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choice of a Swarowski 8.5*42 EL (1 Viewer)

Thats ok for ones who likes a straps, but for those who like a harness its been a little difficult, because even today is hard to find some kind of adapters for harnesses.

If you email Swarovski they will send you a pair of the adapters for free.
 
The view thru my EL 8.5x42 Field Pro is fantastic, as well as the view thru my EL 10x42 Field Pro. I like the new rubber armor as well as the new objective covers and the new Field Pro neck strap, but I am not sure yet if I like the new eyepiece cover, so for now I have been using a Leica eyepiece cover from back in the 1990's on the EL 8.5's and EL 10x42's as well as on a old 1990's Swaro SLC 8x30WB MK II ( I have three of the Leica eyepiece covers, and I recall in a forum someone stating that specific Leica eyepiece cover was one of the best eyepiece covers of any brand binocular ever made. It sure fits all three Swaro's like a glove. It smoothly with no effort (force) slides on or off, yet when on, if you turn any of the three Swaro's upside down the Leica eyepiece cover stays put and will not fall off.
Kind of funny though on my part is that I own the Swaro BTX and it uses the same eyepiece cover as the EL Field Pro's, and I have just been using the standard Swaro eyepiece cover with the BTX.
As far as the padded case included with the new EL Field Pro's, I like the quality of it, but just like MandoBear, I like a case with an internal divider (pocket) as I like to place the neck strap in the pocket.
Maybe I am just to picky, but sometimes you adjust things to make it work better for you, as an example, I have a pair of the latest ( now discontinued I believe ) Bushnell Elite 10x42 binoculars, and as I read in other reviews and found out by my own use the adjustable eyecups do not hold in place when extended, they fairly easily creep down, so I fixed this issue by putting a set of the Swarovski winged eyecups on the Elites and now the eyecups stay fully extended.
Bottom line is, I love that Swarovski glass. Fantastic View.
 
Trust me, the mechanism is different - it has a lock which can be engaged, or not, as one wishes. Hopefully, this extract from the EL Field Pro manual makes things clearer...

The focusing knob now has a "cap" which can be rotated 180 degrees independently of the knob itself and this serves to lock or unlock the ability to pull up the knob and adjust the dioptre setting in the usual way.

Thanks for the info! I have three EL Field Pros and knew NOTHNG about that! The center of the focus adjust knob DOES indeed turn and lock the diopter adjustment. I'll probably never use this feature thou as this has never been an issue for me.
 
I owned two of the SV version, the image is absolutely superb.
 

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The view thru my EL 8.5x42 Field Pro is fantastic, as well as the view thru my EL 10x42 Field Pro. I like the new rubber armor as well as the new objective covers and the new Field Pro neck strap, but I am not sure yet if I like the new eyepiece cover, so for now I have been using a Leica eyepiece cover from back in the 1990's on the EL 8.5's and EL 10x42's as well as on a old 1990's Swaro SLC 8x30WB MK II ( I have three of the Leica eyepiece covers, and I recall in a forum someone stating that specific Leica eyepiece cover was one of the best eyepiece covers of any brand binocular ever made. It sure fits all three Swaro's like a glove. It smoothly with no effort (force) slides on or off, yet when on, if you turn any of the three Swaro's upside down the Leica eyepiece cover stays put and will not fall off.
Kind of funny though on my part is that I own the Swaro BTX and it uses the same eyepiece cover as the EL Field Pro's, and I have just been using the standard Swaro eyepiece cover with the BTX.
As far as the padded case included with the new EL Field Pro's, I like the quality of it, but just like MandoBear, I like a case with an internal divider (pocket) as I like to place the neck strap in the pocket.
Maybe I am just to picky, but sometimes you adjust things to make it work better for you, as an example, I have a pair of the latest ( now discontinued I believe ) Bushnell Elite 10x42 binoculars, and as I read in other reviews and found out by my own use the adjustable eyecups do not hold in place when extended, they fairly easily creep down, so I fixed this issue by putting a set of the Swarovski winged eyecups on the Elites and now the eyecups stay fully extended.
Bottom line is, I love that Swarovski glass. Fantastic View.

Jason,

Thanks for the detailed tips and thoughts on accessorizing. Proper accessories based on a person's preferences and actual use are greatly under rated IMO. On most of my bins I use a combination of different accessories both standard issue from other manufacturers and after market to get the best personal fit.

Re the latest SW FP accessories, I am not a big fan of the new strap, altho with increased use and experimentation lately, it's getting a little better. The new FP ocular cover is a lot handier in use if you do not seat it all the way down. It's way too cumbersome to take on and off in actual use if fully seated. Instead, try seating it only 1/4 to 1/2 on during use in the field. IME it will then stay in place but can be instantly removed with a flip of the finger against the oversized protruding connection in the middle of the cover. One caveat here, when Els are set for my IP, the new FP cover falls perfectly into place on the eyecups without any handling other than a light downward push to partially seat in place. The IP is obviously going to vary between individuals and unfortunately, even a small IP change eliminates this convenience, requiring too much time and attention to re seat the cover. However, you can also order a version of the old style ratchet cover specifically designed to fit the FP. This allows instant on off operation as the ratchet allows precise adjustment for IP. But these new old style covers will not work with the new FP strap as the attachment lugs are too small to accommodate the FP cords so you will also have to get the strap adapters and use a standard strap if you decide to go that way.

Getting back to one of the OP's questions, the new FP focus mechanism seems to me much smoother and more uniform in operation than on earlier pre FP models and this one change alone may make it worthwhile to adapt to, modify or substitute for some of the new accessories.

Mike
 
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