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When did Swarovski become an "alpha" brand...? (1 Viewer)

MandoBear

Well-known member
I was musing on this as I was out birding this afternoon.

When I started out birdwatching in the late 1970s, Zeiss and Leitz (now Leica) were the top brands with their Dialyt and Trinovid binoculars, and I wasn't particularly aware of Swarovski being a premium contender (though I recall their telescopes were well regarded). By the time I bought my Leica Trinovid BNs in about 2002, Swarovski were much more recognised and certainly snapping at Zeiss and Leica's heels. Now they're shoulder to shoulder with them - and perhaps even ahead in some respects.

Just out of curiosity, when would you say they made it into the "alpha" league, and with which model of binoculars? Was it with the EL, or was it earlier?

Not trying to stir up a hornet's nest, but in my birding lifetime, at least, I feel they've transitioned into a more prominent manufacturer.
 
MandoBear, post 1,
When the first EL roof prism binoculars were produced around 1999 I think. Before that time the company also made very good binoculars, but the EL's gave sales an enormous boost and the company a top reputation.
Gijs van Ginkel
 
I would argue that in the USA that it was with the introduction of the SLC models (esp. 10x42 and 7x42, for which the trail was blazed by the 8x30) that preceded the introduction of the EL. The EL was a such big deal when it was released because there was already acceptance/recognition of Swarovski as a brand as prestigious and in the same performance category as Zeiss and Leica. That reputation came from marketing and experience with the revised SLC models of the mid-to-late 1990s, which were more rugged, more elegantly waterproofed, more ergonomic, and faster focusing than their predecessors. Also paving the way for acceptance of Swarovski as an alpha binocular brand (and for the success of the SLC bins) was the release of the AT/ST 80 scope in ~1990. It was the first scope to be widely accepted in the USA as an alternative to the Kowa TSN-4 as a premium ~80 mm birding scope (since the Nikon Fieldscope ED series was limited to 60 mm until the 78 ED was released in ~1994, and was ignored by almost everyone afterward).

--AP
 
Hi MandoBear,

In the '70s I couldn't afford a Leitz Trinovid or a Zeiss Dialyt. I did go, often, to the Leitz representative here in our country, to see the beautiful Trinovids in the shelves. And, sometimes, the person in charge let me touch one and see throught it. In spite of the beautiful design and evident quality construction I always saw some fuzziness or lack of sharpness. Always. Until I see a, then, new Swarovski Habicht 10x40. Porro of course. Not so elegant but still showing a hight quality construction. But a UNIVERSE of difference in the sharpness and resolution of the view!!!! With that special "yellow" tint of the Transmax antireflex lens coating. Of course, at that time, Swarovski was a rather obscure and rare european brand...
Anyway, I became a convert to that view quality. Similar to the great Porro Leits and Zeiss binoculars...

Best

PHA
 
Hi MandoBear,

In the '70s I couldn't afford a Leitz Trinovid or a Zeiss Dialyt. I did go, often, to the Leitz representative here in our country, to see the beautiful Trinovids in the shelves. And, sometimes, the person in charge let me touch one and see throught it. In spite of the beautiful design and evident quality construction I always saw some fuzziness or lack of sharpness. Always. Until I see a, then, new Swarovski Habicht 10x40. Porro of course. Not so elegant but still showing a hight quality construction. But a UNIVERSE of difference in the sharpness and resolution of the view!!!! With that special "yellow" tint of the Transmax antireflex lens coating. Of course, at that time, Swarovski was a rather obscure and rare european brand...
Anyway, I became a convert to that view quality. Similar to the great Porro Leits and Zeiss binoculars...

Best

PHA

Hello PHA,

in the 1970's, you were comparing a non-phase coated roof prism binocular with a Porro prims binocular. Before phase coating, roof prism binoculars had poorer resolution and poorer contrast than the contemporary Porro prism binoculars.
The roof glasses were popular for their compactness, not their optical qualities.

Today, the top roof glasses compare very favourably with Porro glasses.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood :hi:
 
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I agree with Alex. As seen in the 1995 Eagle Optics Catalog that I posted a few years ago, Swarovski was well established in the US by that time, and was receiving great reviews from Stephen Ingraham, who classified the Swaro 8x30 SLC (Type II) as a bird-worthy alternative to Leica's 8x32 BA. I certainly thought Swaros were "alpha class" at the time, which included the whole lineup of "traditional" Porros and roof pocket binoculars.

Ed
 
Interesting perspective from the USA. I certainly had never heard of Swarovski until the introduction of the EL and was so taken with it I bought one to replace my Dialyt 10x40 BGA T*. This was the point at which I realised Zeiss and Leica had company at the top of the optics tree.

Lee
 
Hi Andrew,

I know it very well, of course! And that is (was) one of the reasons because, no mather the Trinovid and Dialyt were considered then alpha binoculars, they didn't give the best optical performance.

