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Swarovski Habicht 10x40 W GA 2019 (1 Viewer)

PHA

Well-known member
Hello,

As I told here, I am in Europe since April 28th. Family reunión around one of our girls (have two boys and two girls) graduation of her MBA in the best business school in Europe (and two or three in the world, by the way). All very happy!
I had a plan, having sold my Z Victory HT 10x42, to buy the Noctivid 10x42. But, unexpectedly, had a chance to see a month old Habicht 10x40 WGA. At less than half the Noctivid 10x42 and a Swarovski 10x42 Sv FP I also saw. Well....a BIG WOW!!!!!! Testing for two ours these three binoculars I ended buying the...Habicht!!!!!
May be this is a cherry one and the two others both lemons...perhaps...
The Habicht center resolution, contrast, brightness and VEILING GLARE CONTROL are second to none. Period!!!
These atributes, at least in this simple, are so good that I see no reason to spend 1300 € more to get some more close focus distance, more friendly focusing and/or some more eye releif!!!!!
I don't need them. For someone, or many, here, I am sure the closer focus, the great retractable eye cups and eye releif of the NV and the SVFP are indispensable things, and more than justify the price difference, but for MY needs and taste, this last, latest, S. Habicht version is unbeatable!!! To me, It confirms the small (or great) improvements are told Swarovski makes in the same, but newly made, models!

Best regards!

PHA
 
The Habicht center resolution, contrast, brightness and VEILING GLARE CONTROL are second to none. Period!!!

Hi,

first of all, have fun during your trip to Europe and with your new bins!

The 10x40 Habichts are indeed the least flawed of the three - if you don't wear glasses while using them and thus can live with 13mm of eye relief. If somebody would force me to get one of the three, the 10x40 would be it - and I would spend too much time comparing them to my SE 10x42.

Calling reflection and glare control on them second to none is probably stretching things a bit, but they're certainly not the glare monsters the 8x30 are and quite usable in this regard. The 7x42 are even better in that regard but their super narrow field due to too small prisms is a huge turn-off with them.

Joachim
 
I had the 8x30 Habicht - the glare wasn't so bad with 3rd party eyecups. What took me a while to notice was the tunnel-like view. While the field of view is impressive (408ft), and the view itself phenomenal, for me it felt like my view had to travel through an optical tube to get to it. When I compared it to the 8x42 SF from Zeiss and, ultimately, my SV EL 8x32, I noticed a more immersive, walk-in view. I am not sure if this is unique to Roofs as I don't have a 10x40 Habicht to try, but I think that, together with the smaller size, better eye cups, close focus, etc... was worth the extra ~600 USD to get the EL 8x32. (In the US, Habicht's are drop-shipped from Swaro by a few dealers, so its hard to get discounts, but you can always get a discount on EL's. 1300 Euro is a whole other story...).

I will always have a soft spot for Habicht's though. One day I do hope to get a 10x40. The brightness and contrast on my 8x30 was second to none. The classic look and feel of the binoculars is otherwordly. Its a shame no other company like Leica or Zeiss make porros.
 
Hi jeong,

About your coments "Calling reflection and glare control on them second to none is probably stretching things a bit", I must say this is the most notable improvement over my other Habicht 10x40 WGA made in 2004! So I am talking not about the general characteristics of the model but about this 2019 Habicht! This is the 6th Habicht I have had....from 1970's ones yo this one. And I have been looking and comparing it, side by side with the NV and the SVFP.

Best!

PHA
 
Hi,

I recently purchased a 10x40 Habicht and I agree with all your comments. I have the SV 8.5x42, SV 8x32 and the SV 10x32 and I think when I go to Yellowstone National Park in two weeks I am taking the Habicht 10x40. I liked the Habicht 10x40 so much I bought the Habicht 8x30 W AGAIN even though I know it shows glare in certain situations. I just like the view so much I tolerate the weak points of the Habicht's. No binocular is perfect.
 
