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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

828 HHS - BVD Review (1 Viewer)

Interesting, but are there any *negative* reviews at BVD ?

Everything looks fantastic !
 
g8ina said:
Interesting, but are there any *negative* reviews at BVD ?

Everything looks fantastic !

make sure you are comfortable with the slightly slower focus action!

your opticron imagics (like mine) take about three quarter turns from near to infinity,those swifts are something like one and a half.

are you able to try a pair before you buy online?

all the best...

matt
 
Thanks Matt, I had spotted that, and I think I would welcome it.

Sadly, nowhere locally (TF7) stocks BOTH the Nikon and the Swifts.... In fact, I cannot find anywhere in a 60 mile radius that sells either !! I don't really want to buy blind, but might just have to..........
 
Took a leap of faith, bought the Swifts blind....

Not unhappy in the slightest !

Fantastic pair of binoculars, well worth the £229 I paid ;) Chris Livingstone Telescopes, near Worcester, UK.

I esp like the lockable centre dioptre adjust feature, very nifty. VERY flat FOV, focussing is good too, despite warnings from Matt - no probs matey but thanks anyway :t:
 
g8ina said:
Took a leap of faith, bought the Swifts blind....

Not unhappy in the slightest !

Fantastic pair of binoculars, well worth the £229 I paid ;) Chris Livingstone Telescopes, near Worcester, UK.

I esp like the lockable centre dioptre adjust feature, very nifty. VERY flat FOV, focussing is good too, despite warnings from Matt - no probs matey but thanks anyway :t:

Hello g8ina,

Congratuations on a wise selection. I've had 828 Audubons for about a year and they compare very well with more expensive roof binoculars. As is typical of Swift Audubons in general, they provide a very easy view, and present no problems for eyeglass/sunglass users due to a long eye relief.

Enjoy the view,
Ed
 
Good Choice

Good choice of bins I've had mine for a couple of years now and they are an excellent choice especially for the price range.......... and you get a decent case for them too!!! Enjoy them. :t:
 
One of the few pieces of gear that I've never thought twice about buying - had mine nearly a year and still love looking through them.
 
I love my 828 HHS's, got from Warehouse Express.

Super binoculars, a lifetime purchase and I will only 'upgrade' if I win the lottery in which case I'll be banging on the door of the nearest Leica dealer :O)

Jack
 
So, supposing I had the cost of these ($350-360), I am not sure I have it just yet, saved up. Would this be the best investment for that amount of money? I could save up for 500-600 or even more and get some sort of expensive 8x30, but it would be just that, an 8x30.

I am always looking for big FOV and Would like the 8.5x over 8x. But somehow I never have gotten excited enough about these. I have plenty of OK binoculars, mostly Nikons.
 
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Tero said:
So, supposing I had the cost of these ($350-360), I am not sure I have it just yet, saved up. Would this be the best investment for that amount of money? I could save up for 500-600 or even more and get some sort of expensive 8x30, but it would be just that, an 8x30.

I am always looking for big FOV and Would like the 8.5x over 8x. But somehow I never have gotten excited enough about these. I have plenty of OK binoculars, mostly Nikons.

Tero,

Actually, I believe you can do somewhat better pricewise, e.g., $300—$325, but although the FOV is acceptable, it's really not big. At 336 ft./1000 yds. it computes to a real field of 6.4 deg. with an apparent field of 54.5 deg. Just short of a 60 deg. wide field. The flip side, of course, is the excellent eye relief that makes it an easy view with or without glasses.

I find the 8.5x44 Audubon format to be addictive, and this particular roof model is quite waterproof and has excellent focus control. For my money I don't know of another binocular I'd rather have at this price point.

Ed
 
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I have used FOV down to 290 routinely, but 350-400 would be great. For various reasons, I am not interested in the Swift porros.
 
Tero said:
I have used FOV down to 290 routinely, but 350-400 would be great. For various reasons, I am not interested in the Swift porros.

Tero,

I'm probably not following you. Swift's 828 HHS Audubon is a waterproof, nitrogen purged, roof prism, not a Porro. :h?:

Ed
 
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I thought someone would come around and tell me to look at the Swift porros instead, as they have wider FOV, I think. In any case, I do not want the 8.5x porros, the 8.5 roofs maybe.
 
Tero said:
I thought someone would come around and tell me to look at the Swift porros instead, as they have wider FOV, I think. In any case, I do not want the 8.5x porros, the 8.5 roofs maybe.

Give the roofs a try and let us know what you think. I'm interested.

Ed
 
May be a bit of a wait. I am thinking of Eagle Optics some time we are in person in Wisconsin. Also, Cabelas coming here in spring.
 
The main appeal of these models to me is the 8.5x power. I am thinking that perhaps I am not getting the most out of 10x, especially with distant birds and no support. Most often looking at ducks I rest on my car. But, if I go down to 8.5x, I want more FOV, much more. There are a few odd 8.5x models out there, most of which I have not seen. I work with 8x 9x and 10x mostly, and have gotten used to the 9x now. However, there are even fewer 9x models that are worth my interest. My one concern is will I be able to see the difference between 8x and 8.5x?
 
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Tero said:
The main appeal of these models to me is the 8.5x power. I am thinking that perhaps I am not getting the most out of 10x, especially with distant birds and no support. Most often looking at ducks I rest on my car. But, if I go down to 8.5x, I want more FOV, much more. There are a few odd 8.5x models out there, most of which I have not seen. I work with 8x 9x and 10x mostly, and have gotten used to the 9x now. However, there are even fewer 9x models that are worth my interest.

As mentioned in post #12 the FOV is 336 ft. with AFOV=54.4 deg. Is that wide enough? I find it adequate and acceptable, although not large by any means. The weight of this binocular is only 23 oz. (light for a 44mm objective) and the balance is excellent. The result is that a hand-held view has minimum vibration. Like all binocular designs it represents a compromise, and FOV was somewhat reduced to allow for a nice 19mm eye relief. Using eyeglasses is, therefore, a piece of cake.

By comparision with a high-end glass costing many times more, the main limitation is lateral CA, which shows up as somewhat annoying color fringing on very high contrast targets. Mostly it's not evident though. Center sharpness and brightness are excellent, edge falloff and distortion are excellent. The focus control is very smooth, and the diopter adjustment mechanism is as good as it gets. All in all, I'd venture to say that a person could become a world-class birder using nothing more than one of these. Being made in Japan my suspicion is they will dry up pretty soon in favor of the new Chinese made 900 series products. Nice, but not as nice (IMO).

Ed
 
You have any idea what the 900s will be like?

CA is not a problem for me. Dimness would be, but these should be pretty bright. Eye relief sounds good.
 
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