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opinions on habicht porro's wanted (1 Viewer)

matt green

matt green

Norfolkman gone walkabout
morning all,i wonder if any forum members would care to share their views on swarovski habicht porro prim binoculars.are they comperable to nikon se's.i have never handled these particular bins before but the 7,42-8,30 may be of interest.any advice welcomed.matt
 
matt green said:
morning all,i wonder if any forum members would care to share their views on swarovski habicht porro prim binoculars.are they comperable to nikon se's.i have never handled these particular bins before but the 7,42-8,30 may be of interest.any advice welcomed.matt
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I have used a 8x30 porro Habicht in 2000, for 3 days. I loved them. They were really jaw-dropping, bright, crisp, very good depth of field, easy to hold and use. I actually liked them better than the 8x32 Trinovid (1970s model, pre-phase coating, i will never understand what was all the fuss about the roofs of that era) that was with someone in the birding group at the time. Their only drawback was just a bit of a stiff focus, but nothing that would prevent me from using them and enjoying them. In fact, their depth of field was so good that i did not have to focus much anyway. I cannot compare with 8x32 SE, as i have only looked through 10x42 SE, 5 years later.
Also, Habicht porros have a short eye relief, so you would not be able to use eyeglasses and binos in the same time.
warning: all of the older Swarovski binoculars have a dreadful yellow cast, so make sure that you buy a recent model if you do.
I am just a plain sucker for high quality classical looking black porro binoculars. Yep, i am getting old and i don't care for digital gizmos and substandard roof binos.
 
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matt green said:
morning all,i wonder if any forum members would care to share their views on swarovski habicht porro prim binoculars.are they comperable to nikon se's.i have never handled these particular bins before but the 7,42-8,30 may be of interest.any advice welcomed.matt
Click to expand...

They are very fine binoculars with eyepieces based on an old formula. I owned the 10x40 for awhile. The handling, at least for me, is quite good, and the 8x30 is one of the best-handling bins I have ever held.

That said, they do not compare to Nikon SE, which is sharper and which has almost no chromatic aberration. The Habicht porro has terrible chromatic aberration. The 7x42 Habicht has an extremely narrow field of view for a 7x bin. All of the Habicht porros have very tight focusing mechanisms, making them practically unusable in cold weather.
 
I used the 8X30W as my primary birding binocular for about 5 years and also owned a 7X42 SL (same optics as the Habicht, different housing). The 7X42 has an extremely narrow field: 6.5 degrees real field, 45.5 degrees apparent field. That is about the narrowest apparent field of any fixed magnification binocular available. I think the 8X30 makes a much better birding binocular. As Otto Mcdiesel mentioned the eye relief is short and the focus a bit stiff. IMO the eyecups on the rubber armored model are much more comfortable. The ones on the leatherette covered version are narrow and stiff. The Nikon 8X32 SE has much longer eye relief and a better eyepiece design for maintaining good sharpness away from the center of the field.
 
thanks for the comments above folks,very usefull info.before i found bf i always though that high end roofprisms were state of the art and the only way to go as far as image quality and durability was concerned and nothing could match them,least of all those old porroprisms.i recently toyed with a pair of what looked like fifty year old carl ziess porros handed to me by a secondhand camera dealer in norwich,the build quality and image blew me away,not bad for something that looked as though it was a prop from the film ''zooloo dawn''.deciding which way to go is not easy.
 
matt green said:
...toyed with a pair of what looked like fifty year old carl ziess porros handed to me by a secondhand camera dealer in norwich,the build quality and image blew me away,not bad for something that looked as though it was a prop from the film ''zooloo dawn''.deciding which way to go is not easy.
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I've used a pair of those for 20 years, and they are still on my desk, and they get used sometimes. When first meeting other birders with pre-phase coated roofs around their neck, i was curious to try their stuff. After looking trough a few Leica and Zeiss that were nowhere near what I had, I left with a smile. Of course, the people with the roofs did where not curious to try my binos, as they were “Zulu war relic”, and their $1000 equipment was superior by default. So we were all happy.
Try the Nikon 8x32 SE and make sure you don’t mind the black-outs too much. They are probably better for birding than Swaro Habicht. Also, have a look at Nikon EII. But if you want waterproof 8x30 binoculars, things get complicated, you have to look into the $1500 to get good optics.
 
