ATX Interior Spotting Scope 25-60x 85mm Brown with Tripod Head and Wooden Tripod Ordered (1 Viewer)

[dwever]

Today I ordered the Swarovski ATX Interior Spotting Scope 25-60x 85mm Angled Body Brown with Tripod Head and Wooden Tripod for my cabin in Big Lake, Alaska, shipping to Alaska was $82 (arrives Thursday).

Can you please confirm this is merely a normal ATX system spotting scope with the special brown color? So I will have no trouble also taking it to the field with my Gitzo carbon fiber tripod and Swarovski compact head (picture 3)? THANK YOU! I was incredibly happy optically with my 115mm ATX system (pictured, but you have to click it for the full instrument to come in to view), but it was massive and heavy and impractical for 6X6 transport.

 

[forent]

Yes. It's just the common 25-60x85 in a different colour for a different price. And the tripod is a common Berlebach Report (made in Germany). Both instruments are very competent for rough environments.

 

[tenex]

Sorry to hear the 115 didn't work out for you. Did you get an attractive deal on the Interior package? And how are you coping with all those wildfires? The smoke plume reaches all across Canada and the US from the Rockies eastward.

 

[dwever]

From an optical standpoint the 115 was to die for, I had one of the perhaps harder-to-find really good samples. But man was it massive and heavy for my applications. For certain types of transport, often I entomb the optic in foam rubber and then circle it in close cell rubber (a cut down sleeping pad) and put the whole thing inside a large dry bag. In the picture that is not my 6 x 6, but it is the same as what I have (can-am Outlander Max 1,000cc) and similar to how we move sometimes. The price for the optic and tripod was a little breathtaking, but I have wanted to base this or a similar optic in the Alaska cabin for some time.

Hand-holding my iPhone behind the ATX and 115, need to buy an adapter.

 

[forent]

BTW, the "Swarovski WT Wooden Tripod" is originally a Berlebach Report 432 in nutwood brown, equipped not with the common screw-down rubber/spike feet but with rubber caps that are better suited for indoor use. (You get the same caps with the Berlebach Mini tripod.)

 

[dwever]

The scope and ATX appears to be everything I'd hoped for. Can't compare it much with the 115 yet as we have smoke in the atmosphere in Matsu, Alaska currently. Pic 2: Eagle w/eaglets at 614 yards (at 12 o'clock and slightly down; picture corrects orientation when selected, yardage via EL Range TA). Going to perform a star test using the techniques posted by Henry in 2020 before saying much more. Post #2 at Henry's simple guide to testing spotting scopes?

Wood in 2022: The Berlebach is pleasing aesthetically and works well permanently located, but otherwise is too short, too heavy, too delicate, and does not mount/dismount the scope as well - I guess it would be perfect ca.1968. Needless to say, prefer the carbon fiber Gitzo tripod and Swarovski Compact Head in pic 4 that I thankfully still have.

 

[Tringa45]

Wood in 2022: The Berlebach is pleasing aesthetically and works well permanently located, but otherwise is too short, too heavy, too delicate, and does not mount/dismount the scope as well - I guess it would be perfect ca.1968. Needless to say, prefer the carbon fiber Gitzo tripod and Swarovski Compact Head in pic 4 that I thankfully still have.

AFAIK wood is still the choice of surveyors as it has excellent damping properties. Admittedly it is somewhat heavier than comparable CF tripods, but delicate it is not and a damaged part could be easily and cheaply replaced. If the Berlebach 432 is too short for use with an angled scope you must be over 7 ft tall!

I see that the tripod came equipped with the levelling ball module, but this could be easily exchanged for one of the other Berlebach modules, plane plate, centre column, geared column etc. You could then fit a video head of your choice such as the Swarovski compact head or the Berlebach 510 or 553.

John

 

[dwever]

If the Berlebach 432 is too short for use with an angled scope you must be over 7 ft tall!

