Swarovski Habicht 8x30 w Review, comparison with Minox BV 8x42 BR (1 Viewer)

Hi.
I received today a pair of Habicht 8x30 w.
The first feeling i had just after opening the box, is the "small" size of the "beast".
The leather body is very sweet to the hands, it feels fresh and robust.
The smell of the body is kinda smooth to the nose, like you want to breath the binoculars again and again.
Then i started watching through it.
No wow effect. It was foggy outside, and i watched from inside my car (through the windshield) to get a view on a roadsign at about 30 meters.
It seemed to be clear but not that great. I was a bit deceived.
However i realised that the fog + windshield wasnt a really good idea for a tryout. It gave me the same view that the Minox i have (BV 8x42) gives me.
I decided, before sending them back to exchange them with the new Conquest HD's, to give a try once at home on my bedroom.
Well, they are way brighter than the Minox 42's, which is a very good point!
And, after comparing them mano en la mano, it is clear that the Habichts are sharper, brighter, and the 3d effect is really appearing.
The colours are so true, that it totally amazed me.
The focus weel is a bit stiff, but not disturbing at all: i naturally turned it with my index finger (i can turn it with the little finger aswell), and when i told my father to give it a try, he also naturally turned the weel with one finger.
To sum up it is an amazing little sized pair of bins that i got there.
Long live Porro's!
Im sorry that i could not compare it with another alpha. But i have to admit that the Minox BV is very good optically, and the Habicht wins the dual without a problem, even with a 30 diameter!
You can find some pictures for a clearer overview.
I placed some "characters" to interact with the bins, to give you an idea of their small size. Mrs hand, mrs organic banana, mrs Tissot watch, mrs Cristaline bottle showing a bit of her noise, mr giorgio to show that the bins fits well to the human body, mrs Minox for a clear size comparison.
The serial number of the Habichts show that they are more than recent:
A82(year 2012) 04 (week 4, built between the 23 to 29th of January)
Dont hesitate to ask if you want other pictures of some details that would have escaped from my mind.

http://imageshack.us/g/28/dsc0115hp.jpg/

Dear Giorigio,

Good to read you are so happy with your pair of Habicht bins. I have a pair of 2009 Habicht 7x42. And also love them. Them smell of leather is indeed nice. The view is a pleasure every time I use them.

It is a pity that most birders instantly buy roofs instead of taking a serious look at the real nice porro's. Ergonomically these are the best bins I ever had in my hand. (the 8x30 are a bit to small for my big hands).

Last Saturday I found a weak point of my pair. It was freezing quite a bit last Saturday (-20 degrees Celsius) and the focus knob became a bit to stiff, bit it worked, but I had to use 2 fingers. One in top of the knob (indexfinger) and one on the bottom (thumb) and it worked fine. But on the other hand, normally the minimum temperature in the Netherlands doesn't generally drop below -5 degrees Celsius.

You're right about stiffness, it was down 9 °C today, and it was a bit stiffer than usual to turn the weel. However it didnt disturbed me, i had gloves and still turned with only one finger.
I ordered some side eyecups to customize the habichts. The original eyecups are good, sweet but not large enough imo.
Anyway, still a pleasure to look through these tiny bins and realise the incredibly bright image that this ultra small object creates.
Amazing :t:

Giorgio,

I'm glad you gave the Habichts a second chance before sending them back to exchange for the Conquest HD. Viewing through the car window is hardly a fair test of any bin.

I'm also glad that you can turn the focus wheel in the cold with just one finger. I could live with that.

I heard that Europe has been getting hit with very bad weather. Hope that's over soon so people are safe and so you can enjoy using your new (literally, made last month? Wow!) Habichts.

It's a little chilly here today, but it's been a very mild winter so far. Just a dusting of snow on the ground. Three days ago, I was outside wearing a T-shirt! Hope this weather pattern changes by the summer, otherwise, my No-Melt Suet Cakes will be melting and so will I.

Follow up with a more in-depth review once you've had more time to use the porros.

Brock

Made last month

We got a new pair of Habicht 10x40's, ordered in Dec., delivered to our shop on Wed. that were made last month. I was pleasantly surprised.

Yes Brock Europe has been stroke by some russian and eastern winter, + siberian wind. That explains the extreme coldness, thing we're not used to especially in the south east of France.
It's true about the Habicht, the dealer that sold them to me respected what i asked him, to send me new fresh last made porro's.
If you see the serial number (A8204), it accurately means:
A (last decade serials of Swarovski if im right)
82 (year of production, add 30 to this. 82+30=112, means 2012).
04 (week of production. Week 4= made between the 23th to 29 of January)
You can't be wrong thanks to the austrian accuracy hehe.
Anyway, i don't know why but the Conquest HD attract my eyes everytime, maybe as much as the Swaro CL 10x30... Damn looks!

