Swarovski focus issue (1 Viewer)

In the last few months I have been experiencing some rather poor service from Swarovski. I'm still giving them the benefit of the doubt so won't expand upon it until they've had a chance to resolve the various problems. However I would very much welcome any thoughts on one specific issue.

I have a pair of 8x25 Pocket CLs that are c. 18 months old. After visiting Absam for a repair (not caused by damage) they developed an issue with the focus mechanism. In one particular point of the focus travel there is now a quietly audible noise and a gentle feeling of the mechanism sticking. I've never met this is in any other quality binocular and it's absent in all the other binoculars in my household. Having already inspected and returned the binocular once, Swarovski are now saying that "...the focusing mechanism works as perfectly as it can. There are no further improvements possible.". I firmly believe that this is unacceptable in a binocular of this quality but I fear this is going to end up in an impasse. However I am curious if a) others agree or disagree that's it's not acceptable and b) if anyone else's Swaro bins have this issue?

I've only ever had excellent service when returning binoculars to Swarovski. I would politely suggest going into your local optics shop and ask them for their impartial opinion - especially if they are the place you purchased your binoculars.


I had a vaguely similar issue (stiff focus mechanism) with an inexpensive ‘scope and the shop I bought it from was able to show me other examples of the ‘scope I had bought and different models of ‘scopes from the same manufacturer which were all the same as mine and clearly working correctly.

Mike Crawley said:

I've only ever had excellent service when returning binoculars to Swarovski. I would politely suggest going into your local optics shop and ask them for their impartial opinion - especially if they are the place you purchased your binoculars.

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Thanks for your reply Mike. Unfortunately the pair in question are still in Austria so I can't take them to the original retailer. However I'm lucky that I have an older pair of CL Pockets in the house I can compare them against. The older ones do not have this issue.

Good Luck

Just wondered if anyone else had met this issue with their bins or had a strong view on whether it's ok or not?

If it does prevent you from focusing (including following a bird in flight) then I would argue they are not doing what they are supposed to and you should be given a new pair.

Yarkho said:

If it does prevent you from focusing (including following a bird in flight) then I would argue they are not doing what they are supposed to and you should be given a new pair.

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Thanks Yarkho. Just to clarify, this doesn't affect the operation of the focus. It's purely annoyance that there is a noise and the focus sticks briefly. It may be that I'm just being fussy. Hence interested in what others thought!

Do you think the issue was caused by the repair trip?

Yarkho said:

Do you think the issue was caused by the repair trip?

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It definitely wasn't there before, so yes somehow it must have been. Either by what the engineer did or just going through the postal system.

I have a 10x25 CL-P that's over 10-years old and the focus mechanism remains as it was when new: smooth and noise / stick-free.

Swarovski market their products as high-end precision instruments and, as such, we have every right to expect a higher standard than - for example - generic Chinese products. See here for a summary of 'satisfactory quality' under UK law.

I would absolutely not settle for a CL-P focus mechanism as described and I'm surprised Swarovski seem to be taking a different view. The advice to seek help from your original retailer seems logical. Ask them to check their stock of CL-Ps and - assuming all focusers are trouble free - report that fact to Swarovski. You could also make the point that had you been trialling your CL-P in store and encountered the fault you just would not have purchased that particular instrument. Who would at full RRP?

I would hope that remaining polite and patient will result in a suitable repair or replacement.

I've always considered the focus movement of the current generation of CL Pockets to feel fragile, with varying levels of tension and smoothness. Some have rough patches where you feel a scrape across something, others have points in the rotation where the tension suddenly goes light (feels like there's play, but it's actually engaging), some have points in the focus where you feel it pass over a notch. And yes, I have found that the quirks of the focus movement do change over time, in the copies I've owned. To me, it's the weakest element of the CL Pockets, but I still consider it optically the best and also the most user friendly of the dual hinged offerings on the market. It is my perception of the fragility of the focus movement that is the reason I no longer own any CL Pockets, it doesn't feel sturdy enough to justify the price point, and why my dual hinged pocket binoculars are Ultravids and a Genesis.

@Cavendish I agree with crinklystarfish. If there is a change to the focus movement since the initial repair, which is unacceptable to you, then you need to politely persist with their customer service team. I would also try to involve the dealer you originally purchased them from to see if they could engage with Swarovski on your behalf, to put a little pressure on them to resolve this for you. I don't know, but I have a suspicion the focus movement in a CL Pocket may not be repairable and that they would need to give you a replacement (this is certainly the case with Terra ED's). That might explain their reluctance, but I'm just speculating.

Good luck and please keep us in the loop!

First off, I’m a Mechanical Engineer with basic knowledge of optics, electrical, and electronics engineering. I love bird watching and star observation, so I’ve gained a lot of experience with cameras, lenses, binoculars, telescopes, eyepieces, mounts, tripods—pretty much all kinds of optical equipment and accessories. I still operate over 20 different devices for these hobbies.