I see that the tripod came equipped with the levelling ball module, but this could be easily exchanged for one of the other Berlebach modules, plane plate, centre column, geared column etc. You could then fit a video head of your choice such as the Swarovski compact head or the Berlebach 510 or 553.

John

Thanks, that is excellent information! Actually, the one I have needs about 4" more for it to fit me at 6'1". So I take it I can extend the legs out further until the middle piece is flush with the top of the clasp? That is all the expansion I have left.

I like this furniture-grade tripod in that I leave my scope mounted at all times in our Alaska cabin as I caught a beaver swimming across the lake this morning I would of never seen with detail otherwise. But for loading up on my six wheeler and going in to the back-country, this is obviously not the solution.

Eagle hand-held iPhone over ATX

 

[dwever]

Not positive the Berlebach 432 is necessarily superior in dampening to the CF:

Berlebach Report Wooden Tripod

I think most of us would be well served by a decent 8x42 and if our interests (waders, ducks etc.) demanded it, by the addition of a medium-sized scope and tripod. However, nearly all of us are afflicted with NAJS (new acquisition justification syndrome), typically: "I need a new binocular for...

www.birdforum.net

 

[Tringa45]

Not positive the Berlebach 432 is necessarily superior in dampening to the CF:

Berlebach Report Wooden Tripod

I think most of us would be well served by a decent 8x42 and if our interests (waders, ducks etc.) demanded it, by the addition of a medium-sized scope and tripod. However, nearly all of us are afflicted with NAJS (new acquisition justification syndrome), typically: "I need a new binocular for...

www.birdforum.net

Well, I don't think I contradicted myself. That was in comparison to a really massive aluminium Series 4 Gitzo weighing 4 kg.
Surveyors' tripods are really quite cheap but would have to be converted to a 3/8" x 16 stud fitting. Otherwise, there is nothing at the price level of a Berlebach Report that could compare for stability and damping.
Perhaps the Swarovski edition is based on the 332 and not the 432 as forent suggested. It would still have a maximum height of 143 cm, which would be more than adequate for 6'1" and an angled scope.
However, the levelling ball is IMO less than ideal for scope use. It allows unwanted lateral tilt and restricts vertical tilt to +/-30°.
Your tripod should have a knurled and internally threaded collar on the underside of the spider. You could order a (3/8") flat plate module from Berlebach (tool is included) to replace the levelling ball module and fit a second Swarovski compact head for compatibility with your other set-up.
Perhaps less elegant, but there is nothing to prevent you from fitting a second Swarovski compact head directly to the levelling ball. If the stud is 1/4" you would need a thread adapter to 3/8".

John

 

[forent]

(...) Perhaps the Swarovski edition is based on the 332 and not the 432 as forent suggested. (...)
John

Well possible. In my view the 332 would be the better choice anyway. But the upper leg elements of the "WT" look pretty long so I tipped (!) the 432.

 

[The BulbMogul]

Your setup looks fantastic and love how you have it setup inside your home like a piece of fauniture. I also have mine always setup in my office at home however i do not have your fancy interior setup and also my 115ATX is affixed to a Gitzo 5543 Tripod and Wimberly MK2 head... Love it and thanks for sharing..

 

[dwever]

The interior set up works great. User obviously should be aware that with the highest magnifications, stepping outside will give better detail by removing the double-pane insulated glass from between user and the subject.

After some excellent technical guidance from Forent, I learned that the ATX is not parfocal*. This was confirmed by Swarovski. One must slightly adjust focus when zooming to a new magnification.

*A parfocal lens is a lens that stays in focus when magnification/focal length is changed. There is inevitably some amount of focus error, but too small to be considered significant.

 

[dwever]

Two I routinely see outside my cabin in Big Lake, Alaska this morning. Alaska eagles are massive. The Golden Eagle in pic 2 months ago was 3.5 miles away at a bird rescue, I was delivering what appeared to be a baby mallard I scooped up off the highway.

For picture one I took a video at 25X by hand-holding my iPhone to the eyepiece. Then took a screen shot in the video. Pic three was a terrible attempt at using the iPhone still camera hand-holding behind the eye-piece.

