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Upgrade of focus knob on older 1st gen EL 10x42 (1 Viewer)

T

thanks4thefish42

B-b-b-bird, b-birdd's a word
I just inherited a 1st gen EL 10x42 and the focus knob is a bear to turn. Plus it seems like it takes forever to make the run from far too near. I have sent then back to the factory and they said 4-6 weeks :(.


Wife has a pair of Swarovision 10x42 that takes 2.5 turns from near to far and mentioned it to the Swarovski folks.

They said there is an upgrade for $279 USD to make the speed of the older ones faster. Has anyone here had experience with this? Should Be a free upgrade! Is this a worthy upgrade or should I just sell them and buy a much newer pair?

I'm trying to find out what is the number of turns on a properly working "older pair"

This year has been a bad one for my optics. Vortex Diamondback 8x32, Nikon Monarch 5 8x42, 7x50 Fujinon FMTRC (flat field marine) have all had to go for repair. And now Swarovski. My camera gear is not this much trouble. Hoping to get this all sorted by Christmas Bird Counts.
 
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My 2nd generation SW SV 8.5x 42 does take 2 & 1/2 turns but it is not "a bear"to turn. My newer SW FP 10x32 takes only 2 turns. So i think 2 &1/2 turns on older models was the norm but not the difficulty in turning. I also doubt SW would do the faster focus upgrade for free because this slower focus was a design feature of the old model rather than a defect. OTOH SW may well fix the difficulty in turning for free.

Personally I would not get the faster focus installed on an older model because i like the uber precise focusing with the older version.

Hope this helps.

Mike
 
thanks for the reply. So 2.5 is the norm. That's the same with my newer model that is marked 10x42 6,4* that I think makes it a Swarovision.


The pair I just got had over 6 turns so something is definitely wrong. I could barely move it.


Very good point about the focus is slower that would make precise adjustments a bit easier. I'm just going to hope they get back sooner than later. For such seemingly simple items binoculars sure seem to break frequently.

I had my 30 year old Habitch AT80 scope recently rebuilt for free by Swarovski of North America. The support is phenomenal. I will most likely get the older 10x42's rebuilt then list them somewhere and purchase a newer version. Until then I'll "suffer" with my Monarch 5's and Vortex Diamondbacks.
 
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thanks4thefish42 said:
I just inherited a 1st gen EL 10x42 and the focus knob is a bear to turn. Plus it seems like it takes forever to make the run from far too near. I have sent then back to the factory and they said 4-6 weeks :(.


Wife has a pair of Swarovision 10x42 that takes 2.5 turns from near to far and mentioned it to the Swarovski folks.

They said there is an upgrade for $279 USD to make the speed of the older ones faster. Has anyone here had experience with this? Should Be a free upgrade! Is this a worthy upgrade or should I just sell them and buy a much newer pair?

I'm trying to find out what is the number of turns on a properly working "older pair"

This year has been a bad one for my optics. Vortex Diamondback 8x32, Nikon Monarch 5 8x42, 7x50 Fujinon FMTRC (flat field marine) have all had to go for repair. And now Swarovski. My camera gear is not this much trouble. Hoping to get this all sorted by Christmas Bird Counts.
Click to expand...

Welcome to Birdforum. The original EL was introduced in 1999, and they
did a change to a faster focuser ratio around 2004 or so. I have experience
with the older EL's, and it common for Swaro. to charge for this change and
upgrade, they have done that for many years. So don't expect it for free, it
has never been that way.
You seem to be hard on your binoculars, so take care of them and they will
be there to help you observe. ;)

You can upgrade them, and there are many improvements along the way.

Jerry
 
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