Finally got to try a Habicht SL (1 Viewer)

[Trinovid]

Went and saw a friend this afternoon and got to look through his 10x40 Habicht SL and Zhumell 25x100 binoculars and the view through the Habicht in particular left me a bit confused. I've been really interested in them since seeing how they seem to have a fairly good following among members here, but the dim, yellowish view was completely unlike what I'd expected to see, and all the brightness came back when I looked through my 8x20 Ultravid.

Is it likely that there's something wrong with his binoculars, or is there something I overlooked that makes them such a seemingly popular model line? Maybe the 10x40 SL is not one of the good ones?

 

[james holdsworth]

Henry Link had these and I think your experience is pretty much as he described, so I wouldn’t expect others to vary much from that.

 

[Richard D]

The old SL's from the 1980's didn't have the newer coatings so were quite dull and yellowish. In contrast the classic Habicht 10x40s from 2009 onwards have the highest transmission of any binoculars (classics made between 1989 and 2009 are slightly yellowish and not as bright).

I don't think many people would recommend the SL range unless you're a collector.

 

[Trinovid]

The old SL's from the 1980's didn't have the newer coatings so were quite dull and yellowish. In contrast the classic Habicht 10x40s from 2009 onwards have the highest transmission of any binoculars (classics made between 1989 and 2009 are slightly yellowish and not as bright).

I don't think many people would recommend the SL range unless you're a collector.

As someone who only thought of the Habicht as a singular binocular, this is exactly what I needed to know. I was really expecting a really bright image and couldn't really answer his inquiry about how I liked them other than to say that I was glad to have finally handled a pair of the legendary line.

One thing that had crossed my mind was that maybe the coatings had aged or somehow been compromised, which now seems not to be the case.

Thanks for helping clear that up for me.

 

[Hermann]

One thing that had crossed my mind was that maybe the coatings had aged or the mirroring had someone been compromised, which now seems not to be the case.

The SL was a porro, so there's no mirroring anyway. Porros rely on total reflection.

The SL was an ill-fated product, they just weren't very good at all. The Habichts of the same age and with similar coatings was quite a bit better IMO.

Hermann

 

[Richard D]

As someone who only thought of the Habicht as a singular binocular, this is exactly what I needed to know. I was really expecting a really bright image and couldn't really answer his inquiry about how I liked them other than to say that I was glad to have finally handled a pair of the legendary line.

One thing that had crossed my mind was that maybe the coatings had aged or the mirroring had someone been compromised, which now seems not to be the case.

Thanks for helping clear that up for me.

They used the Habicht label on multiple lines over the years including some compact roofs if I recall correctly. Only the Classic Habichts remain. The SLs aren't awful optically - low lateral CA, decently sharp in the centre, but they weren't bright and had a very poor multi-coating (it may have improved towards the end of the run, but I wouldn't bother with them regardless). Classic Habichts from 1989-2009 are decent (slightly yellowish until the most recent coating in 2009), with the 2009 onwards being about as bright and neutral a binocular as you'll find.

 

[henry link]

I would suggest reading this thread about the old SL.

Info request from a beginner (Habicht SL 7x50)

Hi, I've been bird watching for about a year now and today I purchased a second-hand old habicht SL 7x50. It seems to be very little info and reviews on these older binoculars, so I was wondering what I should expect? For now I've only used an old zenith 8x40, which I found at my parents place.

www.birdforum.net

I bought a several SLs back in the 1980s. I'm certain their light transmission and color accuracy were quite good compared to their contemporaries when they were new. I haven't seen one in a long time, but clearly something has gone wrong with some, perhaps all, of them as they have aged.

Is there anybody here who still owns one who could examine the interior for fogging or some other deterioration?

 

[tehri]

Don't be too harsh with these Habicht SLs ... new, in their time, they were marvelous, and sublimated all the landscapes scrutinized through their lenses !