marcus, this classic 1964 film was micheal caines first major movie,it is based on the true story of the brave defence of rorkes drift in 1879.one hundred men of the south wales borders stood fast against the attacking zulu warriors.i confess i spelt the title as zooloo[actually its just zulu].
no more film trivia,i'm suffering with ''grog head'', matt
 
If you can live with the eye relief and stiff ficus wheel, the Habicht 8x30 is an excellent binocular for birdwatching. It is every bit as sharp and bright as its more expensive cousins, the 8x30SLC and EL. It is also waterproof and very sturdy built. Compared to my other bino, a new Nikon 10x42SE, I think the Habicht is both sharper and brighter and shows less chromatic aberration. I recently bought the SE because I wanted a good 10x bino, but I still find that I am almost always picking up the old Habicth when I go birdwatching.

I've had mine for 10 years now and it is as good as new, despite being put to the test on an almost daily basis at periods. I have even accidently dropped it several times.

Unfortunately Swarovski have terminated the rubber armored version, and I fear it is only a matter of time before the entire Habicht line goes the same way. The people want roofs!
 
I compared 10x40 Habicht and Nikon 10x42 SE (owned by me) with a Swarovski dealer a several month ago. Both are excellent porros, rendering sharp(est) and clear(est) on axis image with little CA. SE may be a hair bit brighter because of inherent aperture advantage. Owing to more sophisticated eyepiece design, the ER and edge performance is better for SE.

Believe it or not, stars are finer and more pinpointed in Habicht. Some buddies in China prefer Habicht as a life-time purchase ( EL/FL/BR are too expensive ).
 
These seem like a great alternative to if I do not have the $ to spend on SLCs or ELs. No?

What else in this price bracket can compare?



matt green said:
morning all,i wonder if any forum members would care to share their views on swarovski habicht porro prim binoculars.are they comperable to nikon se's.i have never handled these particular bins before but the 7,42-8,30 may be of interest.any advice welcomed.matt
Click to expand...
 
These are very old designs. Except for the modern coatings they could have been made in the 1920's or earlier. The 7x42 uses a simple 3-element Kellner eyepiece, and has a very narrow 6.5 degree field. The 8x30 and 10x40 have short 12mm eye relief. They use a more sophisticated 6-element Erfle eyepiece which is fine in the center and pretty good at the edge, but it's not in the same class with the flat field eyepiece in the Nikon SE. IMO the eyecups on the unarmored versions are very uncomfortable, small and very stiff. They are so stiff that when they are rolled down for eyeglasses they have an unpleasant way of violently and unpredictably popping back out in your face. They've been like that for 20 years. The eyecups on the armored versions are much better. If they are really out of production these bins seem to me to be of most interest to collectors as the last examples of a type of binocular they just don't make anymore.
 
confused

henry link said:
These are very old designs. Except for the modern coatings they could have been made in the 1920's or earlier. The 7x42 uses a simple 3-element Kellner eyepiece, and has a very narrow 6.5 degree field. The 8x30 and 10x40 have short 12mm eye relief. They use a more sophisticated 6-element Erfle eyepiece which is fine in the center and pretty good at the edge, but it's not in the same class with the flat field eyepiece in the Nikon SE. IMO the eyecups on the unarmored versions are very uncomfortable, small and very stiff. They are so stiff that when they are rolled down for eyeglasses they have an unpleasant way of violently and unpredictably popping back out in your face. They've been like that for 20 years. The eyecups on the armored versions are much better. If they are really out of production these bins seem to me to be of most interest to collectors as the last examples of a type of binocular they just don't make anymore.
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Thanks Henry, good information. However, I am still confused somewhat. At this time, their price 6-700$ US seems on the surface to high, but fair IF the glass is superior. Also, if I will simply enjoy them. The hard question I suppose I am asking is, are their better binoculars for the dollar. I have decided that the Pentax DCF SP is not for me. Many consider these to be a superb buy for the money. I gather that Henry is saying that the Nikon SE's are better for the dollar. But I think it is true that the SE's are not waterproof at all and I live in a Humid area. Hence I was leaning toward the old swaros.

