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Where premium quality meets exceptional value. ZEISS Conquest HDX.

ATC 17-40x56 underwhelming (1 Viewer)

Boogieshrew

Well-known member
Hi all,

I had a try of this scope today. I have to say I was really rather underwhelmed.

Optically it was lovely to look through but I didn't want to buy it for three reasons.

1. I was surprised that although e/r is 20mm I still could not use the zoom comfortably over about 25xor so. No better than my MM460 with SDL zoom which is ok up to about 30x.

2. Also very disappointed by the focus wheel. Nice action/motion focussing to near focus but very stiff and jerky moving to infinity focus. The ring rubbed against the rubber armour of the body.

3. The connection to the tripod plate did not feel secure. It was fairly easy to get the scope to rotate on the plate.

I'm disappointed because on paper the ATC looks perfect. I love low mag & wide fov so the 17x end of the zoom is great. I seldom feel the need to go much over 30x so the top end of the zoom also gets a big tick. I don't need 50-60x. It's lightweight- tick. It's Swarovski so you know the optics will be top notch.

On the plus side I've saved myself £2k and I am actually quite happy with my MM4 and it has the advantage of good fixed mag e/ps as well as the zoom.

Oh well. I await the future appearance of the next generations of travel scopes 😄
 
Interesting take. I also had a brief look at the Swaro, and decided to stick to my old Nikon ED50 for the time being, simply because (a) I've got it and a decent set of eyepieces already, and (b) because it's quite a lot ligher than the Swaro. And even my old EDIIA isn't really that much heavier than the Swaro ... :cool:

Hermann
 
I considered it for sure... BUT I've read too many negative reports concerning the tripod connection point.

I applied a bit of red loctite on the screw thread and it has not budged since Feb.

2. Also very disappointed by the focus wheel. Nice action/motion focussing to near focus but very stiff and jerky moving to infinity focus. The ring rubbed against the rubber armour of the body.

Strange because I did not find any stiff and jerky motion with the focusing wheel on both sides with my unit.
 
Hi all,

I had a try of this scope today. I have to say I was really rather underwhelmed.

Optically it was lovely to look through but I didn't want to buy it for three reasons.

1. I was surprised that although e/r is 20mm I still could not use the zoom comfortably over about 25xor so. No better than my MM460 with SDL zoom which is ok up to about 30x.

2. Also very disappointed by the focus wheel. Nice action/motion focussing to near focus but very stiff and jerky moving to infinity focus. The ring rubbed against the rubber armour of the body.

3. The connection to the tripod plate did not feel secure. It was fairly easy to get the scope to rotate on the plate.

I'm disappointed because on paper the ATC looks perfect. I love low mag & wide fov so the 17x end of the zoom is great. I seldom feel the need to go much over 30x so the top end of the zoom also gets a big tick. I don't need 50-60x. It's lightweight- tick. It's Swarovski so you know the optics will be top notch.

On the plus side I've saved myself £2k and I am actually quite happy with my MM4 and it has the advantage of good fixed mag e/ps as well as the zoom.

Oh well. I await the future appearance of the next generations of travel scopes 😄

Ok, I have the STC 17-40x56, but we may assume that the eye relief, focus wheels and connectors are the same.

1. About the eye relief, it might help if you adjust the eyecup. In my case, it has to be fully extended above 22 magnification, for 17 - 22 the eyecup needs to be shorter. It is very easy to adjust the eyecup since it has no fixed positions. This works well for me, no more blackouts at 17.

2. The focus wheel of my STC is extremely smooth, I tried another one before buying, also smooth, and I tested two in the field. That's n = 4 for what it's worth :) In fact it is much better than the focus wheel on my former ATS-65. The zoom/focus wheels of my STC are perfect. Probably, you had no luck with your unit.

3. Agree with the connection to the tripod plate, you have to find a quick release plate with some 'resistance' (rubber, plastic parts). And using the 3/8 connection instead of the 1/4 helps too. In my case the scope does not rotate (anymore).

The only downside I notice: the view is getting dark at 35+ magnification. On sunny days, it's no problem though.
 
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Ok, I have the STC 17-40x56, but we may assume that the eye relief, focus wheels and connectors are the same.

1. About the eye relief, it might help if you adjust the eyecup. In my case, it has to be fully extended above 22 magnification, for 17 - 22 the eyecup needs to be shorter. It is very easy to adjust the eyecup since it has no fixed positions. This works well for me, no more blackouts at 17.

2. The focus wheel of my STC is extremely smooth, I tried another one before buying, also smooth, and I tested two in the field. That's n = 4 for what it's worth :) In fact it is much better than the focus wheel on my former ATS-65. The zoom/focus wheels of my STC are perfect. Probably, you had no luck with your unit.

3. Agree with the connection to the tripod plate, you have to find a quick release plate with some 'resistance' (rubber, plastic parts). And using the 3/8 connection instead of the 1/4 helps too. In my case the scope does not rotate (anymore).

