Swarovski AT 80 HD and 20-60x zoom
The Swarovski AT/ST80 (AT=angled, ST=straight) scope was on the market from the early 90\'s and during its existence was regarded as one of the best birding scopes. In particular its zoom eyepiece enjoyed an excellent reputation. This model was replaced in 2002/2003 by the completely redesigned A/STS-80 and A/STS-65, which conveniently share the same eyepiece mount with the older scope allowing the use of older eyepieces in newer scopes and vice versa.
Appearance
The Swarovski AT-80HD represents \"hard\" design with very straight lines and sharp edges. The scope body/surface is painted metal with rubber \"grips\" only on the focusing ring and on the pull-out sunshade. The look expresses high quality but is quite personal and it may or may not be pleasing to everybody - the newer designs have clearly more curvy and round shapes as well as softer materials on the surfaces. The lower edges of the prism housing have been slightly streamlined in the latest model (introduced in the late 90\'s).
The size of the Swaro AT80 is about average for a birding scope, lighter and more compact models do exist (Zeiss, Swaro ATS), but also bigger and heavier ones (Leica). It has a pull-out sunshade, helical focusing ring and a rotatable attachment collar with two separate (!) threaded holes (3/8 and 5/6\"). Attaching the scope with a Manfrotto 501\'s (2-screw) quick-release plate feels very reliable. The objective lens cap is made of hard, black plastic and it attaches tightly with two spring mounted clips, which seem to break easily (but generously replaced by Swarovski free of charge). The zoom eyepiece has a very good screw-on cover, which unfortunately cannot be used with other eyepieces.
The stay-on case is made of green Cordura, it is slightly loose but well designed and does not disturb the use too much. During the years of outdoor use the green colour of the cordura bleaches to brownish grey - giving some credibility to the scope owner as a serious birder.
Optics
The image produced by the Swarovski AT80HD with the 20-60x zoom is excellent by any standards - as can be expected with a scope of this price class and reputation. The feeling of sharpness and brightness with 20x power is great but no longer exceptional compared to the other top makes: Leica, Nikon or Zeiss (or even Kowa). With higher powers the ability to resolve details increases, but at the expense of brightness and the \"feel\" of sharpness. The apparent field of view (AFOV) is quite narrow at 20x (38) giving the typical tube-like impression, but the absolute image area is very usable for finding the target. The eye relief is good for both spectacle wearers and the digiscopers at 20x and 60x but less sufficient in the middle. The eye-placement on the eyepiece is not critical and the best focus is very easy to find despite only one focusing ring.
I have briefly tried the Swarovski\'s 30x old and new eyepieces with the AT80HD body and in my opinion the newer eyepiece is a significant improvement over the older one. When the old 30xWA somehow didn\'t feel as sharp and comfortable as the Kowa\'s and Leica\'s 32x wide angles (or even the Swaro zoom), the new Swaro 30xSW is maybe the best eyepiece I have ever seen in spotting scopes. A possibly worthwile upgrade even for the older A/ST80 body - if the lack of a locking mechanism doesn\'t bother you. Someone reported on this forum that the new 20xSW eyepiece also fits the old body, but may not deliver the full field-of-view (the scope being the limiting factor).
I was lucky to get an astro eyepiece adapter with my purchase. It works very well with many astro-eyepieces, but the focusing range limits the usability of certain eyepieces/barlows (the scope does not always focus to infinity).
Usability
I was previously a fan of small focusing wheels a\'la Kowa but have learnt to like very much the collar-type focusers. The ring on the AT80 is densely (maybe too densely) ribbed, wide enough for a good grip and the gearing is relatively fast but precise. The feel is not quite as smooth and accurate as with the Nikon Fieldscopes - but Nikon\'s gearing is a little too fast for my taste.
One of the greatest usability features (often overlooked!) with the AT80 body is the structure which supports very easy aiming. Unlike most \"external\" aiming aids (including the new Swaro ATS) it really works. The body is symmetrical and the eyepiece is lowered at the level where you can aim using the eyepiece and the small rubber slot in the sun-shade. When the target is in the slot you can be sure that it is also in the FOV and you can just turn the eye down to see the target - with a little practice even with moving targets and at 60x power! IMO this feature more than compensates the narrow field of view of the zoom. With the AT80HD I have been able to easily spot many rapidly flying birds that I would surely have missed with eg. my previous Kowa 823.
The zoom mechanism of the eyepiece is smooth but stiff and it does not seem to loosen up during the use. The focus adjustment is not maintained during zooming meaning that the zoom should rather be called a \"vario\" eyepiece (like Zeiss). The rubber eyecup is foldable but it can also be removed for the attachment of certain digiscoping adapters.
