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Best Scope for Glass Wearers: Zeiss 85FL vs Swaro 80 HD ? (1 Viewer)

K

kpoth001

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I’m a glass wearer and thinking about getting a high-end spotting scope (with 20x – 60x zoom eyepiece). I don’t have a chance to test them myself. I believe that optically both of them are close and best in the market. So I have to include other factors such as easy of use for glass wearers, focusing, color balance, etc. My primary concern is usability for glass wearers. Please advise.

PS 1: Does the wider field of view in Zeiss significantly help the glass wearers? How about eye relief in both scopes?

PS 2: I just purchased a pair of Nikon 8x32 LX and think they are great for glass wearers.
 
I don't think eyeglasses are as big an issue when using a scope as they are with bins. I wear glasses and the eye relief of the Swaro ATS 80 is fine. In fact at 20x I sometimes twist the eyecup out a little to prevent black outs. At higher powers I leave the cup in.
 
Even though I don't wear eyeglasses this question interested me, and since I use both the Swaro and Zeiss zoom eyepieces on the same astronomical scope I did some measurements. These should be valid for the Zeiss and Swaro scopes since the eyepieces are what determine eye relief and apparent field width.

In both zooms the eye relief is longest at 20X and 60X and dips to it's shortest value between 30x and 40x. The dip is about 6-7mm in the Zeiss and about 4-5mm in the Swaro. Approximate eye relief in each measured from the rim of the eyecup is about 15-16mm at 20x, Zeiss 9-11mm at 30x-40x, Swaro 10-12mm at 30x-40x, then both about 14-15mm at 60X. In use I was able (wearing a pair of reading glasses) to see the entire field in both over the entire zoom range, but I had to press the glasses closer to my face with the Zeiss at 30-40x.

The apparent field advantage in the Zeiss zoom is mostly at the lowest magnifications. These are the approximate apparent field measurements in degrees at different magnifications:

20X-Swaro 40, Zeiss 50
30X-Swaro 52, Zeiss 56
40X-Swaro 58, Zeiss 60
60X-Swaro 72, Zeiss 72

I hope that's useful
 
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I wear glasses, but I find that I use my 'scope (but not my binoculars) without them. When I was was looking for a 'scope, I found that the higher the price, (and presumably the quality of the glass) made it easier to use without glasses. I am longsighted in my 'viewing' eye. Might be worth taking into account when choosing.

AndyC
 
kpoth001 said:
I’m a glass wearer and thinking about getting a high-end spotting scope (with 20x – 60x zoom eyepiece). I don’t have a chance to test them myself. I believe that optically both of them are close and best in the market. So I have to include other factors such as easy of use for glass wearers, focusing, color balance, etc. My primary concern is usability for glass wearers. Please advise.

PS 1: Does the wider field of view in Zeiss significantly help the glass wearers? How about eye relief in both scopes?

PS 2: I just purchased a pair of Nikon 8x32 LX and think they are great for glass wearers.
Click to expand...

Hi,

I have the Zeiss Diascope and can confirm the informations Henry gave. As a eye glass wearer I never had problems in respect of eye-relief with the Zeiss zoom. But a few months ago I received new eye glasses since my diopter factors have changed after years. Both eye glass models, the old and the new one, are lightweight and seemed similar of construction first. But I noticed with surprise that eye relief with the new model now is longer of about 1-2 mm. Now the eye-relief of the Zeiss vario with midrange magnifications doesn´t suffice in my case. I´m still astonished about the fact that a few mm can make the difference. The best for you is to try both. Non-zoom eyepieces of both manufactores give more eye relief.

Steve
 
hinnark said:
I´m still astonished about the fact that a few mm can make the difference. The best for you is to try both. Non-zoom eyepieces of both manufactores give more eye relief.
Click to expand...
I have posted this link a few times, but here it is again http://www.tvwg.nl/testrapporten/telescoop/zeisstelescopen65tflen85tfl.htm . It is a Dutch site with some very nice looking scope reviews, and I have found the eye-relief graphs especially useful. According to this info the best zoom (in terms of ER) is the old Leica, followed by the new Leica and Swarovski. The Zeiss zoom seems to have 1 to 2 mm lower values throughout the scale. I think 15 mm of the Zeiss zoom at 20x may be "at the limit" to some - and then even 1 - 2 mm can make a difference.
I can see the whole field at the lowest and highest end of both the zooms (with my glasses on), but slightly more with the Swaro.

Ilkka
 
Thanks everyone. Considering eye relife factor, I'm toward Swaro right now. Anyone know any good deals on Swaro ATS80 HD with zoom? Thanks.
 
Bill Atwood said:
I don't think eyeglasses are as big an issue when using a scope as they are with bins.
Click to expand...

Oops, I did forget that it was a bit of an issue with my Pentax at higher powers. Not too bad, but might of been for someone else.
 
LOL. Good Luck kpoth. I paid just over $1,800 about 1-1/2 years ago and I have not seen a lower price from a legtimate dealer since. And if you want a soft case that'll be at least another $185. I probably should have started checking Questar prices again.

Its too bad you can't do a side by side comparison with the Zeiss. It seems to run about $250-$300 less.

AFAIK, Eagle Optics has the lowest prices on the ATS 80mm HD.
 
iporali said:
I can see the whole field at the lowest and highest end of both the zooms (with my glasses on), but slightly more with the Swaro.
Click to expand...
I am sorry if I was misleading. It is easier for me to see the whole FOV with the Swaro over the zoom range, but with the Zeiss zoom at 20x I can see a LOT wider view with my glasses on. It is really too bad if you can't test the scopes because if the ER is sufficient to you, the wide FOV of the Zeiss zoom could indeed be an advantage.

Ilkka
 
I tried out both zooms and found that the Swaro's eye-relief was far better for me but it probably depends on your perscription etc.
 
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