When they appeared, in their time, some people hated them, and others were seduced by their look, their design and ergonomy... the same today with NL !
These SL's are dear to my heart and to my eyes... for years they accompanied me everywhere, and especially in Himalayas... they are full of snowy peaks, bears, panthers, minivets, orioles, monals, etc etc etc, and they were just fantastic binoculars in their time !

When I think about it, I really liked and enjoyed them, for having around my neck almost a kilo while surveying long altitude treks, for weeks, months !

I still have them, of course, and couldn't part with them !... I still use them sometimes, just from a window, and of course, unfortunately, that well-known yellowish tint appeared over time... but we will judge the NL in 40 years... and more especially after having intensively surveyed mountains and Himalayan forests for more than 10 years !! Not sure they resist as much as these SL build like a tank !!

Another well-known problem that I also encountered, was with the focusing wheel which remained more or less blocked, and for which I had sent them to Swaro.
Many thanks to John A Roberts for all the detailed information provided on the site, which really interested me a lot.

These Habitch SLs have had their days, for sure, but have been for years, precious and wonderful companions through mountains and forests !!! I respect them and thank them very much for that !

(A few months ago, a seller from whom I bought NL 10x32s, told me that Swarovski no longer repairs these Habitch SLs at all)

 

[Trinovid]

I'm reading through the article Henry included and am still having a hard time believing that a 40mm objective porro was dark enough to make bright daylight look like dusk, particularly when I look through my 'ancient' Leitz 8x32 and get no evident color shift or darkening, not to mention the view having been so much brighter in a side by side with a 20mm roof binocular.

My takeaway so far is that the SL needs to be thought of as an outlier among Habicht models and I still look forward to trying other examples in the future. For now I feel a bit badly for my friend who has such an excellent view out his front window, but only these yellowed and dim binoculars.

 

[Trinovid]

The SL line was in production from 1980 to 1998, and all had Swarotop three layer anti-reflective coatings.
However at the start, Swarotop was still a work in progress in terms of transmission efficiency...

• some 8x56 units (available from 1984 to 1998) got to around 90% transmission for most of the range, so bright even by current standards, but;
• an early 10x40 (1982 to 1992) maxed out at between 55 and 60%!

• the SL's of 47 to 62%! ...most likely one internal component (or more) deteriorating over the decades,
and residue covering the glass surfaces.

The SL’s novel construction used: adhesive to secure the prisms to each other; plastic objective and ocular tubes and prism caps;
silicon compound applied over the prism assembly...and; glue to secure other internal components.

Transmission between 47-62% from the 10x40 must be what I was seeing (or not!) yesterday. Probably the dimmest pair of binoculars I've ever looked through.

 

[John A Roberts]

A few months ago, a seller from whom I bought NL 10x32s, told me that Swarovski no longer repairs these Habitch SLs at all

Hi tehri,

If that is a change it’s only a recent one.

And it reminded me of something I recently found on the Swarovski site at: My Service
It’s a listing of products that are no longer repaired, and it does not include the SL's.
See the page in relation to handheld optics (I’ve attached the complete document below).




I'd caution that the listing does not seem to be complete, as in relation to the handheld products:
• the NC 2 image intensifier also had an NC 1 counterpart, and they were preceded by the NS-B of 1984 (rare due to it’s extreme cost), and;

• the Laser Guide RF was preceded by the RF 1 from 1994, and it by the ultra rare FG 1 mentioned in a 1991 flyer
(the FG 1 seems to have been a rebadged Riegl Lasertape; at the time the two Austrian firms cooperated in the development of various laser devices).


John


p.s. The Habicht description is also unclear.
While most new production from 1984 on has the wider 10 mm bridge arms, the earliest production retained the 7 mm arms.
See an example in post #11 at: About The British Military's Binoculars Used In Post War?
The common identifier of all the new production is the purge port screws on the front bridge arms (which are not shown in any of the photos).
Additionally, there were both CF and IF models before and after 1984.