Swarovski NL 8x42 - First Impressions (1 Viewer)

jan van daalen · Jul 18, 2020

Hi Rob,

thank God you liked it. Imagine what would have happened if you didn't

Two questions pop up.

What did you learn from Swarovski you didn't know, and

Did you notice any pincussion or any other distortion?

Jan

RobMorane · Jul 18, 2020

jan van daalen said:
Hi Rob,

thank God you liked it. Imagine what would have happened if you didn't

Two questions pop up.

What did you learn from Swarovski you didn't know, and

Did you notice any pincussion or any other distortion?

Jan

Goedenavond Jan,

To answer you, I haven't noticed any distortion or pincussion.
Among other things (that I can't write here), I learned how the Swarovski family is attached to their name and reputation. They take that really seriously, and to me, it was a bit of a surprise. And proves how serious they are.

jan van daalen · Jul 18, 2020

RobMorane said:
Goedenavond Jan,

To answer you, I haven't noticed any distortion or pincussion.
Among other things (that I can't write here), I learned how the Swarovski family is attached to their name and reputation. They take that really seriously, and to me, it was a bit of a surprise. And proves how serious they are.

Jemigdepemig Rob, je spreekt Nederlands:t:

I hardly couldn't notice it either but both Henry and Holger made me doubt about my memory on this issue.

Thx for the explanation.

Jan

Vespobuteo · Jul 21, 2020

jremmons said:
Jerry: it appears they are discontinuing the SV EL Field Pro series and moving forward with a cheaper, slightly redesigned EL Legend series with a reduced close focus.

Justin

Where did you hear that?

In the official release event, Swaro said (in the Q&A section) that the current EL FP will stay in the product line since it's a "classic binocular".

But haven't kept up with the discussions here so maybe I missed something...

jremmons · Jul 21, 2020

Vespobuteo said:
Where did you hear that?

In the official release event, Swaro said (in the Q&A section) that the current EL FP will stay in the product line since it's a "classic binocular".

But haven't kept up with the discussions here so maybe I missed something...

Hi VB,
Please refer to their website on the specifications of what they now label the 8.5x42 EL 42 "The Legend" ; it now lists a close focus of 10.8'/3.3m. Concurrently with this change, they also lowered the price a fair bit. I guess it is a bit in my assumption that the focus had been 'redesigned', similar to how they handled the change to the SLC-HD when they adjusted its close focus and price.

Justin

adhoc · Jul 21, 2020

The following is from a review of the NL in a video on YouTube which we may not be allowed to refer to directly here because the channel is associated with an activity not approved of by BF. The video has been posted on July 3rd.

The reviewer seems familiar with testing very good binoculars and not given to exaggeration. He says this of the 10x42. He is not wearing glasses in the video and we can assume he did not when he used the instrument.

[Verbatim transcript from audio:]...This field of view is so wide on these, when I first went to use it I was looking at the edge to edge clarity and I literally found myself having to, like, cock my head to(, to,) actually see the edge. It was crazy, and then you get to, like, you're trying to look through a car window sideways. Just--your brain cannot wrap itelf round how big this field of view is...

jremmons · Jul 21, 2020

The 10x42 is probably the most interesting model, in my opinion, if the forehead rest works as intended. I've always wanted a Canon 10x42 ISL but the ergonomics and short warranty period for the price were off putting. The wide AFoV/TFoV and ergonomic improvements in the NL would make me very interested in replacing my 8.5x42 SV FP with the model if the forehead rest truly stabilizes the view.

Justin

jan van daalen · Jul 21, 2020

adhoc said:
The following is from a review of the NL in a video on YouTube which we may not be allowed to refer to directly here because the channel is associated with an activity not approved of by BF. The video has been posted on July 3rd.

The reviewer seems familiar with testing very good binoculars and not given to exaggeration. He says this of the 10x42. He is not wearing glasses in the video and we can assume he did not when he used the instrument.

[Verbatim transcript from audio:]...This field of view is so wide on these, when I first went to use it I was looking at the edge to edge clarity and I literally found myself having to, like, cock my head to(, to,) actually see the edge. It was crazy, and then you get to, like, you're trying to look through a car window sideways. Just--your brain cannot wrap itelf round how big this field of view is...

OK, I've looked through the same bins, but what you see is a circle and after that it's black. The SF and NV have that same "issue".
The FOV has its limits and yes the NL has stretched that limit, but after that the light goes out.
Maybe I don't have enough braincells for wrapping it around:-C:-C

Jan

karmantra · Jul 21, 2020

Will NL case accommodate forehead rest?

Jan or Gils may know the answer to this: Does the NL bino case that comes with the NL large enough to accommodate the NL binos with the headrest attached? I am looking at the 12x42 and would find it more convenient to just leave it attached to the bino.

adhoc · Jul 21, 2020

Justin, I think the 10x42 NL will be best for you but see below!

The forehead rest should work, from my experience with a somewhat comparable solution, and does work according to several reviewers, including the one I cite there. Going by my personal reaction to that video, to someone *looking at you using* the Swaro. headrest on the NL, FWIW to you, it is not awkward and goes well with the binocular.

This TFoV yes, but I don't think this AFoV will matter that much to someone like you.

The ergonomics too seem to be a big step forward for most users. The narrowed "waist" is seen also in the new super-wide-field Hawke Frontier Apo though not to this degree. If what Hawke say about the optical quality of the model is correct then the 10x of that also should be a wonderful instrument. Among 10xs it seems to be next behind the NL in TFoV (ahead of the Zeiss SF) at 7.1 deg.

adhoc · Jul 21, 2020

Jan, you must be just practised and skilled at looking sideways, we will not guess for what! Going by some recent posts by you (in another thread) on supernatural beings...but then, I said, we will not guess.