Giorgio said:

Yes Brock Europe has been stroke by some russian and eastern winter, + siberian wind. That explains the extreme coldness, thing we're not used to especially in the south east of France.
It's true about the Habicht, the dealer that sold them to me respected what i asked him, to send me new fresh last made porro's.
If you see the serial number (A8204), it accurately means:
A (last decade serials of Swarovski if im right)
82 (year of production, add 30 to this. 82+30=112, means 2012).
04 (week of production. Week 4= made between the 23th to 29 of January)
You can't be wrong thanks to the austrian accuracy hehe.
Anyway, i don't know why but the Conquest HD attract my eyes everytime, maybe as much as the Swaro CL 10x30... Damn looks!

Click to expand...

We're getting an Arctic blast, with temps in the mid-teens by 6 p.m. tomorrow (F*) with about 3 inches of snow expected. By midweek it will be sunny and in the 40s again and some of that snow will be gone. So just a momentary interruption in the climate change.

Well, you better start saving up for a 10x "companion" to your 8x30 Habichts. There are times when you will need to make that critical ID between a bikini and a thong.

Brock

giorgio

The system isn't letting me reply to messages, I'll try later.

You can otherwise just reply here. I can wait till it works for you anyway.

proudpapa56 said:

The system isn't letting me reply to messages, I'll try later.

Click to expand...

ProudPapa,

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Brock

I just watched the moon (9/10 full), and damn, i found a first cons to the Habichts: when i look around the moon, and depending how my eyes are placed, there is a tiny ghost image :-(
It is not very bright, it is discreet, but it's a bit annoying.
My brain is now way more exigent and sensible with visual through binoculars, and im seeing CA when looking through the Minox BV, thing that i didnt see (or pay attention to ?) before i possessed the Habichts lol.
It even makes the tiniest detail visible, and your brain only sees that default once you remarqued it.
It seems that when your brain is used to some visual that you, subject, attributes to be the top notch, your brain will notice much more visual "issues" when you look back through something lower in quality.
Anyway, they still are extraordinary little binoculars.
Almost no flaring at all, thats at least a good point. No glare aswel for the moment.

Giorgio said:

I just watched the moon (9/10 full), and damn, i found a first cons to the Habichts: when i look around the moon, and depending how my eyes are placed, there is a tiny ghost image :-(
It is not very bright, it is discreet, but it's a bit annoying.
My brain is now way more exigent and sensible with visual through binoculars, and im seeing CA when looking through the Minox BV, thing that i didnt see (or pay attention to ?) before i possessed the Habichts lol.
It even makes the tiniest detail visible, and your brain only sees that default once you remarqued it.
It seems that when your brain is used to some visual that you, subject, attributes to be the top notch, your brain will notice much more visual "issues" when you look back through something lower in quality.
Anyway, they still are extraordinary little binoculars.
Almost no flaring at all, thats at least a good point. No glare aswel for the moment.

Click to expand...

Giorgio,

Since I would use the Habichts for terrestrial use, flaring is of greater concern than ghosting. I have read numerous complaints about flaring in the 8x30s, so it's good to read that you don't see it, although I'm not sure if the sun was out when you tested for it.

Look straight out with the sun above the view and then move the bin 45* in both directions and that should tell you what you need to know.

Even if you used the porros for stargazing, you won't see ghosting on any other celestial objects besides the moon except perhaps Jupiter and Venus. 8x30s aren't "night glasses" so street lights are also irrelevant.

I think you're just looking for something to pick on so you can send them back and buy the Conquest HD.

Braque

Breauque

I'll try out tomorrow your technic when the sun will be well risen, like at 11:30 am. I will tell you my feelings.
This afternoon i followed some birds who flew near the sun, and i didn't notice any flare effect.
Maybe a few but very few glare on the morning as the weather was very unstable. But nothing disturbing.

Please an admin, ban the word Zeiss Conquest HD from Brock, or put some stars instead of the caracters so i won't be able to read this brand anymore.
I'm pleased of the Habichts, i won't change them.

Djerdjia'

Giorgio said:

Breauque

I'll try out tomorrow your technic when the sun will be well risen, like at 11:30 am. I will tell you my feelings.
This afternoon i followed some birds who flew near the sun, and i didn't notice any flare effect.
Maybe a few but very few glare on the morning as the weather was very unstable. But nothing disturbing.

Please an admin, ban the word Zeiss Conquest HD from Brock, or put some stars instead of the caracters so i won't be able to read this brand anymore.
I'm pleased of the Habichts, i won't change them.

Djerdjia'

Click to expand...

Djerdjia'

I'm glad to hear that you weren't just trying to find some picky flaw with the Habichts so you could buy a **** ******** **.

The **** ******** ** is new, let somebody else be the guinea pig. **** might have some bugs to work out with the new model.

We still don't even know if the **** ******** ** has ED glass or if the "**" is just a marketing ploy.

