I recently picked up the Swarovski Universal tripod adapter so thought i would write a short review of this product.
The swarovski tripod adapter is different from any other binocular tripod adapter i have used. The design is interesting and basically consists of a small platform that attaches to a tripod and then a strap is wrapped over the top of the binocular to securely attach. Overall i can't fault the overall quality of materials used in this product but in terms of actual practical use this device leaves much to be desired and frankly is very poorly thought out but more on that to come.
I am using the adapter along with Swarovski CT traveler tripod, DH101 head and 8x32 & 10x50 binoculars.
The first thing i noticed when i received the adapter is that its a little bulky and whilst it directly connects into the DH101 head, its not a snug fit by any means and there is about 1-2mm of play so that it moves around from left to right when attached to the DH100 head. :-(.
This adapter doesn't work well with the 8x32 Field Pro as the length of the adapter does not work well given the size of the 8x32 binoculars and the objective covers. Its better with my replacement rubber band rather than the supplied strap.
The strap thats provided to wrap over the top of the binocular has some bars across it so that you can stretch it and clip under the right one depending on the size of the binocular. A major design flaw is that this rubber strap is far too stiff and does not stretch enough to allow it to be easily stretched over the binocular. You have to apply enough force that it ends up changing the inter pupil distance of the binoculars which is annoying. I have replaced the strap with a strong thick elastic rubber band which works much better and hold the binoculars very securely.
When your using this adapter in the field if your walking around with a collapsed tripod on your shoulder with this adapter attached then leaving the strap attached is not a good idea, it just flaps around and is a real pain. Another example i feel of how this product is very poor and hasn't really been tested in the field.
So in summary, i guess you can tell i am not overly pleased with this product and its pretty evident that this product is a bit of an after thought by Swarovski to overcome the problem of how to attach binoculars to a tripod that don't have a secure screw/fixture you can use to attach to the binoculars. Whilst i would imagine that in the vast majority of cases people use binoculars hand held its still a serious design flaw on the part of a premium product by not providing a simple mechanism to attach them to a tripod for extended observation. In absence of a proper way to attach an adapter to swarovski binoculars to a tripod, swarovski really need to redesign the strap, make it more flexible and reduce its size/bulk.
The swarovski tripod adapter is different from any other binocular tripod adapter i have used. The design is interesting and basically consists of a small platform that attaches to a tripod and then a strap is wrapped over the top of the binocular to securely attach. Overall i can't fault the overall quality of materials used in this product but in terms of actual practical use this device leaves much to be desired and frankly is very poorly thought out but more on that to come.
I am using the adapter along with Swarovski CT traveler tripod, DH101 head and 8x32 & 10x50 binoculars.
The first thing i noticed when i received the adapter is that its a little bulky and whilst it directly connects into the DH101 head, its not a snug fit by any means and there is about 1-2mm of play so that it moves around from left to right when attached to the DH100 head. :-(.
This adapter doesn't work well with the 8x32 Field Pro as the length of the adapter does not work well given the size of the 8x32 binoculars and the objective covers. Its better with my replacement rubber band rather than the supplied strap.
The strap thats provided to wrap over the top of the binocular has some bars across it so that you can stretch it and clip under the right one depending on the size of the binocular. A major design flaw is that this rubber strap is far too stiff and does not stretch enough to allow it to be easily stretched over the binocular. You have to apply enough force that it ends up changing the inter pupil distance of the binoculars which is annoying. I have replaced the strap with a strong thick elastic rubber band which works much better and hold the binoculars very securely.
When your using this adapter in the field if your walking around with a collapsed tripod on your shoulder with this adapter attached then leaving the strap attached is not a good idea, it just flaps around and is a real pain. Another example i feel of how this product is very poor and hasn't really been tested in the field.
So in summary, i guess you can tell i am not overly pleased with this product and its pretty evident that this product is a bit of an after thought by Swarovski to overcome the problem of how to attach binoculars to a tripod that don't have a secure screw/fixture you can use to attach to the binoculars. Whilst i would imagine that in the vast majority of cases people use binoculars hand held its still a serious design flaw on the part of a premium product by not providing a simple mechanism to attach them to a tripod for extended observation. In absence of a proper way to attach an adapter to swarovski binoculars to a tripod, swarovski really need to redesign the strap, make it more flexible and reduce its size/bulk.
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