By the way, I think Swarovski were considered true alpha binoculars since the introduction of the SLC 42 mm.

Best!

PHA
 
Hi Andrew,

...no mather the Trinovid and Dialyt were considered then alpha binoculars, they didn't give the best optical performance.
That mirrors my experience of the 10x40 Trinovids. I bought a pair in 1987, and they were beautiful binoculars, and a joy to handle, but optically they didn't "sparkle" in the way I felt they ought to...
 
Alpha roofs, pre-phase coating, despite the nostalgic reverence, were all pretty awful. Back in the day, I used a Bushnell Custom 10x40 because they were far sharper and more contrasty, for a third the price.
 
I would say the SLC had an alpha reputation at least among US hunters. The birding market didn't seem to take as much to Swarovski until the ELs, of which I still see many in the field.
 
I would say the SLC had an alpha reputation at least among US hunters. The birding market didn't seem to take as much to Swarovski until the ELs, of which I still see many in the field.

It still is, IMO. Great optics, great build, backed by unbeatable CS.
 
I joined the RSPB in late 1973 and received their then excellent magazine "Birds"as part of my subscription.The Heron Optical Company was a regular advertiser.
The Heron Optical Company was the only UK supplier of the Habicht Diana 10x40 wide angle binocular.It was advertised as "The quality binocular for the discerning birdwatcher" in large print. In much smaller print was added "This incredible binocular one of the Superb Habicht range from the Austrian Swarovski Optik works is only obtainable from us."
They were later used on a Cambridge University Birding expedition around this time and this was included as an endorsement in their adverts.
In a "Which?" (consumer magazine) in March 1990 testing 8x binoculars the Zeiss Dialyt was best buy with the Swarovski not far behind along with the Lietz (Leica).
In those far off days before the explosion of birdwatching in the UK, Zeiss (West Germany) and Leitz were considered the top brands in the small birdwatching market and they were promoting Roof prisms as the superior choice.
We now know that porro prisms were not inferior to roof prisms (certainly not in the 1970s and 80s), therefore I would suggest that Swarovski was always in my time an "Alpha" brand although this is a modern concept.
I would contend that the EL put them arguably at the "top of the tree" for birdwatchers but they always have been producers of high quality optics or Alphas if you must.
 
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Agree Robert. The Swarovski Habicht, especially the 10x40 but all three (or four if the 6x30 is included) were true "alpha" binoculars, even if not for "the masses" !! I have had 5 (five) S. Habicht 10x42, starting with the first one bought used (I paid for it the price, then, of the semi hard leather box...) in 1981, my only binocular for 20 years. Three of them were of the early times. ALL of the five were perfectly collimated at the factory, survived some very hard use (by me), without ANY malfunction or break. And ALL were OUTSTANDING in their optics!!!!!

Best!
 
Robert
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. We joined the RSPB in 1971 and used Swift porros until we got fed up of their size (we had a motorcycle and holiday luggage space was severely limited) and lack of waterproofing and shifted to roofs which we bought from Heron Optical!

Lee
 
It still is, IMO. Great optics, great build, backed by unbeatable CS.

Agreed, I meant to indicate the original SLC was what thrust them into the opinion of most hunters as an alpha.

I'd still own the SLC HD if I didn't need to sell off many of my optics.
 
Heron Optical... my my... I so remember them and their stapled together catalogues back in the day (late 70s for me). Didn't they used to be linked with Field & Trek back then?

A real trip down Memory Lane!

And yes, I remember them selling the Habit binoculars.
 
My first experience with Swarovski binoculars as 'alphas" was in the mid 1980s. The binocular enthusiasts I knew then were all quite aware that the roof prism binoculars available, including Leitz and Zeiss, were inferior to any decent quality Porro, even though we didn't understand why.

Among that cohort Swarovski Habicht SL and Habicht Traditional Porros, along with a few Porro models from Nikon, Swift, Fujinon, Carl Zeiss/Jena and Zeiss/Oberkochen, were considered the "alpha" binoculars of the time. I recall the introduction of the original 8x30/7x30 SLC as just another pre-phase correction disappointment.
 
The binocular enthusiasts I knew then were all quite aware that the roof prism binoculars available, including Leitz and Zeiss, were inferior to any decent quality Porro, even though we didn't understand why.

Really interesting stuff Henry. Could you (or any other birder of that vintage) recall whether the birding community was as informed - or held similar views - back then? I'm wondering whether the desirability of roof prism binoculars prior to phase coating had at least as much to do with their non-optical advantages (waterproofing, handling etc).
 
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Heron Optical... my my... I so remember them and their stapled together catalogues back in the day (late 70s for me). Didn't they used to be linked with Field & Trek back then?

A real trip down Memory Lane!

And yes, I remember them selling the Habit binoculars.

Yes they were a division of Field and Trek.
 
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