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Swarovski Habicht 10x40 W GA 2019 (1 Viewer)

Glad you enjoyed your trip, and the Habichts. I haven't been to Yellowstone in years. Did it feel overcrowded to you? All the famous parks seem so to me now, until/unless you get out into the backcountry.

I still suffer from incurable porro nostalgia. A while ago I tried both the Habicht 10x40 and Nikon SE 10x42 to see what a porro could be like today, and was surprised not to really like either. The Habicht was lovely but fussy to use, stiff focus and tunnel vision. The SE was nice but the view just didn't win me over.

I had the 10x42 SE and wasn't overly impressed - a bit too much kidney bean blackouts for me and a bit too warm but still a very fair piece of glass. I would like to try the Habicht 10x40 at some point, but I also acknowledge its not for everyone. Seems like others on this thread refuse to have anyone say anything bad about the Habicht.
 
There are a few fanatical Habicht lovers out there with good reason I guess. You either love them or hate them. I had the Nikon 10x42 SE and I wasn't really impressed by it either. Both the SE's the 8x32 and 10x42 were prone to kidney beaning for me personally with the 10x42 being worse. I always got on with the Nikon 8x30 EII better and I like it for it's huge FOV and I still have one. All the Nikon porro's like the SE and EII are biased to the red/warm spectrum which is ok but isn't my favorite bias. The Habicht's are more neutral in color bias and brighter than the Nikon's as well with more pop and as they say sparkle. The Habicht 10x40 W is a nice simple porro with a good size FOV and it is waterproof and easy to use once you are used to it and it will last a lifetime. Throw a set of Opticron Objective covers on it from Amazon.com and you are good to go. You can buy Habicht's from the UK on Ebay for $700.00 to $800.00 depending on the model and I have not had a bit of trouble with them. Excellent quality and that is part of their appeal.
 
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Try Humphrey Swift's 8.5 x 44, 828 HHS Roof Prism if you can find one. I don't know if they are still being made or if Swift is still in business.

It has almost the same real FOV @ 6.4º as the 7x42 Habicht @6.5º with a larger AFOV. It also has 19mm ER to the Habicht's 14mm and there is no problem with eye placement. Very easy to use binocular with a very large "sweet spot." It weighs 23.5 ounces.

Bob
 
Try Humphrey Swift's 8.5 x 44, 828 HHS Roof Prism if you can find one. I don't know if they are still being made or if Swift is still in business.

It has almost the same real FOV @ 6.4º as the 7x42 Habicht @6.5º with a larger AFOV. It also has 19mm ER to the Habicht's 14mm and there is no problem with eye placement. Very easy to use binocular with a very large "sweet spot." It weighs 23.5 ounces.

Bob
Sound's good but does it have 96% light transmission?;)
 
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Sound's good but does it have 96% light transmission?;)

Not hardly! :-O

It is just an easy to use binocular that will give one a pleasurable experience using it. One won't have to cup their hands around the eye cups to avoid glare or brace ones hands against one's fore head to get the right eye relief.

Mine cost $359.95 at Eagle optics 8 years ago.

Bob
 
Not hardly! :-O

It is just an easy to use binocular that will give one a pleasurable experience using it. One won't have to cup their hands around the eye cups to avoid glare or brace ones hands against one's fore head to get the right eye relief.

Mine cost $359.95 at Eagle optics 8 years ago.

Bob
"One won't have to cup their hands around the eye cups to avoid glare or brace ones hands against one's fore head to get the right eye relief."

I have went to this method on just about all my binoculars except the SV's especially the smaller eye cup one's like my compacts. Most eye cups don't fit my face perfectly or they are too small like the Habicht's so with my hands I can custom fit the binoculars to my facial structure. Works great! That 96% transmission of the Habicht was sure helpful spotting an alpha wolf pair(Gray and Black) at dawn in the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone. You could just barely make out their outline as they moved across the river valley. A bright binocular is essential under those situations. Isn't the Swift made in a porro version also? It might have better transmission.
 
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"One won't have to cup their hands around the eye cups to avoid glare or brace ones hands against one's fore head to get the right eye relief."

I have went to this method on just about all my binoculars except the SV's especially the smaller eye cup one's like my compacts. Most eye cups don't fit my face perfectly or they are too small like the Habicht's so with my hands I can custom fit the binoculars to my facial structure. Works great! That 96% transmission of the Habicht was sure helpful spotting an alpha wolf pair(Gray and Black) at dawn in the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone. You could just barely make out their outline as they moved across the river valley. A bright binocular is essential under those situations. Isn't the Swift made in a porro version also?

Dennis,

I'm not sure if Swift is still in business but at the time I bought mine they also made a Porro version of the 8.5 x 44. It had a very wide FOV.

