focusing mechanism on my new SLC WB 8x42 binoculars was rough and squeaky - it was corrected by Swarovski Repair under warranty, but I am now reading numerous reports of "rough/squeaky focusers" in the new SLC WB line. I am considering the purchase of another pair of SLC WB binoculars (10x42), but I am concerned that I may receive another new pair with focuser problems. Is Swarovski aware of this issue, and if so, is anything being done to prevent this problem in manufacturing? Thanks, Steve"

Ten minutes ago, I received the following personal reply from a Swarovski Customer Service representative:
"Good morning. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to reply back to us. Austria has already redesigned the focus wheel on the new SLC WB Line so there will be no more issues with the rough & squeaky focus wheel. You must have purchased one of the first built new SLC. If you have any other concerns or questions please feel free to contact me."

Sounds like Swarovski has acknowledged the problem, and is now shipping binoculars with redesigned "smooth, squeak-free" focus wheels. It might take a little time for the existing (old design) examples to sell through the retail channels. Might make sense for anyone contemplating the purchase of a SLC WB to find out how long the specific example has been in stock, just to make sure you get a new & redesigned focusing mechanism?

Steve
 
Makes one wonder how they sold so many of the old flawed ones, doesn't it?

Well, they say that the squeaky wheel gets the grease! :-O

Bob
 
Steve260 said:
About a month ago, I purchased a pair of SLC WB 8x42s. Outstanding optically, but after only a few days the focus wheel started to squeak, and felt pretty rough when turned in either direction. So, I sent them off to Swarovski, and in 2 weeks I received them back repaired under warranty. Silky smooth and no squeaks.

Fast-forward to last night. I received an email from Swarovski with an attached survey, asking me to rate my experience/satisfaction with the binoculars. At the end of the survey, there was space to enter any additional comments or questions, so I entered the following and returned the survey to Swarovski:
"I am concerned that the focusing mechanism on my new SLC WB 8x42 binoculars was rough and squeaky - it was corrected by Swarovski Repair under warranty, but I am now reading numerous reports of "rough/squeaky focusers" in the new SLC WB line. I am considering the purchase of another pair of SLC WB binoculars (10x42), but I am concerned that I may receive another new pair with focuser problems. Is Swarovski aware of this issue, and if so, is anything being done to prevent this problem in manufacturing? Thanks, Steve"

Ten minutes ago, I received the following personal reply from a Swarovski Customer Service representative:
"Good morning. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to reply back to us. Austria has already redesigned the focus wheel on the new SLC WB Line so there will be no more issues with the rough & squeaky focus wheel. You must have purchased one of the first built new SLC. If you have any other concerns or questions please feel free to contact me."

Sounds like Swarovski has acknowledged the problem, and is now shipping binoculars with redesigned "smooth, squeak-free" focus wheels. It might take a little time for the existing (old design) examples to sell through the retail channels. Might make sense for anyone contemplating the purchase of a SLC WB to find out how long the specific example has been in stock, just to make sure you get a new & redesigned focusing mechanism?

Steve
Click to expand...

Steve,

Glad to hear the "squeaky wheel got greased."

Somebody else who had the squeak was due to the wheel hitting the armor. Not sure how they fixed that if that's the case. Is the armor the same as it was when you sent it in?

Also, if that is the case, it's easy to see why that would affect some uses and not others, depending on their IPD.

The new version has different armor, but they also redesigned the focuser. Swaro said they did this to reduce costs, and the close focus isn't as good, however, I'm beginning to wonder if they redesigned it because the focuser was flawed in the original model. Regardless, like all Swaro models, some focusers work fine and some don't.

For the 10x42, you could probably get the product numbers from Swarovski or find them online to tell which model you're buying since the armoring is different and the close focus is different, so you can tell from that, provided the store has the correct photo displayed and the correct specifications.

Here's how the ones you have look:

Original SLC-HD

And there are the new SLCs with HD glass:
New SLC (not neu)

It remains to be seen if the redesigned SLC solved ongoing issues with Swaro focusers- coarse, stiff, sticky, harder to to turn in one direction.

Brock
 
At last year's British Bird Fair I tried two SLCs and the focusers were lovely.

I did the same this year and they were awful, while the two ELs I tried were fine.

You would have thought that they would have had SLCs with the latest focuser on display, but perhaps the new ones are only recently coming off production.

Lee
 
I've now seen a couple of SLC's where there is definite, and in one case quite pronounced, roughness in the focusing action, but in both the roughness did not come from the mechanism but from the rubber armoring sticking against the ridges of the focusing wheel. In the one my friend owns, the roughness appeared in July when we had exceptionally warm temperatures, while the focusing had been fine during the colder seasons.

This is a rather odd reason for focus issues, but also looking at SLC's that work smoothly, there is very little space between the wheel and the body armoring.

The good news is that if this indeed is the problem, the fix should be easy and not that costly.

Kimmo
 
I just purchased a pair of 8.5 x42 Swarovision and have the exact same problem with a squeak where the focuser rubs the armor. Not noticeable if it is cool like inside an airconditioned house but take it outside in the heat and it squeaks. Tried putting Armorall on it but that only last a short time. I thought of returning it to EO but the optics are great and the focuser is smooth in both directions so I did not want to take a chance on getting another that was not as good. I will probably talk to Swarovski to see what they suggest. Hopefully it will wear a little over time and stop. I don't want to have to spend $40 to ship it to them as I just did that to have the 8x42 SLC HD I had returned to correct a very rough focuser. I also just returned a 1 year old 85 ATX objective because the locking knob for the tripod collar broke. I am still a committed Swaro fan but these minor things start to get annoying.
 
kabsetz said:
I've now seen a couple of SLC's where there is definite, and in one case quite pronounced, roughness in the focusing action, but in both the roughness did not come from the mechanism but from the rubber armoring sticking against the ridges of the focusing wheel. In the one my friend owns, the roughness appeared in July when we had exceptionally warm temperatures, while the focusing had been fine during the colder seasons.

This is a rather odd reason for focus issues, but also looking at SLC's that work smoothly, there is very little space between the wheel and the body armoring.

The good news is that if this indeed is the problem, the fix should be easy and not that costly.

Kimmo
Click to expand...

After reading this thread, I tried to slide a slip of paper between the focus wheel and the cladding on my EL 10X42.

It was a very tight squeeze, but the focus action is fine ... no squeaks, or jumpiness at all.
 
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