A "mint" pair of Swift 825 Compact Audubon 7x,35 showed up on the bidding site this week. My older pair (Flickr) were a little scruffy and loose in the hinge and so departed some time ago. I'd also let go a 1986 754 Osprey and at least one 825R Eaglets. The "new" Compact Audubon completes my recovery from those lapses.
Current working Swift stable:
Swift 825 Compact Audubon 7x35 8.1° Roof 1 lb. 5 oz. 13’
Swift 825R Eaglet (2000) 7x36 Roof 1 lb. 11 oz. 4’
Swift 756 Osprey (JB56; 1987) 7.5x42 7° Porro 1 lb. 14 oz. 29’
The current 825 has the "Swift ®" lozenge; the one I let go didn't. My 1986 Osprey was marked “754” and “Mark II”; the present 756 (1987) is not marked “Mark II” but appears to have BaK4 glass. Before the bird plague started sweeping up the coast I was exclusively using a Carl Zeiss Jenoptem 10x,50W for feeder birding and we still have our modern Swaro and Zeiss for dedicated birding trips where having the newest technology is more important than risking damage or loss. The Eaglet went with us to Cornwall last year and proved perfect; it lives in the car Stateside, where it will be joined by the new 825 (JB35; Serial Number B202384; advertised by dealers in Popular Photography [1989-90] and American Birds [Summer 1992]).
I think in another thread I explained my Swift quest was to replace a pair my father had given me. My sister unearthed a 1971 photograph of me at the start of a backpacking trip: it confirmed my memory that they were a pre-1960 Sport King. But I was never able to find one that felt the same on my eyes until I picked up a pre-1960 Lafayette 7x,35 import by Hiyoshi. Despite its technological antiquity, cleaned by Crista this is a great tree binocular with its ten-degree field. If I remember aright, this one turned up (mint, with those flimsy white lens covers) in a second-hand store for about fifteen bucks. Way to go!
My 1951 B&L Zephyr 7x,35 and its Swift 802 clone are retired to the closet. Too good to get rid of; too outdated to use. All the other binoculars from the Flickr page were sold or given away.
Bob M (now permanently in Rhode Island).
Current working Swift stable:
Swift 825 Compact Audubon 7x35 8.1° Roof 1 lb. 5 oz. 13’
Swift 825R Eaglet (2000) 7x36 Roof 1 lb. 11 oz. 4’
Swift 756 Osprey (JB56; 1987) 7.5x42 7° Porro 1 lb. 14 oz. 29’
The current 825 has the "Swift ®" lozenge; the one I let go didn't. My 1986 Osprey was marked “754” and “Mark II”; the present 756 (1987) is not marked “Mark II” but appears to have BaK4 glass. Before the bird plague started sweeping up the coast I was exclusively using a Carl Zeiss Jenoptem 10x,50W for feeder birding and we still have our modern Swaro and Zeiss for dedicated birding trips where having the newest technology is more important than risking damage or loss. The Eaglet went with us to Cornwall last year and proved perfect; it lives in the car Stateside, where it will be joined by the new 825 (JB35; Serial Number B202384; advertised by dealers in Popular Photography [1989-90] and American Birds [Summer 1992]).
I think in another thread I explained my Swift quest was to replace a pair my father had given me. My sister unearthed a 1971 photograph of me at the start of a backpacking trip: it confirmed my memory that they were a pre-1960 Sport King. But I was never able to find one that felt the same on my eyes until I picked up a pre-1960 Lafayette 7x,35 import by Hiyoshi. Despite its technological antiquity, cleaned by Crista this is a great tree binocular with its ten-degree field. If I remember aright, this one turned up (mint, with those flimsy white lens covers) in a second-hand store for about fifteen bucks. Way to go!
My 1951 B&L Zephyr 7x,35 and its Swift 802 clone are retired to the closet. Too good to get rid of; too outdated to use. All the other binoculars from the Flickr page were sold or given away.
Bob M (now permanently in Rhode Island).