Swift still has a website but it is dated 2016. The address for the company is in
Wheatridge, Colorado. The website below has pictures of their binoculars.

http://www.swift-sportoptics.com/binoculars.html

Bob

PS: FWIW my Swift 828 HHS binocular says it is made in Japan and its eye cups and diopter ring are exactly like the ones on my inexpensive Leupold 7x42 BX2 which also says it is made in Japan.
 
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This phone is the 10x zoom model recently introduced?
Seriously, these are nice shots, I especially liked the badgers, I've not seen a family sunbathing before.
Just a 3x zoom. You can get seriously close to the wildlife in Yellowstone National Park because they are so tame. For 150 years the park has been protected by the Military and then the Park Service so the animals have no fear of humans. I was less than 30 feet away from the Badger's and they were NOT scared of me. When I would get closer they would lunge toward me as if to say "Just make my day!." They are one fearless animal. I guess that is the reason they have survived for thousands of years. When I went through the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone I observed a Coyote trying to get an injured Badger and the Badger was holding it's own despite a seemingly injured leg. I am going back to Yellowstone at the end of August when there will be less tourist. This time I am going to fly into Jackson Hole, Wyoming and rent a car. Yellowstone is a pretty long drive from Greeley, CO. About 12 to 14 hours across Wyoming where there is basically nothing except antelope and a few drunk cowboys and indians. I think it inspired the song "Home ,Home on the Range."
 
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Just a 3x zoom. You can get seriously close to the wildlife in Yellowstone National Park because they are so tame. For 150 years the park has been protected by the Military and then the Park Service so the animals have no fear of humans. I was less than 30 feet away from the Badger's and they were NOT scared of me. When I would get closer they would lunge toward me as if to say "Just make my day!." They are one fearless animal. I guess that is the reason they have survived for thousands of years. When I went through the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone I observed a Coyote trying to get an injured Badger and the Badger was holding it's own despite a seemingly injured leg. I am going back to Yellowstone at the end of August when there will be less tourist. This time I am going to fly into Jackson Hole, Wyoming and rent a car. Yellowstone is a pretty long drive from Greeley, CO. About 12 to 14 hours across Wyoming where there is basically nothing except antelope and a few drunk cowboys and indians. I think it inspired the song "Home ,Home on the Range."

Was there in early spring, north entrance, through roads still snowed shut, no badgers, no geysers, but grizzlies stealing wolf kills, lots of bison and elks, eagles galore and stunning Mountain Bluebirds, dazzling blue against the snow.
Hope to return soon
 
Was there in early spring, north entrance, through roads still snowed shut, no badgers, no geysers, but grizzlies stealing wolf kills, lots of bison and elks, eagles galore and stunning Mountain Bluebirds, dazzling blue against the snow.
Hope to return soon
I came into Yellowstone through the Northeast entrance through Cook City Montana. It is billed as "The Coolest Little Town in America." I don't know about that but it is pretty cool. It is really scenic but there is nobody on the road and it takes a LONG time to get to Yellowstone. That is why I am flying in next time. It should be billed as the "loneliest" road in America. I came back to Greeley on I25 through Casper ,Wyoming and just before I got to Cheyenne it started POURING rain so hard I couldn't see the road divider lines so I went by the reflectors on the side of the road and people were hitting deer left and right. A guy passed me and pretty soon he was pulled off the road because he hit a deer and the deer was dead in the road. I couldn't avoid the deer so I straddled him with my truck and ran right over him without even touching my truck.;)
 
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I came into Yellowstone through the Northeast entrance through Cook City Montana. It is billed as "The Coolest Little Town in America." I don't know about that but it is pretty cool. It is really scenic but there is nobody on the road and it takes a LONG time to get to Yellowstone. That is why I am flying in next time. It should be billed as the "loneliest" road in America. I came back to Greeley on I25 through Casper ,Wyoming and just before I got to Cheyenne it started POURING rain so hard I couldn't see the road divider lines so I went by the reflectors on the side of the road and people were hitting deer left and right. A guy passed me and pretty soon he was pulled off the road because he hit a deer and the deer was dead in the road. I couldn't avoid the deer so I straddled him with my truck and ran right over him without even touching my truck.;)

Interesting about Cook City, we went there for lunch and Black Rosy Finches,
but the road out of Cook City beyond the Park was closed because of snow.

I'd think just that road trip would be an adventure, even before factoring in the presence of aggressive car and motorcycle drivers. Cook City had loads of heavy bikes, even in late winter.
 
Interesting about Cook City, we went there for lunch and Black Rosy Finches,
but the road out of Cook City beyond the Park was closed because of snow.

I'd think just that road trip would be an adventure, even before factoring in the presence of aggressive car and motorcycle drivers. Cook City had loads of heavy bikes, even in late winter.
It certainly was especially all the deer on the road coming into Cheyenne, Wyoming. Cook City does look like a Biker town for sure. Montana is an interesting state for sure.
 
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