Nitpicking
All the top scopes are nowadays optically extremely good and the preferences are strongly personal. Here I\'ll try to illustrate my observations of the AT80HD against some other scopes I have used/tried. Please notice that individual variation may have had an effect here:
- Subjective sharpness: at 20x one of the best, exceptionally good in the edges (eg. compared to the Kowa and the older Leica zoom). In my experience only Nikon ED Fieldscopes give such evenly sharp feeling, without significant field curvature, but as with the Swaro, at the expense of field-of-view.
- Geometry: When I compared the Swarovski and Kowa side by side, I felt that in the Swaro zoom at 20x there may be some barrel-distortion, and in the Kowa zoom maybe slight pincushion distortion. It may be because of my prior experience with the Kowa but IMO the Kowa\'s view was more pleasant during panning.
- Chromatic aberration is visible in high contrast areas and increases towards the edges, it is not usually disturbing, but clearly there are better colour-corrected alternatives like the superachromat Zeiss Diascope FL and the apochromat Leica APO Televid. I would go on to say that even Kowa 823 is slightly better in this respect. Digiscoping is a very sensitive way to reveal the tendency to chromatic aberration but the huge success of this scope in digiscoping should show that we are talking about subtle differences.
- Colour cast: I agree with many others that the Swaro AT80HD shows a warmyellow cast. This is not disturbing but if you use the scope with a pair of colour-neutral binoculars like Nikon HGs or SEs, you can repeatedly notice this. Some say that the yellowish cast is helpful in low-contrast conditions, but I have not been able to confirm this myself - AT80HD surely has a very good contrast even in difficult lighting.
- Coatings: All glass surfaces of this newer model of the AT80HD are coated with Swarotop multicoating and the external surfaces with Swarodur which should be resistant to scratches. This coating gives yellowish reflections and IMO it reflected more light on the objective lens than did the Kowa 823. Together with a 2 mm larger objective, the Kowa actually felt very slightly brighter. The older AT80HD scopes can be distinguished by their blue/purple reflections.
Conclusion
The Swarovski AT80HD with 20-60x zoom is simply a great scope for birdwatching and especially for digiscoping. It may not be the lightest, brightest and widest - and it is not totally corrected against chromatic aberrations - but it is still optically excellent, rugged, extremely well made and designed. In my experience it is the best scope to spot the target, which I find very important. The new 30xSW eyepiece could complement the zoom when the wide field of view is important.
If you are on the market of a top scope and you don\'t mind carrying the \"last year\'s\" model, a second-hand Swarovski AT80HD is still a very good option - and may cost considerably less than some others.
The Swarovski AT/ST80 (AT=angled, ST=straight) scope was on the market from the early 90\'s and during its existence was regarded as one of the best birding scopes. In particular its zoom eyepiece enjoyed an excellent reputation. This model was replaced in 2002/2003 by the completely redesigned A/STS-80 and A/STS-65, which conveniently share the same eyepiece mount with the older scope allowing the use of older eyepieces in newer scopes and vice versa.
Appearance
The Swarovski AT-80HD represents \"hard\" design with very straight lines and sharp edges. The scope body/surface is painted metal with rubber \"grips\" only on the focusing ring and on the pull-out sunshade. The look expresses high quality but is quite personal and it may or may not be pleasing to everybody - the newer designs have clearly more curvy and round shapes as well as softer materials on the surfaces. The lower edges of the prism housing have been slightly streamlined in the latest model (introduced in the late 90\'s).
The size of the Swaro AT80 is about average for a birding scope, lighter and more compact models do exist (Zeiss, Swaro ATS), but also bigger and heavier ones (Leica). It has a pull-out sunshade, helical focusing ring and a rotatable attachment collar with two separate (!) threaded holes (3/8 and 5/6\"). Attaching the scope with a Manfrotto 501\'s (2-screw) quick-release plate feels very reliable. The objective lens cap is made of hard, black plastic and it attaches tightly with two spring mounted clips, which seem to break easily (but generously replaced by Swarovski free of charge). The zoom eyepiece has a very good screw-on cover, which unfortunately cannot be used with other eyepieces.
The stay-on case is made of green Cordura, it is slightly loose but well designed and does not disturb the use too much. During the years of outdoor use the green colour of the cordura bleaches to brownish grey - giving some credibility to the scope owner as a serious birder.
Optics
The image produced by the Swarovski AT80HD with the 20-60x zoom is excellent by any standards - as can be expected with a scope of this price class and reputation. The feeling of sharpness and brightness with 20x power is great but no longer exceptional compared to the other top makes: Leica, Nikon or Zeiss (or even Kowa). With higher powers the ability to resolve details increases, but at the expense of brightness and the \"feel\" of sharpness. The apparent field of view (AFOV) is quite narrow at 20x (38) giving the typical tube-like impression, but the absolute image area is very usable for finding the target. The eye relief is good for both spectacle wearers and the digiscopers at 20x and 60x but less sufficient in the middle. The eye-placement on the eyepiece is not critical and the best focus is very easy to find despite only one focusing ring.
