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Newly designed Audubons? (1 Viewer)

Eagle Optics just put them (still called 820 and 820 ED) up on their website this morning. I was there looking at tripods and happened to check the Swift link.

The picture does not bode well for the redesign. I called on a whim and asked...I suggest you call them and ask for yourself.
 
Rubber armour and twist-up eyecups ? If they have a locking dioptre, a solid bridge and optical performance to match my (non ED) HR/5 bins, I'm definitely interested. (And 16mm ER is the same as I've seen quoted for the old 820s)
 
Wow, they sure are expensive. What a sad end for the "Audubon" porro line--such a generic looking apparently Z-body porro. Looks a lot like my B&L 8x42 Discoverer porros.

--AP
 
Martin Fagg said:
Hi Steve,

this picture?

http://www.eagleoptics.com/binoculars/swift/swift-audubon-8-5x44-ed-porro-prism-binocular

Looks older fashioned than before but why do you say the picture does not bode well?

I wonder if these ones have a sturdy bridge. It kind of looks like the bridge on my Bushnell Legend porros which is very sturdy.
Click to expand...

Yes that picture. It does not show much but the thing that struck me was that the eye piece bridge, cursed for its instability, looks even flimsier in the picture. It struck me as looking like something off the discount rack at the local cheap-mart. That is why I called EO and why I suggested a call as a need to do.

They also said the new glass has the same outsized ocular diameter, which was a deal breaker for the 820 ED I had.
 
Steve C said:
Yes that picture. It does not show much but the thing that struck me was that the eye piece bridge, cursed for its instability, looks even flimsier in the picture. It struck me as looking like something off the discount rack at the local cheap-mart. That is why I called EO and why I suggested a call as a need to do.

They also said the new glass has the same outsized ocular diameter, which was a deal breaker for the 820 ED I had.
Click to expand...

It looks like one of the recent Chinese porro enclosures to me and that might be a good think the Yosemite bridge (for example) is rather stiff. They may be cheap but they're quite well engineered.
 
ceasar said:
Why are they carrying them if they are going to bad mouth them? Did they give you a reason?
Bob
Click to expand...

I guess I can't speak to why they would choose to carry this binocular, or any other for that matter. When I called, I asked the rep what he thought about this new model of the Swift Audubon and he gave his opinion. To say he bad mouthed them might be a bit strong, he just gave what I thought was an honest assessment based on his experience while comparing it to other models. As Alexis pointed out, $500.00 is a lot of money for a porro prism binocular. At that price, it better perform as well as past incarnations, e.g., 804R and 820. At least according to the person I spoke with, that may not be the case.

Ted
 
Just been looking at the pics on Facebook again. I quite like the new look. They're plain and business like but they make the old style look a bit gimmicky.

Seems like they've stopped trying to look different and made a pair of porros plain and simple.

What did the people in the shop say about the optics though?

Are they available over here in the UK yet?
 
ted nordhagen said:
I guess I can't speak to why they would choose to carry this binocular, or any other for that matter. When I called, I asked the rep what he thought about this new model of the Swift Audubon and he gave his opinion. To say he bad mouthed them might be a bit strong, he just gave what I thought was an honest assessment based on his experience while comparing it to other models. As Alexis pointed out, $500.00 is a lot of money for a porro prism binocular. At that price, it better perform as well as past incarnations, e.g., 804R and 820. At least according to the person I spoke with, that may not be the case.

Ted
Click to expand...

That pretty well mirrors what they told me too. As I have said, I'd aim questions directly there at EO. They have seen them I have not.

I've had Swift binoculars my entire life. The first binocular I ever bought was a Swift 8x40 Nighthawk WA, which I still have. I was pleased to see the news of the new Audubon, but frankly I was kind of let down by what I heard.

If they had a new and different ocular, I might order an ED to see, but if it was a deal breaker earlier, it would be no different now.
 
Paul King said:
I couldn't see any mention on the Pyser website - or on the Swift website either, come to that, Looks as if Eagle might have jumped the gun a bit.
Click to expand...

Eagle Optics has them in stock, or so they said. That is how they knew what they thought of them.
 
Kevin Purcell said:
It looks like one of the recent Chinese porro enclosures to me and that might be a good think the Yosemite bridge (for example) is rather stiff. They may be cheap but they're quite well engineered.
Click to expand...

I agree, the new Audubon porro's body style looks similar to the discontinued Minolta Activa WP FP and the Garrett Optics Genesis except that Swift unfortunately didn't keep the design's most useful feature, the steep chamfer at the top of the prism housing (they do have a chamfer, but it's shallow), which was similar to the Nikon SE's design and enabled the user to hold the bin in an elbows down position:

Minolta:

http://allbinos.com/lornetki_image/272_minolta_activa1.jpg

Garrett:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/414Z11SENBL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

I'm glad to see they got rid of the protruding focuser knob, and if the eyecups are the same as the aforementioned bins, I might actually be able to get them into my eye orbits this time.

Note the weight increased to about the same as the older 804 model (28.8 oz). The listed weight for the prior 820 model was 24oz., though some users reported that spec was off and that the bin was actually a bit heavier. I wonder why Swift is still using the same model # for this new redesign?

Hopefully, the optics are as good as the 820 and the focuser bridge is sturdier. If so, they will have a winner this time, and perhaps even get a sale from me. Think what buying a "Poor Man's EL" would save me compared to purchasing a Swaro 8.5x42 SV EL! I could buy a Honda Scooter with the difference.

The other big question is whether they are made in China like their look-a-likes or in Japan (or perhaps some Sino-Nippon hybrid, with a Chinese body, Japanese optics, and the head of a social worker - Feb No Prize for first ID of that "wooden" reference!).

The price hasn't changed, so I would hope they are still made in Japan.
 
Last edited:
I'd be interested to see an evaluation of the new 820/ED, particularly in comparison to the old 820/ED or earlier 804/ED. I'm wondering what's left of Swift other than a brand name, now that its been sold off more than 5 yrs. The Audubon 8.5x44 configuration seems to retain patent protections, but I'm not sure. Is anyone else marketing an 8.5x44 Porro/roof?

Ed
 
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