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A couple of questions for Swarovski 12x50 SV owners (1 Viewer)

amv8

New member
Hello, first post on this forum. I recently purchased a set of 12x50 SV bins and had a couple questions about them to determine if mine are typical. First, on the diopter adjustment, the dot doesn't line up with the triangle that indicates the zero position (the closest click to zero seems to be 1/3 of a diopter off). I also have a pair of 8x32 SVs and unlike the 12x50 SV, the markers line up in the zero position. I previously had the earlier version of 10x32 EL (non Swarovision), and the diopter markers lined up on those as well. I actually called Swarovski Optik North America (I'm in the USA) and asked them about this, and they said they checked their 12x50 SV showroom sample and it didn't line up either. I find this pretty surprising, so I was curious if other owners' binos were built like this as well.

The second question concerns CA. I haven't been able able to use/compare against other higher end binos in several years as I do not live near anywhere where I could test them in person. With my 12x50SVs, I notice some CA in the outer ~20% of the field when viewing high contrast/backlit scenes where one would expect to see CA. Is this about what others notice with this model? I would say the 8x32s SVs are fairly similar, but I notice the CA a bit less perhaps because of the lower magnification.

On a separate note, I frequently use the 12x50 SV on a tripod with Swarovski's new bino tripod adapter. That combo works great, and these bins are very sharp. They can be handheld but given the magnification, I find I really need to brace my arms.

Thanks!
 
Hi,

I've seen several EL-binoculars where that triangle wasn't in a perfect line up with the dots of the diopter scale and zero position. It seemed to be rather a cosmetical problem that came as the result of that click-stop mechanism, though, because it didn't had any noticable effect on function.

As for the lateral color in the outer 20% of the field sounds rather normal to me. Yes, a higher magnification does let the visibility of CA increase.

Steve
 
Hi,

I've seen several EL-binoculars where that triangle wasn't in a perfect line up with the dots of the diopter scale and zero position. It seemed to be rather a cosmetical problem that came as the result of that click-stop mechanism, though, because it didn't had any noticable effect on function.

As for the lateral color in the outer 20% of the field sounds rather normal to me. Yes, a higher magnification does let the visibility of CA increase.

Steve

Thanks Steve. Normally, the lack of alignment on the diopter scale and zero position would be cosmetic. However, here was the problem I ran into which led me to make the post. I typically have the diopter adjustment set to handle my vision when wearing contacts lenses. However, when I'm wearing glasses or not wearing corrective lenses I want the diopter to be zeroed. Additionally, when I hand them to a friend I like to zero them first. In the case of these 12x50 it wouldn't be clear what position is zero. Is it the click that puts the dot 1/3 diopter to the left of the triangle or the click that puts the dot 1/3 diopter to the right (Swarovski North America says the click to the right). So it's a minor nit, and thanks for your feedback.
 
Hello amv8,

because you have the new Swarovski 12x50 SV at hand, I would like to ask you some questions:

Is 12x50 SV the bin with the most contrast among the Swarovski brand? Is it with more contrast than Nikon EDG 10x42, Fujinon 10x50 and Zeiss Victory 8x56T*FL.

If you were me which bin (from the above mentioned) would you prefer to buy, taking into account only their quality (not the price)?

Oh, perhaps I am in a dilemma mostly between Swarovski 12x50 SV and Zeiss Victory 8x56T*FL |:S| Can you say: would Swarovski 12x50 SV be darker at twilight?

Also, do you know a place (site, link, pdf) with Swarovski 12x50 SV parameters?

Thank you in advance!
 
Hello, first post on this forum. I recently purchased a set of 12x50 SV bins and had a couple questions about them to determine if mine are typical. First, on the diopter adjustment, the dot doesn't line up with the triangle that indicates the zero position (the closest click to zero seems to be 1/3 of a diopter off). I also have a pair of 8x32 SVs and unlike the 12x50 SV, the markers line up in the zero position. I previously had the earlier version of 10x32 EL (non Swarovision), and the diopter markers lined up on those as well. I actually called Swarovski Optik North America (I'm in the USA) and asked them about this, and they said they checked their 12x50 SV showroom sample and it didn't line up either. I find this pretty surprising, so I was curious if other owners' binos were built like this as well.

The second question concerns CA. I haven't been able able to use/compare against other higher end binos in several years as I do not live near anywhere where I could test them in person. With my 12x50SVs, I notice some CA in the outer ~20% of the field when viewing high contrast/backlit scenes where one would expect to see CA. Is this about what others notice with this model? I would say the 8x32s SVs are fairly similar, but I notice the CA a bit less perhaps because of the lower magnification.

On a separate note, I frequently use the 12x50 SV on a tripod with Swarovski's new bino tripod adapter. That combo works great, and these bins are very sharp. They can be handheld but given the magnification, I find I really need to brace my arms.

Thanks!

Hi amv8, the diopter thing is solely cosmetic and your individual setting "number" could vary a bit from binocular to binocular so even if you know that your eyes are at 0dpt, your ideal setting on the bins might be - for example - +2/3dpt. The 12x50 have a huge adjustment range to allow you to get the perfect image for your eyes.

very minor CA in the outer areas is not unexpected and shows most when the eyes are slightly misaligned and when the edge sharpness is high (one sees CA less when the edges are not sharp).

One trick useful for hand-holding the 12x50s (my personal go-to bins for birding) is to have the binoculars resting on the inner palms with the elbows facing forward, and you will see that the thumb grooves were positioned to help holding the binoculars in this position (as opposed to the rest-on-the-thumbs position used with old-style roof prism binoculars). This gives one a much more stable position for hand-held observation. Failing that, the tripod adapter and a monopod/finnstick/tripod work well.

Kind regards,
Dale
 
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