I have briefly tried the Swarovski\'s 30x old and new eyepieces with the AT80HD body and in my opinion the newer eyepiece is a significant improvement over the older one. When the old 30xWA somehow didn\'t feel as sharp and comfortable as the Kowa\'s and Leica\'s 32x wide angles (or even the Swaro zoom), the new Swaro 30xSW is maybe the best eyepiece I have ever seen in spotting scopes. A possibly worthwile upgrade even for the older A/ST80 body - if the lack of a locking mechanism doesn\'t bother you. Someone reported on this forum that the new 20xSW eyepiece also fits the old body, but may not deliver the full field-of-view (the scope being the limiting factor).
I was lucky to get an astro eyepiece adapter with my purchase. It works very well with many astro-eyepieces, but the focusing range limits the usability of certain eyepieces/barlows (the scope does not always focus to infinity).
Usability
I was previously a fan of small focusing wheels a\'la Kowa but have learnt to like very much the collar-type focusers. The ring on the AT80 is densely (maybe too densely) ribbed, wide enough for a good grip and the gearing is relatively fast but precise. The feel is not quite as smooth and accurate as with the Nikon Fieldscopes - but Nikon\'s gearing is a little too fast for my taste.
One of the greatest usability features (often overlooked!) with the AT80 body is the structure which supports very easy aiming. Unlike most \"external\" aiming aids (including the new Swaro ATS) it really works. The body is symmetrical and the eyepiece is lowered at the level where you can aim using the eyepiece and the small rubber slot in the sun-shade. When the target is in the slot you can be sure that it is also in the FOV and you can just turn the eye down to see the target - with a little practice even with moving targets and at 60x power! IMO this feature more than compensates the narrow field of view of the zoom. With the AT80HD I have been able to easily spot many rapidly flying birds that I would surely have missed with eg. my previous Kowa 823.
The zoom mechanism of the eyepiece is smooth but stiff and it does not seem to loosen up during the use. The focus adjustment is not maintained during zooming meaning that the zoom should rather be called a \"vario\" eyepiece (like Zeiss). The rubber eyecup is foldable but it can also be removed for the attachment of certain digiscoping adapters.
Nitpicking
All the top scopes are nowadays optically extremely good and the preferences are strongly personal. Here I\'ll try to illustrate my observations of the AT80HD against some other scopes I have used/tried. Please notice that individual variation may have had an effect here:
- Subjective sharpness: at 20x one of the best, exceptionally good in the edges (eg. compared to the Kowa and the older Leica zoom). In my experience only Nikon ED Fieldscopes give such evenly sharp feeling, without significant field curvature, but as with the Swaro, at the expense of field-of-view.
- Geometry: When I compared the Swarovski and Kowa side by side, I felt that in the Swaro zoom at 20x there may be some barrel-distortion, and in the Kowa zoom maybe slight pincushion distortion. It may be because of my prior experience with the Kowa but IMO the Kowa\'s view was more pleasant during panning.
- Chromatic aberration is visible in high contrast areas and increases towards the edges, it is not usually disturbing, but clearly there are better colour-corrected alternatives like the superachromat Zeiss Diascope FL and the apochromat Leica APO Televid. I would go on to say that even Kowa 823 is slightly better in this respect. Digiscoping is a very sensitive way to reveal the tendency to chromatic aberration but the huge success of this scope in digiscoping should show that we are talking about subtle differences.
- Colour cast: I agree with many others that the Swaro AT80HD shows a warmyellow cast. This is not disturbing but if you use the scope with a pair of colour-neutral binoculars like Nikon HGs or SEs, you can repeatedly notice this. Some say that the yellowish cast is helpful in low-contrast conditions, but I have not been able to confirm this myself - AT80HD surely has a very good contrast even in difficult lighting.
- Coatings: All glass surfaces of this newer model of the AT80HD are coated with Swarotop multicoating and the external surfaces with Swarodur which should be resistant to scratches. This coating gives yellowish reflections and IMO it reflected more light on the objective lens than did the Kowa 823. Together with a 2 mm larger objective, the Kowa actually felt very slightly brighter. The older AT80HD scopes can be distinguished by their blue/purple reflections.
Conclusion
The Swarovski AT80HD with 20-60x zoom is simply a great scope for birdwatching and especially for digiscoping. It may not be the lightest, brightest and widest - and it is not totally corrected against chromatic aberrations - but it is still optically excellent, rugged, extremely well made and designed. In my experience it is the best scope to spot the target, which I find very important. The new 30xSW eyepiece could complement the zoom when the wide field of view is important.
If you are on the market of a top scope and you don\'t mind carrying the \"last year\'s\" model, a second-hand Swarovski AT80HD is still a very good option - and may cost considerably less than some others.
