Photo of robot?Indeed. For instance, the focuser of the Ultravid 8x20 I bought new a few years ago before the Curio was very firm.
I used a Lego Mindstorm robot to turn it both ways for a few days just to get it right. I could have them exchanged but it was more fun this way
-
Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.
Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Curio Whoopsie! (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter Mono
- Start date
Things break.
The eye cup broke on my Opticrons; repaired without question under warranty.
The focus knob broke on my Papillos; had email tennis between Pentax and the supplier, finally gave up and mended it myself.
The rubber armour came off my Vortexes; they wanted me to pay to send them back to the USA, so I glued it back on myself.
The focus knob came off my Curios; repaired without question under warranty.
You use things they will break, that is why warranties have value.
The eye cup broke on my Opticrons; repaired without question under warranty.
The focus knob broke on my Papillos; had email tennis between Pentax and the supplier, finally gave up and mended it myself.
The rubber armour came off my Vortexes; they wanted me to pay to send them back to the USA, so I glued it back on myself.
The focus knob came off my Curios; repaired without question under warranty.
You use things they will break, that is why warranties have value.
John M Robinson
Well-known member
That’s all true, and I love my Curios, but there have been more instances of this specific problem, focus knobs just falling off, than normal happenstance. I can understand the occasional random lemon, but such a weird specific problem repeated at a pretty high rate.
That said, I’ll be holding onto mine forever and if I ever have a problem with them, I know Swarovski’s vaunted warranty will treat me right.
Unfortunately no. But it was a variant of the one I built to open and close a knife to loosen it too.
I have a rubber ring going from the robot rotating part to the focuser and programmed it to turn it one way then back. It was simpler than with the knife.
Attachments
Samuele,
I think you have identified the problem. If the glue fails, the focus knob will eventually come unscrewed from the pin. The strange thing is I have both a SW CL 25mm and an older SW 8x20 which both see fairly regular use and have never had a similar problem. Many members here use SW 20 and 25 mm pockets as well and I haven't seen reports of a similar problem with either.
No problems so far with my Curio.
Mike
Stuarts vision
Well-known member
Totally agree. I was thinking of getting one but have changed my mind now.
I don't think they use glue, it's more likely that they use threadlocker to be able to carry out maintenance work easily.
The fact is that if you force the rotation counterclockwise the threadlocker could fail.
A fixing allen screw would have been safer even if unsightly.
No problem with my Curio too
Mac308
Well-known member
Just too many of these sorts of issues with the Curio - I certainly would love a 7x21 with great glass. If I had a Curio I certainly wouldn't sell it, but if I didn't I certainly wouldn't buy one. Swarovski has the best customer service and warranty because they need it. Others will see it differently obviously. Vive la difference.
It seems that people who think so do not have one.
I hope for you that the binoculars you have are 100% issues free and that no user ever reported one here.
FWIW....I still might actually buy another Curio at some point! I did like the optics and the 7x and the orange color. The one I got literally came with a broken focuser, that's why I sent it back. It was a demo unit, I balked at paying full price for a replacement unit.
If you like them it's no big deal, it's covered by the warranty right? I'd rather deal with the focus knob design than switch to 8x....when you find glass that suits you, you have to go for it. Have not made another attempt on a pocket bino yet. Zeiss asymmetrical focuser did not work for me. I also liked Swaro's 8x25 CL. I guess I'm waiting to try to the Leica's when I get a chance. Getting by with my 6x21 Vixen monocular for now.
If you like them it's no big deal, it's covered by the warranty right? I'd rather deal with the focus knob design than switch to 8x....when you find glass that suits you, you have to go for it. Have not made another attempt on a pocket bino yet. Zeiss asymmetrical focuser did not work for me. I also liked Swaro's 8x25 CL. I guess I'm waiting to try to the Leica's when I get a chance. Getting by with my 6x21 Vixen monocular for now.
Last edited:
CL25's are superb.... I had them... i really rate them.
BUT.... they proved a tad too big for real 'take anywhere' portability.... im back with the fiddly awkward Ultras.... but they are always in my bag or pocket (in an Oakley sunglasses case).
It's always a compromise.
Mac308
Well-known member
All my Leica's have been 100% issue free, from -30F to +100F going back over 20 years - and I use my binoculars HARD. Not saying Leica or Zeiss don't have problems, just that Swarovski seems to have more. However, my 1990's SLC's, apart from stiff focus in subzero temps, were great. Our local optics center reports more problems with Swarovski than the others. Again, vive la difference. Swarovski's customer service and warranty are no.1.
I love my Curio's. They are perfect for me size wise and thus far I have not experienced any problems with them. But the constant reports of how fantastic the UV 8x20's are started an itch which needs scratching so...........I have been looking for a S/H pair.
There was none on the recent Black Friday listings on EBay but an 'as new' 1 year old pair of Companion CL 8x30's were on EBay with a 20% cashback offer on TopCashBack and I took a punt. They are fantastic and worked out at half the current UK price.
Bargain, and they have replaced my SW Pocket CL 8x25's which Grandson No1 has liberated.
The UV's will have to wait but they are still on the radar and it will be interesting to compare them to the Curio's.
There was none on the recent Black Friday listings on EBay but an 'as new' 1 year old pair of Companion CL 8x30's were on EBay with a 20% cashback offer on TopCashBack and I took a punt. They are fantastic and worked out at half the current UK price.
Bargain, and they have replaced my SW Pocket CL 8x25's which Grandson No1 has liberated.
The UV's will have to wait but they are still on the radar and it will be interesting to compare them to the Curio's.
And I had more problem with Leica binoculars than Swaro. So did you prove something?
Based on what? Because if for instance Swaro sells more and it seems to be the case, you will also have more problems reported.
I'm not saying that Zeiss and Leica are not more reliable. I'm just saying that I do not know and that so far, everything I read here so far points more to people "having a feeling" than real knowledge based on facts, figures, etc.
I have both. I've never used the UV since I bought the Curio. I prefer Leica ergonomics and general feeling but they give a tunnel vision compared to the Curio.
I don’t think we’re supposed to say things like that here.
I think you will be a bit disappointed after the Curios.
Optically I rate the curios higher.....better fov, brighter, just a better view!
The Ultras, which I have, are superb, and only lag behind on a direct swapping viewing session.
However, those Ultravids are just superbly put together, and have a feel to them that Swaro and Zeiss just don't seem to be able to match.
Similar threads