The only downside I notice: the view is getting dark at 35+ magnification. On sunny days, it's no problem though.
Hi Blackgrouse,
I agree with you on 2 and 3 but my problem on 1 was not enough eye relief. With 20mm of it I expected to be able to use the full zoom range very comfortably but I could not. I need a little more e/r at higher mags.
I can live with that on my MM4 which cost £400 secondhand but for £2k I want perfection from Swarovski. Hence being underwhelmed.
Also the MM4 has very nice fixed mag eyepieces and the ATC has only the zoom option.
 
Ok, I have the STC 17-40x56, but we may assume that the eye relief, focus wheels and connectors are the same.

1. About the eye relief, it might help if you adjust the eyecup. In my case, it has to be fully extended above 22 magnification, for 17 - 22 the eyecup needs to be shorter. It is very easy to adjust the eyecup since it has no fixed positions. This works well for me, no more blackouts at 17.

2. The focus wheel of my STC is extremely smooth, I tried another one before buying, also smooth, and I tested two in the field. That's n = 4 for what it's worth :) In fact it is much better than the focus wheel on my former ATS-65. The zoom/focus wheels of my STC are perfect. Probably, you had no luck with your unit.

3. Agree with the connection to the tripod plate, you have to find a quick release plate with some 'resistance' (rubber, plastic parts). And using the 3/8 connection instead of the 1/4 helps too. In my case the scope does not rotate (anymore).

The only downside I notice: the view is getting dark at 35+ magnification. On sunny days, it's no problem though.
After a year of using the ATC, I can only agree with the above statements.
No other telescope that I know of is as suitable for people wearing glasses with more than ample eye relief. The focusing drive is smooth and absolutely backlash-free. As I already wrote in another post, I have no problems at all with tripod screws coming loose.
 
After a year of using the ATC, I can only agree with the above statements.
No other telescope that I know of is as suitable for people wearing glasses with more than ample eye relief. The focusing drive is smooth and absolutely backlash-free. As I already wrote in another post, I have no problems at all with tripod screws coming loose.
Must agree, only been using my ATC for a couple of weeks but it been a revelation. Superb bit of kit and both focus and zoom rings are super smooth.
 
Had a look through orange ATC once and was left unimpressed - too much CA at the edge of field, horribly violet.
 
Hello everyone. This thread is a bit old, but based on my own experience and current events, I would like to point out a few points for the ATC.
I wrote a detailed test in a German forum, also comparing it with the KOWA TSN553. If I get the new 55A/S to review, I will compare it with the ATC.
I have reviewed four ATCs so far and none of the models had any barrel focus errors. All of them ran super smoothly, all without play in the mechanism, not too light and not too tight, the resistance was exactly the same in both directions and none of the models had a problem with rubbing reinforcements. It sat firmly and precisely where it should be - perfect workmanship.
Yes, the tripod attachment is not optimal, but it works perfectly if the right plate is used. And that also applies to the hand grip. The new ATCs have 2 holes in the base, blind holes. If you want, you can put a pin on your plate and then you'll be done with the fear of twisting. Not ideal, but there are good solutions. And yes, KOWA has a big point here. In my opinion, the defects described in this article are probably models that left the factory without being checked. Then the fault lies with the manufacturer and the product is rated as bad. That is of course nonsense, because the inspection employee is bad, not the product. A bad product has bad properties that are inherent in the device, even if it has been perfectly manufactured. The difference should be clear. Mistakes happen, even with Swarovski.
I cannot confirm the accused CA. In the models that I had here, they were all equally good, super good. My ATS65HD is just as good, as is the KOWA TSN553. ALL small spotting scopes have a touch of CA in the edge area, in the ones that I know, and there are quite a few. Yesterday I was able to test an ATC on the star and I was more than reassured by the image of the diffraction disk. Perfectly round and no abnormalities.
I hope I have put some comments into perspective.
 
No, this part cannot be installed. The holes in the base of the ATC are at 9 and 3 o'clock, not 6 and 12 o'clock. And they are at a different distance than standard. The only solution here is to build one yourself.
I do not have an ATC/STC, but a) the Berlebach thingie works with every other Swaro scope's foot that I know of, and b) the ATC/STC comes with an adapter plate. Presumably a hole, ∅ 5.0 mm, in the right spot will make this work.
 
I just use a small Gitzo Arca mounting plate and use a bit of plumbers PTFE tape around the screw on my ATC. Perfik.

or so :)
 
I really wanted to like and buy an ATC this summer.
However, I had a terrible time with the eye box. Even all the way out, I was not able to avoid blackouts or enjoy an easy view. My partner had no trouble with the ATC at all. We decided to try out the Maven CS.1A - for me, the difference in ease of eyebox was night and day. The ATC has the wider fov, the Maven the stronger max mag. To my eyes, the magnification was appreciated. I would have like the lighter weight and larger fov of the swaro. The Maven also has a true collar and foot, which I appreciate. We are happy with Maven. When Swaro comes out with the BTC or whatever they end up calling the v2 of the ATC, will give it another look.

If they put IS in an STC - I would race to the store to check that out.
 

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