Basically the SLC's are 500 more and the EL's are 1000 more. I do not want to cut myself short in quality, but think these may be a diamond in the ruff. Of course, your experience would answer that.
 
randman said:
Basically the SLC's are 500 more and the EL's are 1000 more. I do not want to cut myself short in quality, but think these may be a diamond in the ruff. Of course, your experience would answer that.
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Run and buy the Habicht 8x30 before it's too late! I love my 10 year old 8x30, its image is at least as good as the 8x30 SLC and 8x32 EL. H**l, it is as least as sharp as my own 10x42 SE and 10x50 SLC, both of which I think are first class! Compared to the Nikon 8x30 SE, it is both waterproof and offers a slightly better FOV. Compared to my own 10x42 SE, I think the Habicht 8x30 offers both better sharpness and contrast, though by a very narrow margin.

Its only drawbacks are a rather stiff focus wheel (which gets even stiffer in cold weather) and some flaring.

It is, however, undoubtedly a first class binocular for birdwatching!

During these last 10 years it has been with me in the field thousands of hours, in all sorts of weather, and it has never let me down.
 
Two friends of mine have performed star tests for 7x42 Habicht and Nikon 7x50 Prostar (agruably the best 7x50 Porro available) recently. Both agree that, due to simple eyepiece design, the on-axis image of 7x42 is even a hair sharper than the venerable Prostar. However, after 1/4 from the center, Prostar reigns.
 
Are they using modern coatings in these? The same tech thats in their current top end Swarovski line? Because if so Being a porro and having a small FOV could make these incredibly bright and I am in the market for the brightest pair of 7x42 I can find. (I Have an 8x32 Zeiss FL and am just looking to out wow it, It's a great pair of glass.)
 
Nessus said:
Are they using modern coatings in these? The same tech thats in their current top end Swarovski line? Because if so Being a porro and having a small FOV could make these incredibly bright and I am in the market for the brightest pair of 7x42 I can find. (I Have an 8x32 Zeiss FL and am just looking to out wow it, It's a great pair of glass.)
Click to expand...

If bought the Habicht 7x42 a few months ago. I love them.
And they are a bargain compared to there roof cousins.
And they are the brightest pair you could find.
Yellowish images can't be noticed with my pair.
Yes they have a small FOV, but their FOV was wider than my previous bins so no problem for me.

Also I wear eyeglasses and can use the full FOV.

One downside, the eyecups should be of the twistmodels so you could use the protectioncups with the eyecups down. Now when thy are folded down you cannot use the cups on them because the diameter of the eyecups increases because of the fold down. But I is a favorable improment. Them work just as they are right now.

I prefer the leather model, not the rubber model.

The 8x30w model is to small for me and my hand are in the image all the time.

The focus knob is a bit stiff in cold, but not that big of a problem. I used happily in minus 15 degrees celsius.

Be retro and enjoy your Habicht! :t:
 
Thanks, Malloot,

That's really good info!

I'm looking for good lowlight bins/owling bins, and so far I've considered buying

Zeiss ClassiC 8x56 ( too expensive, bad close focus, heavy, not waterproof)
Swarovski SLC 7x50 (too expensive, bad close focus, bl**dy heavy)
Swarovski SLC 8x50 same as 7x50
Canon 10x42 L IS (too expensive, 3.7 mm exit pupil really, heavy)
Swarovski SLC 7x42 ( interesting, but too expensive)

The Swaro Habicht 7x42 looks very promising from your experience with them, especially regarding the focus knob in extreme cold. How is the focusing in less severe conditions, would you say? And what is the depth of field like?

I remember you writing on an other thread you found the Swaro 7x42 Habicht to be brighter than Nikon Monarch 8x56; that would have to be accounted to their better coatings, then.

What did you pay for them?
And where could I get a pair? ( Preferably in the rubber armoured version.)

I find myself being attracted to porro's lately, these sure sound like great value. And light weight to boot.

Thanks in advance,

Best regards,

Ronald
 
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