Breauque

I am sorry Monsieur Breauque i cannot understand what you are talking about, you are placing strange little stars everywhere to underline what appears to be a specific object present on earth.
French teachers never learned me to translate properly stars, they only taught me how to smoke a lot and how to shower a few.

Getting back to the Habichts, are you still interested with watching through some and testing the "stiff" mechanisms? When i gave it to a friend this afternoon, he looked at me through them from 7-8 meters, and he told me that he sees me sharper through the bins than with his eyes. He could discren every little hair of my berb and winter hat, + little skin defaults that his eyes didnt remark.

Jiaure-Jiot

Giorgio said:

I am sorry Monsieur Breauque i cannot understand what you are talking about, you are placing strange little stars everywhere to underline what appears to be a specific object present on earth.
French teachers never learned me to translate properly stars, they only taught me how to smoke a lot and how to shower a few.

Getting back to the Habichts, are you still interested with watching through some and testing the "stiff" mechanisms? When i gave it to a friend this afternoon, he looked at me through them from 7-8 meters, and he told me that he sees me sharper through the bins than with his eyes. He could discren every little hair of my berb and winter hat, + little skin defaults that his eyes didnt remark.

Jiaure-Jiot

Click to expand...

Jiaure-Jiot,

I don't know where the stars came from, I guess someone answered your request to put them in every time I wrote the name of the new mid-tier **** binoculars, the ******** **.

Yes, I am interested in unraveling "The Mystery of the Austrian Porro". But it will have to wait until I've finished my physical rehab and can put the pedal to the metal w/out pain killers. I don't want to end up like Rush.

I'm also interested in comparing my lead free glass 10x42 SE with a 10x40 W Habicht made last month with the "latest and greatest" Swaro coatings.

My SE tripod adapter should fit the Swaro too unless it's the rubber armored version.

Hercule Poirot

brocknroller said:

Jiaure-Jiot,

I'm also interested in comparing my lead free glass 10x42 SE with a 10x40 W Habicht made last month with the "latest and greatest" Swaro coatings.

Hercule Poirot

Click to expand...

Hercule Poirot

Good to see you are still investigating with a bowler hat on the specs of the last supermegagreatopbright coatings of the last produced Habichts.
I unfortunately can't help you with the 10x, the one and lonely one i did watch through was quite old with yellowish tint and did not have the supermegagreatopbright coatings.
Still wish you well physically.

Jiorgieaux (dunno if you know how to read this lol)

I did purchase some astro eyecups whith a good eye relief, and inserted them above the original ones.
I am now side protected, and the eye relief is now way more comfortable for the use.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/718/dscf0814q.jpg/

The flash strangely changes the colours as it isn't the same materials. Otherwise by day it is totally black and black, not grey. You don't discern the eyecups have been added. It adds a military aspect as you could see with Steiner binoculars.

Giorgio said:

I did purchase some astro eyecups whith a good eye relief, and inserted them above the original ones.
I am now side protected, and the eye relief is now way more comfortable for the use.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/718/dscf0814q.jpg/

The flash strangely changes the colours as it isn't the same materials. Otherwise by day it is totally black and black, not grey. You don't discern the eyecups have been added. It adds a military aspect as you could see with Steiner binoculars.

Click to expand...

Georgie,

These look sturdier than my floppy ear Field Optics light shields. However, the thin shields are also a plus, because they easily move away from your face rather than poke you in the face like a stiff light shield.

The issue I'm concerned about with the astro eyecups is that unlike the Field Optics light shields, the astros are actually eyecups, that is they fit over the top of the Habicht's eyecups and increase the diameter of the eyecups.

Having deep set eyes (like Charles De Gaulle), if the diameter of the top of the eyecup is too wide, I can't see the entire FOV w/out pushing hard against the eyecups, which is not comfortable.

Brock

These look sturdier than my floppy ear Field Optics light shields.

Yes, they are made in japan and very robust and comfortable to the orbits. It's the Orion 31.75 (1.25'") http://www.optique-unterlinden.com/catalogue/categorie/m/0/c/05010500
The side doesnt move at all when placed on the latterals

they fit over the top of the Habicht's eyecups and increase the diameter of the eyecups.

Exactly.

Having deep set eyes (like Charles De Gaulle), if the diameter of the top of the eyecup is too wide, I can't see the entire FOV w/out pushing hard against the eyecups, which is not comfortable.

That can be problematic. I feared this problem also before trying them.
I was using the habichts by having litteraly my eyes into the optics to see the whole field of view. But it was placing dirt everytime on the lenses (my eyelashes were touching the lenses everytime, which means cleaning with soft tissue after each use, wich means prematured wear)
I then took the decision of my life and purchased the two made in Japan eyecups for 2€ each. And in fact i push them normally on my orbits and i see a great field of view aswel.
It is of course a subjective description Brock. Which doesnt disturb me could disturb you a lot.