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Dennis, if you settled on what you had 10 years ago, you'd likely be in the same position, bino-wise, as you are today.;)
No, I have WAY more binoculars now. I came into a little money.B :) I have learned a lot since then. One thing I have learned is not to worry about the shorter length of Habicht eye cups. Just cup your hands around the eye cups and rest your hands on your forehead to adjust the eye relief. Works great and stops side glare also. Actually, I think I LIKE the Habicht eye cups now and I wouldn't want them to have some cheesy adjustable sliding eye cups like some of the MIC bino's do. Same thing for the tighter focuser on the Habicht. I have grown to like it after having the EDG with a focuser with too much play and a Vanguard ED 4 focuser with too much play or backlash also. I am almost tired of overly smooth spongy focuser's. Give me a nice tight one like the Habicht or the SV and I am happy. The EDG and the Vanguard ED 4 also had a loose IPD adjustment and the Habicht and the SV are nice and tight like I like them. I really think the Habicht's are the "Dream" porro everybody talks about but just don't know it. They have EL glass and EL coatings in an old design that is actually superior to the modern roof's with much better light transmission. The 10x40 W is very good with glare and the 8x30 W can be tolerated and the glare controlled. The build quality on the Habicht's goes far beyond most of the roof's now days. I have six Swaro's, two Nikon's and one Leica. SV FP 8.5x42, SV FP 8x32, SV FP 10x32, Habicht 10x40 W, Habicht 8x30 W, Swarovski CL-P 8x25, Leica ltravid 8x20 and the Nikon Mikron 7x15. Not even one Zeiss!
 
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One thing I have learned is not to worry about the shorter length of Habicht eye cups. Just cup your hands around the eye cups and rest your hands on your forehead to adjust the eye relief. Works great and stops side glare also. Actually, I think I LIKE the Habicht eye cups now and I wouldn't want them to have some cheesy adjustable sliding eye cups like some of the MIC bino's do. Same thing for the tighter focuser on the Habicht. I have grown to like it after having the EDG with a focuser with too much play and a Vanguard ED 4 focuser with too much play or backlash also. I am almost tired of overly smooth spongy focuser's. Give me a nice tight one like the Habicht or the SV and I am happy.

Now then, that's well over the top. The Habicht is nice optically, and I actually prefer it over the roofs, however, IN THE FIELD most well-made roofs with their smoother focusers ARE better. There's a reason why the Habicht I use most in the field is the 7x42 - I don't need to focus all that much.

The 10x40 W is very good with glare and the 8x30 W can be tolerated and the glare controlled.

The 7x42 is excellent, the 10x40 is very good, and the 8x30 is pretty abysmal. No, the glare of the 8x30 CANNOT be tolerated. Unless you wear rose-tinted spectacles ... o:D

The build quality on the Habicht's goes far beyond most of the roof's now days.

Agreed. But then this only shows how bad the build quality of many roofs is nowadays ...

I have six Swaro's, two Nikon's and one Leica. SV FP 8.5x42, SV FP 8x32, SV FP 10x32, Habicht 10x40 W, Habicht 8x30 W, Swarovski CL-P 8x25, Leica ltravid 8x20 and the Nikon Mikron 7x15. Not even one Zeiss!

Seriously? You're missing out on some pretty spectacular binoculars then ... ;)

Hermann
 
No, I have WAY more binoculars now. I came into a little money.B :) I have learned a lot since then. One thing I have learned is not to worry about the shorter length of Habicht eye cups. Just cup your hands around the eye cups and rest your hands on your forehead to adjust the eye relief. Works great and stops side glare also. Actually, I think I LIKE the Habicht eye cups now and I wouldn't want them to have some cheesy adjustable sliding eye cups like some of the MIC bino's do. Same thing for the tighter focuser on the Habicht. I have grown to like it after having the EDG with a focuser with too much play and a Vanguard ED 4 focuser with too much play or backlash also. I am almost tired of overly smooth spongy focuser's. Give me a nice tight one like the Habicht or the SV and I am happy. The EDG and the Vanguard ED 4 also had a loose IPD adjustment and the Habicht and the SV are nice and tight like I like them. I really think the Habicht's are the "Dream" porro everybody talks about but just don't know it. They have EL glass and EL coatings in an old design that is actually superior to the modern roof's with much better light transmission. The 10x40 W is very good with glare and the 8x30 W can be tolerated and the glare controlled. The build quality on the Habicht's goes far beyond most of the roof's now days. I have six Swaro's, two Nikon's and one Leica. SV FP 8.5x42, SV FP 8x32, SV FP 10x32, Habicht 10x40 W, Habicht 8x30 W, Swarovski CL-P 8x25, Leica ltravid 8x20 and the Nikon Mikron 7x15. Not even one Zeiss!

