Any tips from Zeiss / Swarovski for 2024, etc? (1 Viewer)

[Will K]

Does anyone have an insight into future developments or possibilities with spotting scopes from Zeiss and Swarovski?

The Harpia and the ATX/BTX/STX are the major players right now. I’ve been putting-off buying one recently because both scopes have little flaws which keep me from pulling the trigger.

But perhaps there is a 2.0 version on the way, or something new…

Anybody know / guess what we are likely to see in the next few years?

 

[Will K]

I’ve heard talk of an extender option for the Harpia. Probably no more than about 1.7x, since it already goes up to 70x. Unless they deliberately want to go further than Swarovski. Maybe their constant AFOV feature prevents a booster, however. I have no idea if they’d be compatible.

 

[kabsetz]

I have no insider knowledge about the plans of the big two, but as for the Harpia I can offer some educated speculation.
Rather than offering an extender, Zeiss could simply offer a second eyepiece with a shorter focal length. That would provide higher magnifications just as easily as adding an extender and with better quality and fewer compromises. The problem is that the design of the zoom as part of the objective limits the effective aperture at lower zoom settings, and although that is not much of a problem at the current magnification range, it would increasingly become a problem if the magnifications are increased. A 23x57 is still pretty nice, but a 40x57 already is somewhat dark and lacking in contrast. A 30-90x range might be an okay compromise, with a starting exit pupil of around 2 mm at 30x going down to just over 1 mm at 90x. There are no technical obstacles for introducing something like this eyepiece, and the cost should not be different from the current one.

For the Swarovski range, I would hope for an extender X with a variable magnification from 1-2x, which would bring a zoom option to the BTX and more flexibility to the ATX. For this option, I'm not sure what the technical possibilities/obstacles would be.

Also the Kowa 99A is fantastic assuming you get a really good sample, but that is not a given.

 

[Will K]

I have no insider knowledge about the plans of the big two, but as for the Harpia I can offer some educated speculation.
…

Thanks for the context!

Zeiss certainly has the physical potential - looking at the basic design - to experiment with special eyepieces. That might be a way of competing with the modular Swaro options.

 

[DRodrigues]

...
There are no technical obstacles for introducing something like this eyepiece, and the cost should not be different from the current one.

...

I told this before but I repeat again: - Zeiss is loosing market not commercializing a 1.25" astro-adapter for their Harpias!
Those that think the constant 72º AFOV is a plus, would appreciate even more if it could be 76, 80, 82, 84-85 or even 100º, and could choose the magnifications of the 3x zoom range they want. Commercially, it would be as simple as only selling each Harpia with their ep, so any Harpia buyer would have to purchase also their ep. This issue still confuse me and it's very strange the lack of "vision" of a company as Zeiss...

PS - I don't have such an adapter for the Harpias since Harpias are only angled i.e. there are no straight versions... For more see X95 vs. Harpia 95