Luckily, many women, including my wife, tend to think Swarovski is just an average mid-range jewelry brand. But I’m a big fan of Swarovski scopes and binoculars, and I still own several. However, the general consensus in my South Korea binoculars club is that Swarovski binoculars don’t perform quite as well as Zeiss, Leica, or Nikon’s high-end models when it comes to focusing performance. I do agree with that, to some extent.

Now, I’ll share my experience with the focus issue on the Swarovski 8x25 CL Pocket binoculars. I still use my secondhand pair, but unlike the 10x25 CL Pocket I previously bought new, my 8x25 doesn’t move the focus lens immediately when I turn the focus knob. I have to rotate it a bit more to get it to respond properly. For reference, I once saw the older 8x20 CL Pocket with a super stiff focus knob that was just about impossible to use.

Dealing with this minor problem, I found it a hassle to send my binoculars all the way to Austria for repairs, especially in Korea where the "quickly now" culture is strong. So I decided to open it up myself. Please take a look at the photo I attached, and pay attention to the part marked with an arrow. The issue was caused by a set screw that fixes the middle shaft of the focus knob coming loose. That’s what created the response problem. I think this could be the same cause for your facing similar issues if there is not impact from out or input some sands.



The additional photos I added show how to disassemble the top cover from main body.





Of course, how the focus feels can be a bit different depending on the user. Swarovski’s customer service is generally good, but they might just send an item back if they don’t see it as a major defect—especially if they think the focus performance is within acceptable limits. Plus, I think there’s also a chance that this type of problem could happen during repairs or shipping, even if the product was fine before.

Overall, I hope this helps, and I’d like to see everyone’s binoculars working perfectly. I really hope you get it sorted out!

Bentley03 said:

I've always considered the focus movement of the current generation of CL Pockets to feel fragile, with varying levels of tension and smoothness. Some have rough patches where you feel a scrape across something, others have points in the rotation where the tension suddenly goes light (feels like there's play, but it's actually engaging), some have points in the focus where you feel it pass over a notch. And yes, I have found that the quirks of the focus movement do change over time, in the copies I've owned. To me, it's the weakest element of the CL Pockets, but I still consider it optically the best and also the most user friendly of the dual hinged offerings on the market. It is my perception of the fragility of the focus movement that is the reason I no longer own any CL Pockets, it doesn't feel sturdy enough to justify the price point, and why my dual hinged pocket binoculars are Ultravids and a Genesis.

@Cavendish I agree with crinklystarfish. If there is a change to the focus movement since the initial repair, which is unacceptable to you, then you need to politely persist with their customer service team. I would also try to involve the dealer you originally purchased them from to see if they could engage with Swarovski on your behalf, to put a little pressure on them to resolve this for you. I don't know, but I have a suspicion the focus movement in a CL Pocket may not be repairable and that they would need to give you a replacement (this is certainly the case with Terra ED's). That might explain their reluctance, but I'm just speculating.

Good luck and please keep us in the loop!

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Zeiss should never have launched the Terra line.

crinklystarfish said:

I would absolutely not settle for a CL-P focus mechanism as described and I'm surprised Swarovski seem to be taking a different view. The advice to seek help from your original retailer seems logical. Ask them to check their stock of CL-Ps and - assuming all focusers are trouble free - report that fact to Swarovski. You could also make the point that had you been trialling your CL-P in store and encountered the fault you just would not have purchased that particular instrument. Who would at full RRP?

I would hope that remaining polite and patient will result in a suitable repair or replacement.

Click to expand...

Bentley03 said:

@Cavendish I agree with crinklystarfish. If there is a change to the focus movement since the initial repair, which is unacceptable to you, then you need to politely persist with their customer service team. I would also try to involve the dealer you originally purchased them from to see if they could engage with Swarovski on your behalf, to put a little pressure on them to resolve this for you. I don't know, but I have a suspicion the focus movement in a CL Pocket may not be repairable and that they would need to give you a replacement (this is certainly the case with Terra ED's). That might explain their reluctance, but I'm just speculating.

Good luck and please keep us in the loop!

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Many thanks both of you for your thoughts on this issue! Like you, I'm also very surprised that Swarovski (so far) think that it's acceptable, especially on such a new pair. I'm currently waiting for one of their team to return from holiday so fingers crossed there will be a different response. However I will keep you updated regardless.

suschoi said:

Overall, I hope this helps, and I’d like to see everyone’s binoculars working perfectly. I really hope you get it sorted out!

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Wow what a detailed post - thanks very much for sharing! It's fascinating to see the internal workings of this model and to hear about how you successfully tackled the problem. If this was an old binocular, or I couldn't access the service department, then I'd probably attempt what you've done too. Hopefully it won't get to that point but it's good to know it's not impossible!

Bentley03 said:

I've always considered the focus movement of the current generation of CL Pockets to feel fragile, with varying levels of tension and smoothness. Some have rough patches where you feel a scrape across something, others have points in the rotation where the tension suddenly goes light (feels like there's play, but it's actually engaging), some have points in the focus where you feel it pass over a notch.

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Agreed.

My CL Companion has a slight rough patch right out of the box. The diopter compensation is also travelling a bit. None of this is an issue (yet), more of a minor annoyance.