Dennis:

You are trolling at your best, simply pumping your current binocular lineup
and dissing others.
Don't bash the EDG, they simply have a great focuser, no play, and very smooth, everyone who has one knows that.

I agree the Habicht porro's are nice, but you are way overboard on your
drooling praise. 8-P

Jerry
 
You are trolling at your best, simply pumping your current binocular lineup and dissing others...
I need to rant for a moment. I've gotten so tired of this word "trolling" lately, more so than actual trolling which there doesn't seem to be much of in forums I visit myself. It seems to be ever more routinely used now against others who may only be sharing their personal experience, especially when that happens to be strongly positive or negative. Casual application of the word is insulting (I've been wrongly called a troll elsewhere myself) and feeds mistrust. "Trolling" is not a simple description, but an attribution of ulterior motive. On what evidence?

For any binocular one can find some who like it and others who don't, or had trouble with an example of it. My own typical challenge on this forum is that people praise cheap binos to the skies that I've had uniformly bad experiences with. Should I call them trolls (or shills), or trust that they mean what they say and our opinions or standards simply differ? On some level all binoculars are wonderful.
 
I tenex,

Agree! "...What's is poison for someone, it is a fine liqueur for someone else...".
I don't think anyone here write something he is not convinced about. May be sometimes these writings can be rather exaggerated, or too emphatic about the virtues or defects seen in an optic item. And those opinions can changes with more, or other, experiences.

Best!

PHA
 
:eek!:
I need to rant for a moment. I've gotten so tired of this word "trolling" lately, more so than actual trolling which there doesn't seem to be much of in forums I visit myself. It seems to be ever more routinely used now against others who may only be sharing their personal experience, especially when that happens to be strongly positive or negative. Casual application of the word is insulting (I've been wrongly called a troll elsewhere myself) and feeds mistrust. "Trolling" is not a simple description, but an attribution of ulterior motive. On what evidence?

For any binocular one can find some who like it and others who don't, or had trouble with an example of it. My own typical challenge on this forum is that people praise cheap binos to the skies that I've had uniformly bad experiences with. Should I call them trolls (or shills), or trust that they mean what they say and our opinions or standards simply differ? On some level all binoculars are wonderful.

I will help you get up to speed, Denco on here is famous for pumping and
dumping binoculars, talk them up and then sell.

He has been doing that on this site for years. That is trolling in my book,
take it or leave it. :eek!:

Jerry
 
:eek!:

I will help you get up to speed, Denco on here is famous for pumping and
dumping binoculars, talk them up and then sell.

He has been doing that on this site for years. That is trolling in my book,
take it or leave it. :eek!:

Jerry
Jerry. I really find this "Pumping and Dumping" label humorous! I have never used that method to sell a binocular or increase the sale price of a binocular I sold. In fact in ten years I have never sold a binocular to a Bird Forum member. That science fiction story was started by somebody with a "wild imagination". I really don't need to do that to make a few hundred dollars profit. I do buy and sell a lot of binoculars but that is just because I like to try different ones. I don't really see how that can be considered "trolling". As far as the EDG goes I am just reporting my honest experience with the 10x32 EDG I just purchased. Jerry, maybe all your EDG's have been fine. Mine was not. It had backlash in the focuser. I think you should know any binocular even one at the level of the EDG can have problems. I have no reason to diss the EDG's. I have no ulterior motive to do so. I also feel it was less bright than some of my other binoculars so I mentioned it and I think five other people agreed with me so there must be something to it. I have never dishonestly criticized a binocular so I could sell something else. That is ridiculous. Some people on Bird Forum get defensive when you criticize the binocular they have but no binocular is perfect. I have Swarovski's and they have glare but I just consider it a weak point of that brand. I don't say Swarovki's don't have glare because I know they do. We all just express our opinions and that is all they are. Our opinions. I have learned how to deal with the shortcomings of the Habicht's lately and I am realizing they are a better binocular than I thought they were but just as any binocular they are far from perfect. All my opinions are honest and they are what I actually observed. By the way I enjoy your comments and your direct manner of getting to the point without a lot of words. You have a certain style that I find entertaining and sometimes humorous. Everybodies opinion on Bird Forum is important and that is what makes it so educational and helpful. Over they years it has helped me enormously in my binocular purchase decisions plus has been very entertaining along the way. I think we should all try and get along and continue helping each other. That is what this forum is all about.
 