 

[dwever]

Well I tried to sell the ATX 25-60X85mm Interior system, and I think long term I'm going to be just as happy it did not sell. Now that I have entered the fourth week of using the 25-60X85 I would say that optically the 85 is the equal of the 115 except in the exit pupil (3.4 vs. 3.83) and a 10-15 minutes dawn and dusk. However the heft of the 115 makes the small comparative compromises of the 85 system well worthwhile.

Because of my experience with the earlier ATX and 115mm I knew that I had an excellent ATX and 85mm sample (although the 115 had to take a trip to Austria before it was the amazing sample it ended up being). I had originally thought I'd pair my Swarovski spotters with an 8X42 NL Pure and I did. While the NL Pure's optics for me were breath-taking, I did not feel long-term they would be up to the demands of back-woods Alaska travel and I switched to an EL Range TA that while bigger and heavier, seems much more robust; and, I appreciate the multiple weather data points, orientation guidance, and range finding which helps estimate accurate size on wild-life and flora.

Pic 1 lens on camera using 52mm lens of ATX-30-70X115mm; Pic 2 25-60X85mm Interior; Pic 3 85mm objective. Pic 4 8X42 EL Range TA. Pic 5 Often without roads, parts of Alaska can only be reached by plane, snow-machine, or ATV: back-country expedition the Interior of Alaska by 6X6. Besides wild-life viewing, in unfamiliar terrain having a long throw from a clear spotting scope can be critical partner to your GPS.

 

[rodneyAB]

good to hear you'll stick with the ATX85. I think the interior brown is a good alternative to green. I've settled in with my ATX85. pairs well with NL8x32.

 

[The BulbMogul]

Well I tried to sell the ATX 25-60X85mm Interior system, and I think long term I'm going to be just as happy it did not sell. Now that I have entered the fourth week of using the 25-60X85 I would say that optically the 85 is the equal of the 115 except in the exit pupil (3.4 vs. 3.83) and a 10-15 minutes dawn and dusk. However the heft of the 115 makes the small comparative compromises of the 85 system well worthwhile.

Because of my experience with the earlier ATX and 115mm I knew that I had an excellent ATX and 85mm sample (although the 115 had to take a trip to Austria before it was the amazing sample it ended up being). I had originally thought I'd pair my Swarovski spotters with an 8X42 NL Pure and I did. While the NL Pure's optics for me were breath-taking, I did not feel long-term they would be up to the demands of back-woods Alaska travel and I switched to an EL Range TA that while bigger and heavier, seems much more robust; and, I appreciate the multiple weather data points, orientation guidance, and range finding which helps estimate accurate size on wild-life and flora.

Pic 1 lens on camera using 52mm lens of ATX-30-70X115mm; Pic 2 25-60X85mm Interior; Pic 3 85mm objective. Pic 4 8X42 EL Range TA. Pic 5 Often without roads, parts of Alaska can only be reached by plane, snow-machine, or ATV: back-country expedition the Interior of Alaska by 6X6. Besides wild-life viewing, in unfamiliar terrain having a long throw from a clear spotting scope can be critical partner to your GPS.

Spotted your nice Gold Rolex Band on a Presidential..? I also have several solid gold ones myself... Watch people spot those things..

 

[BoldenEagle]

Because of my experience with the earlier ATX and 115mm I knew that I had an excellent ATX and 85mm sample (although the 115 had to take a trip to Austria before it was the amazing sample it ended up being).

Was there some optical issue with your 115mm sample and it was sent to Austria to be fixed?

If so, could you please give some more details on that?

Best Regards, Juhani

 

[dwever]

Was there some optical issue with your 115mm sample and it was sent to Austria to be fixed?

If so, could you please give some more details on that?

Best Regards, Juhani

The person who sold that system to me and was the owner when it was sent to Austria could speak to those details. Linked:

https://www.birdforum.net/threads/swarovski-modular-spotting-scope-lnib-original-owner-for-sale-in-u-s-now-sold.407824/