William Optics SWAN 25-75x83 APO scope? (1 Viewer)

What can you gentlemen tell me about this scope?

http://www.telescopes.com/spotting-...amopticsswan83mmapochromaticspottingscope.cfm

It is on clearance for $576 at telescopes.com. The list of specifications reads quite well....

An 83mm Apochromatic spotting scope, also include a high-power wide-angle 25x-75x ZOOM eyepiece.



With telescope-quality optics, this spotting scope can double as a good astronomy instrument, and will yield amazing views of terrestrial objects free of color aberration.



Swan 83 APO, the latest spotting scope from William Optics with high quality STM coated APO objective; it boasts a high-power zoom eyepiece and waterproofing for all weather condition. This great spotting scope will please amateur birdwatchers and terrestrial and sky observers alike. Highly portable it is recommended for advanced birdwatchers who want the best from their instruments.



Innovative


■Variable magnification (25x to 75x ) zoom eyepiece.
■Twist-up eyecup.
■Good eye relief: 19.5mm(25X)-18mm(75X).
■First 82 degree Ultra Wide Angle Eyepieces on Spotting scope market.

Nitrogen Filled


■Nitrogen filled.
■Rubberized fit and finish and light weight aluminum construction.
■Rotatable 360 deg. on its axis for increased ease of use and comfort from any position.
■Retractable dewshield.

Any Position


■Rotatable 360 deg. on its axis for increased ease of use and comfort from any position.
■Retractable dewshield.

High-quality Lens


■83 mm high-quality ED objective made with Japanese Ohara glass.
■True apochromatic performance. Bright and sharp to the edges.
■Excellent color rendition for nature viewing.

Rubberized


■Green rubberized surface, ideal for outdoors activities and casual birdwatching.


Swan 83 APO Spotting Scope Specifications


■Objective Lens Die (mm): 83
■Objective type: Doublet, Air Spaced, APO
■Magnifications: 25X-75X
■Coating: Fully multi-coated
■Field of View (degrees): 42°(25X)-66°(75X)
■Field of View: 29.5m/88.5ft(25X) 15.5m/46.5ft(75X)
(ft@1000yds) (m@1000m)
■Eye relief (mm): 19.5mm(25X)-18mm(75X)
■Exit pupil (mm): 3.3mm(25X)-1.1mm(75X)
■Near Focus (m/ft.): 7m/21ft
■Length (mm): 560
■Weight w/eyepiece (kg/lbs): 2.770/6.107

Williams Optics is a respected name in the astronomy world.
Is there any indication whether the eyepiece is interchangeable? If not, I'd wonder if this scope was a rebrand produced by someone else and sold by WO. Even so, the specs are good, even outstanding at the quoted price. My only quibble would be that it is a heavy piece of kit.
Hope you report on it if you buy it.

Seems like the eyepiece should be replaceable. Why would they list this feature:

First 82 degree Ultra Wide Angle Eyepieces on Spotting scope market.

and
Field of View (degrees): 42°(25X)-66°(75X)

That's their UWAN line of eyepieces for the 82 degree. The zoom certainly doesn't have that kind of FOV.

Ah-hah...yes, it takes telescope eyepieces:
http://www.williamoptics.com/telescopes/swan_accessories.php

Would be cool to drop in a 13mm Ethos.

I love you guys.

You followed the same line of thinking that I did when I first saw the scope. The 82 degree comment jumped right out at me especially after seeing the apparent field of view of the zoom. I checked the WO website and noted under "additional accessories" that it does apparently take the 1.25 inch WO UWAN eyepieces. If it takes those then it should take any 1.25 inch astro eyepiece...of which I have plenty.

CP,

I don't have the Ethos (though I agree that would be cool) but what about an Astrotech Paradigm ED?


I also did notice the 92 oz weight....but if it performs then I won't worry about the weight as it would be more of a stationary scope (waterfowl viewing for example) for me. I have a very nice 65 mm that I am currently happy with.

This scope was discussed here last year I think. Guess someone bought it. It shows out of stock.

Rick

I found a few "old threads" on here from back in January and last October.

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=132945&highlight=william+optics

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=125030

Based on the prior comments I do not have high expectations of this scope. I do have to keep in mind that it was compared to two of the highest performing/most expensive 80-something mm scopes on the market. I also got the impression that those other eyepieces were included as part of the scope package based on the one post. I am guessing that is not the case but it would certainly be a nice bonus if it was. For $580 though I would certainly be happy if it performed at the level of the Celestron F-ED.

Frank,

I think this scope would, at best, be a lateral move from the Celestron Regal. The Ohara ED glass that's worth boasting about is FPL53. Since no mention is made of it, this scope probably uses Ohara FPL51. In either case a doublet combined with prisms will not have "true apochromatic performance" no matter what the marketers say. As always, the quality of an individual specimen will determine how good the optics really are.

Henry

Good point Henry. Lets hope I receive a good specimen then. They apparently only had one in stock which is why the "out of stock" sign was posted shortly afterwards.

So you think it is the FPL51 since they made no specific mention of FPL53? Do you think it would do any good to email them and ask? Would there be any way to tell through physical testing?

I would not touble myself about the glass. The image it delivers to your eye is the only thing that matters. Everything else is just interesting trivia.

Just run the battery of optical tests you've already learned about, perhaps adding the simple test for clear aperture at both close and infinite focus being discussed on CN.

have fun with the new toy,
Rick

The new toy came today and is being subsequently returned. It was packaged very poorly and the base of the scope broke off during shipping. I only briefly examined the optics as it was difficult to hold steady enough to really evaluate the image. I would agree though with comments posted in one of the earlier threads. The image seemed dim in comparison to what I was accustomed to even from 65 mm scopes.

.....and back it goes.

From my limited viewing through it I would rate the Celestron 80 F-ED siginificantly higher in brightness and contrast.

I think it is time to stop trying some of unknown 80 mm scopes and just invest in something more highly regarded. The only issue there is the price.

...and that is a big issue right now.

Frank There is a Celestron 100 Regal on Astromart right now .

http://www.astromart.com/classifieds/details.asp?classified_id=649014

FrankD said:

The new toy came today and is being subsequently returned. It was packaged very poorly and the base of the scope broke off during shipping. I only briefly examined the optics as it was difficult to hold steady enough to really evaluate the image. I would agree though with comments posted in one of the earlier threads. The image seemed dim in comparison to what I was accustomed to even from 65 mm scopes.

.....and back it goes.

From my limited viewing through it I would rate the Celestron 80 F-ED siginificantly higher in brightness and contrast.

I think it is time to stop trying some of unknown 80 mm scopes and just invest in something more highly regarded. The only issue there is the price.

...and that is a big issue right now.

Click to expand...

Frank..too bad the scope arrived broken,,,and that the performance is not up to the competition...William Optics has a good reputation,and makes great scopes,highly regarded .They appear to know how to design optics,and how to optimize glass use,..Maybe the scope was misaligned ,Or had a loose prism,,since the thing was broken this could be reason of the bad quality in the image...I was surprised about the lenght of this thing..560mm(as physical dimensions)..I wonder what the Focal lenght is and the F/#....most 80mm scopes seem to have a focal lenght of around 480mm F/6