Seriously, I did wonder whether that reviewer had a visual field condition.

jan van daalen · Jul 21, 2020

karmantra said:
Jan or Gils may know the answer to this: Does the NL bino case that comes with the NL large enough to accommodate the NL binos with the headrest attached? I am looking at the 12x42 and would find it more convenient to just leave it attached to the bino.

Good question and I don't know the answer.......yet

To be continued.

It fits.

Jan

denco@comcast.n · Jul 21, 2020

jan van daalen said:
Good question and I don't know the answer.......yet

To be continued.

It fits.

Jan

Yes! I am glad that it fits because you would probably want to leave the head rest on when you put the binoculars in the case.

dipped · Jul 21, 2020

Another hands on review here :https://www.suomenlintuvaruste.com/p2752-swarovskin-8x42-nl-pure-koekatselussa-fi.html will need to be google translated from Finnish. I couldn't find a way to directly link the translation.

So it does have the "Carousal Effect", or rolling ball or globe effect but resolution and and anti-glare characteristics seem top notch.

Vespobuteo · Jul 21, 2020

jremmons said:
Hi VB,
Please refer to their website on the specifications of what they now label the 8.5x42 EL 42 "The Legend" ; it now lists a close focus of 10.8'/3.3m. Concurrently with this change, they also lowered the price a fair bit. I guess it is a bit in my assumption that the focus had been 'redesigned', similar to how they handled the change to the SLC-HD when they adjusted its close focus and price.

Justin

Ok, I see, interesting. If the focuser is improved/faster I guess 3.3 meters close focus-limit might be a reasonable trade-off for some.

I prefer a bit less though but not sure if to interpret it as a "downgrade"/product segmentation?

Price (around here) now seems to be back on the same level as 2018. The steep price increase (here) in 2019 was a bit odd IMO.

Fair enough overall I think, the EL is still a very good binocular worth the money.

Will be interesting to see if the NL is. It has to be pretty darn good for that...

henry link · Jul 21, 2020

dipped said:
Another hands on review here :https://www.suomenlintuvaruste.com/p2752-swarovskin-8x42-nl-pure-koekatselussa-fi.html will need to be google translated from Finnish. I couldn't find a way to directly link the translation.

So it does have the "Carousal Effect", or rolling ball or globe effect but resolution and and anti-glare characteristics seem top notch.

Very good observations in the Finnish review. The description of the distortion of a square shape near the edge of the FOV is exactly right for a large amount of angular magnification distortion, presumably from an overall mustache distortion pattern with the pincushion quickly diminishing near the edge. Narrow green/yellow color fringes near the edge suggest well controlled lateral color.

The description of the center field image is most intriguing to me. It reinforces Jan and Gijs' impressions of better sharpness and higher contrast through the NL than through the SW, which at least raises the possibility of better corrections of axial aberrations than we've seen before in binoculars. The image quality of a binocular with better than 1/4 wave optics would surprise many folks who think the 1/2 wave or worse "alphas" we have now are already perfect.

Got to arrange to star test a pair.

GLOBETROTTER · Jul 21, 2020

I believe that to achieve these levels of quality and optical purity, those NL must use some type of special glass in addition to a more precise polishing of the optical elements.

NDhunter · Jul 21, 2020

henry link said:
Very good observations in the Finnish review. The description of the distortion of a square shape near the edge of the FOV is exactly right for a large amount of angular magnification distortion, presumably from an overall mustache distortion pattern with the pincushion quickly diminishing near the edge. Narrow green/yellow color fringes near the edge suggest well controlled lateral color.

The description of the center field image is most intriguing to me. It reinforces Jan and Gijs' impressions of better sharpness and higher contrast through the NL than through the SW, which at least brings up the possibility of better corrections of axial aberrations than we've seen before in binoculars. The image quality of a binocular with better than 1/4 wave optics would surprise many folks who think the 1/2 wave or worse "alphas" we have now are already perfect.

Got to arrange to star test a pair.

Henry:
I also read the Finnish review, he had 24 days with the new NL, I wish Kimmo would get the same chance, a very good reviewer, and I have
really enjoyed his reviews from the past, very well done.
There is no mention of any distortion pattern there, so that is still to be evaluated.
I would really like to see you get a chance to review. So, try to get yourself
on the list.

Jerry

Vespobuteo · Jul 21, 2020

NDhunter said:
Henry:
I also read the Finnish review, he had 24 days with the new NL, I wish Kimmo would get the same chance, a very good reviewer, and I have
really enjoyed his reviews from the past, very well done.
There is no mention of any distortion pattern there, so that is still to be evaluated.
I would really like to see you get a chance to review. So, try to get yourself
on the list.

Jerry

In my translation it says that he had the bins for less than a day...

"Remarks on the Swarovski 8x42 NL Pure model with less than a day of trial viewing July 13-14, 2020"

Or did I miss something?

henry link · Jul 22, 2020

NDhunter said:
There is no mention of any distortion pattern there...
Jerry

Jerry,

Although he doesn't use the normal vocabulary he describes well enough (within the limits of a Google translation) the distorting effect of angular magnification distortion on a square object placed near the field edge.

"At the edges of the field of view, the image is compressed so that the square object narrows toward the edge and widens toward the center while the object flattens, in normal use it is not paid attention to itself, but some may find it disturbing. The phenomenon creates a so-called carousel effect..."

"Carousel effect" should be read as Globe Effect or Rolling Ball.

Henry

Swarovski NL 8x42 - First Impressions (1 Viewer)

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