8.5x44 HHS, reconsidered (1 Viewer)

Just thought I would post a few more comments about the Audubon 8.5x44 HHS roof. I took my pair out of the drawer a few days ago for some exercise

It is a pretty impressive instrument for the price. It is generally held (and i agree) not to be as sharp as the porro version. But, that porro's center sharpness pretty much matches the Nikon 8x32 SE. Saying it does not match the porro version is what is said when folks compare the alpha brand roofs to that SE.

The only thing that bothers me a tad about the HHS version is the field of view @ 6.4 degrees.

Swift may have the "best" (other than the FOV) roof for under $1000 or more, selling it for around $330. What do you think?:scribe:

I've often thought about getting one, but never pulled the trigger.

I had the opportunity to compare them for a brief (about 15 minutes) time with a Swaro 8.5 x 42 under less than ideal conditions looking out the windows at the bird feeders outside of the Hawk Mountain museum/headquarters. I must admit that they impressed me. I certainly couldn't justify the $1200.00 difference in price between them. The difference in the FOV between them wasn't all that obvious, even at that short distance. Brightness seemed about the same and as for center sharpness, an analysis of the fur on a squirrel feasting at one of the feeders seemed about the same in both. Both had large sweet spots but the far edge sharpness on the Swaro was better. Admittedly, this wasn't an ideal situation for a test but I left convinced that the Swifts were a very good binocular at a very reasonable price.
Bob

One comparison I'd like to do is the 8.5x44 HHS vs. the 8x42 Eaglet. I had a conversation once with a designer for Swift who said they couldn't get the CFT coatings on the HHS because they use two Japanese firms, who evidently don't have much use for each other. Only the firm who makes the Eaglet would do the CFT coatings, so Swift had to come up with the 8x and 10x Eaglet. Neither would the firm who builds the HHS even consider building the Eaglet. So we have Two pretty similar binoculars from the same company. I think Swift would just as soon have 7x, 8.5x, and 10x in one "Audubon CFT" roof family, but couldn't quite get it done.

Anyway, that aside, I'd like to do the comparison.