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I think we should all try and get along and continue helping each other. That is what this forum is all about.

Everybody on Birdforum has their own style and opinions and ways of expressing them. These idiosyncrasies do not please all of the people all of the time because we are a diverse bunch of folks.

Nevertheless Dennis has summed up neatly what Birdforum seeks to achieve.

Troubador

Moderator
 
Everybody on Birdforum has their own style and opinions and ways of expressing them. These idiosyncrasies do not please all of the people all of the time because we are a diverse bunch of folks.

Nevertheless Dennis has summed up neatly what Birdforum seeks to achieve.

Troubador

Moderator

Do I agree with all of Dennis' opinions? No.
Do I appreciate reading them, and feel enriched by it? Yes.
Is he helpful? He just posted comparative images of a mini-bino I was thinking of getting and cannot see in person.
Do I learn anything from the to-and-fro? Yes, I think so.
Is it fun? Yes.
Has reading the forum about binoculars helped me choose a binocular, *as a landcsape painter* ? Yes, a lot.
Has this enriched my world? Yes, considerably, binocular viewing is addictive, and then you discover birding.
Is that the point of the forum? I don't know. Not my wheelhouse.

Edmund
 
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Edmund,

Nicely summarized.

The 10X40 Habicht looks like a nice glass, but since I already have the Nikon SE 10X42, and I do not go out in the rain to observe nature,.. like today, all is good.

I think the rain has finally stopped.

Andy W.
 
I just back from a 7 day trip to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming,USA and I took only my Swarovski Habicht's 10x40 W porro's and they performed superbly. That is saying a lot because I have 11 different binoculars to choose from! I saw Grizzly Bears, Black Bears, Elk, Bison, Deer, Antelope, Moose, Badgers, Coyote, Wolves, Mountain Goats, Osprey in the nest, Eagles in the nest, Pine Martin and countless bird species. I observed Mountain Goats high on cliffs above me with no glare problems and the 3D advantage of the porro's really helped me pick out bears in the tall timber. I appreciated their high light transmission at dawn and dusk when trying to pick out animals. They are a very simple easy to use binocular that just work. Highly recommended.
 

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I just back from a 7 day trip to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming,USA and I took only my Swarovski Habicht's 10x40 W porro's and they performed superbly...
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.
 
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.
Yellowstone is crowded at the major tourist sites like Artist Paint Pots but they have never enlarged the parking areas which is probably good because there is less intrusion into the park. The trick is to hike about 1/2 mile off the road which very few do and you are in wilderness and might as well consider yourself "bear bait". Do you wear glasses? The Habicht's are not for somebody that wears glasses because of their short ER. I had trouble with Habicht's at first also. They are not "Plug and Play" like a Swarovision. They are like driving a Ferrari. You have to LEARN how to use them to get the most out of them. The focus will loosen up but you also have to get use to the fact that it is stiffer than a lot of roof prism binoculars but there is no play or backlash in it so your adjustments are exact. Trust me if you try it awhile you will adapt to it and you will forget about it being tight. I have all three Habicht's the 10x42, 8x30 and 7x42 and the 10x42 and 8x30 have a good size FOV but the 7x42 would probably be considered average to narrow but the 7x42 is so shockingly bright and crisp you get used to it also. With the big exit pupil of the 7x42 it has easy eye placement and it is great to pan with a typical easy 7x view with great DOF and 3D effect. Who else makes a 7x42 with 96% transmission and weigh's less than 23 oz. for $700.00? I really noticed the advantage of the porro 3D image while looking through deep timber for animals because instead of a flat somewhat unrealistic view the image is real. It is almost scary when you see a Grizzly Bear because it looks so real. When I use the Habicht's I cup my hands around the eye cups and rest my hands against my forehead to adjust the eye relief plus this helps to eliminate side glare. I just use the stock eye cups that come with them and they work fine. You have to adapt to the Habicht's but I think they are the updated porro everybody talks and dreams about. I really wouldn't want adjustable eye cups or anything additional on them. It would ruin their simplicity and just make them heavier.
 
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