Swift 10x50 Clone? (1 Viewer)

Here is a link to a used binocular being sold on Astromart:

http://www.astromart.com/classifieds/details.asp?classified_id=420895

It is a Focal brand 10x50 made in Japan, bought 17 years ago. The images are fuzzy and so it's hard to see the labeling on the front of the prism housing. Does it say 9* FOV? 8*?

Anyway, it's styling is very similar to Swifts from this time. Did the same factory that made Swifts also make binocs for other companies? Focal used to be a store brand for one of the major department stores, I think. Some of the Focal camera equipment was pretty decent, if I remember correctly.

trashbird said:

... Did the same factory that made Swifts also make binocs for other companies? Focal used to be a store brand for one of the major department stores, I think. Some of the Focal camera equipment was pretty decent, if I remember correctly.

Click to expand...

There's no question but that the Japanese binocular manufacturers that made Swift, Bushnell, B&L, and other well-known "American" brands, also made products that were marketed under less well-known labels. Even Swift used several companies to make their wide range of binocular products over the years (150 plus have been identified), although only Hiyoshi Kogaku (Optical) Ltd. made the Audubon porros after 1970. The Kestrel porro was also made by Hiyoshi, and was first called an Audubon. There is a further complication. A Japanese company that assembled the final product, like Huyoshi, may not have made the body casting. They may well have purchased look-alike bodies from a small number of foundary companies. I suspect that when Swift changed the body style of the Audubon to the more compact Type 4 version about 1985, that Hiyoshi also changed their (unknown) foundary subcontractor. This is only speculation, or course.

As for the Focal, the factory label, JL-B-56 would be on the front hinge if it were also made by Hiyoshi 17 yrs. ago. However, even if they were, it would take a lot more effort to determine if this product met the same specs as the Swift Kestrel, which would include Bak-4 prisms, 5-element eyepiece and several other internal construction features. Even certain Swift products look similar but were of lower quality.

How's that for a long answer to a short question? :loveme:

ED

elkcub said:

How's that for a long answer to a short question? :loveme:

ED

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Your long answer is just fine and what I was hoping for. Thanks, Ed.

And yes, I have noticed you have taken to caling yourself "ED", after your beloved new Swift EDs.

I have seen numerous Swifts on Ebay that aren't Audubon's but that have the same shape of body. The "B" type, I believe. And Swift's "B" type had their own shape and "lines", as opposed to Bausch & Lomb bodies, for instance (which the "B" is named after, I believe).

What I think is that the Focal binocular may be a clone of one of Swift's lower-end binoculars -- though they still could be very nice. A 9-degree FOV on a 10x is huge, though. Very little eye-relief, I imagine.

BTW, Ed, what is the lower IPD of the Kestrel and the 804s?

-- Jim

trashbird said:

... And yes, I have noticed you have taken to caling yourself "ED", after your beloved new Swift EDs.

I have seen numerous Swifts on Ebay that aren't Audubon's but that have the same shape of body. The "B" type, I believe. And Swift's "B" type had their own shape and "lines", as opposed to Bausch & Lomb bodies, for instance (which the "B" is named after, I believe).

What I think is that the Focal binocular may be a clone of one of Swift's lower-end binoculars -- though they still could be very nice. A 9-degree FOV on a 10x is huge, though. Very little eye-relief, I imagine.

BTW, Ed, what is the lower IPD of the Kestrel and the 804s?

-- Jim

Click to expand...

Jim,

I agree with your observations, although "clone" suggests a deliberate copy. Just as likely, IMO, each Japanese supplier was sort of a one-trick pony, so everything from that shop tended to look alike.

The min. IPD for the 804R and Kestrel are the same, 55mm. The 804ED measures 56mm. That's pretty liberal for me, since I measure 64mm.

You're right. This 804ED is the most remarkable view I've ever experienced. I simply have no other way to put it. Unfortunately, so few others can share this experience that it's necessary to hold down my enthusiasm.

ED