safaridreaming
Well-known member
I’ve owned all the scopes you’ve noted here (Swaro ATS HD, Zeiss 85 t*Fl Black version, and Kowa 883 with TE-11WZ eyepiece). Between the Swaro and the newer Zeiss, my preference is the Zeiss. In my experience while the Swaro displayed a sharp field to the edge, i struggled with eye placement on the 25-50 eyepiece - it was fiddly. There are also other threads here about finnicky eye placement on this scope / eyepiece combo.
Ultimately the Zeiss had a much more relaxed and forgiving view. It’s also razor sharp in the centre, but softens around the last 20% towards the edge…I found the Zeiss also had a slightly cooler hue vs the Swaro.
If the Kowa 883 is in contention, then between the 3, I’d pick the Kowa. It’s got the cleanest, brightest view. Its sharp to the edge and the personally i found the TE-11WZ eyepiece a step up from the Swaro. It’s also got extenders that you can use for additional magnification….
Ultimately the Zeiss had a much more relaxed and forgiving view. It’s also razor sharp in the centre, but softens around the last 20% towards the edge…I found the Zeiss also had a slightly cooler hue vs the Swaro.
If the Kowa 883 is in contention, then between the 3, I’d pick the Kowa. It’s got the cleanest, brightest view. Its sharp to the edge and the personally i found the TE-11WZ eyepiece a step up from the Swaro. It’s also got extenders that you can use for additional magnification….
