Here are the new modular Swarovski scopes (1 Viewer)

[Neil]

Pete, maybe ponder this. Most scope eyepieces are not nitrogen purged and some not even waterproof. And when you insert them into the prism you have an airspace between the prism window and the field lens. Do these spaces fog up up?

The eyepieces do fog here in Hong Kong during the summer but not for very long. By the time I've walked to the hide they are usually ok with one wipe of a cloth. The objective on the other hand is a different story and can be 20 mins before it's clear. No point in wiping them either. I sometimes leave them out in the sun which speeds things up a lot.
Neil.

 

[John Barber]

I heard an interesting comment today while discussing the ATX scopes at Falsterbo Bird Show.

The scopes are modular and so, it was speculated, you have a glass-air-glass gap when the scope if assembled. As a result, this part is not e.g. nitrogen purged and so would be susceptible to fogging - not great if you're in a country like Sweden where the inside and outside temperatures are likely to be very different!

Did I and the person I was speaking to miss something here? Perhaps Clay can shed some light?

I had a chance to try the scopes again today on a non-bouncy platform (at Birdfair the raised platform moved every step someone took on the stairs!). There's much that impresses me about them but personally I find the eye-relief too short and so can't get a comfortable view.

Given that the event so far has been quiet, I may well get more time to try the ATX at leisure

Cheers, Pete

I heard an unnamed dealer voicing the same worries. He didn’t think the relatively large glass to glass facing was a very good idea – prone to problems.

I’m still thinking of buying a 95 though, and hope to get a proper look at one in a week or so; but I will be giving the scope a very full assessment before parting with my money.

 

[kabsetz]

Actually, the glass to glass facing in ATX/STX scopes is not all that large, certainly not much larger than in many eyepiece-scope fittings. Also, condensation usually takes place on the surface that cools off the quickest when gear is brought from warmer to cooler temps, and if you have a non-purged scope or objective, this is usually the big front lens. In the new Swaros, the non-purged glass surfaces are deep inside the assembled scope, and one can speculate that whatever condensation occurs will not happen on the glass which cools to the ambient temperature last, but on some metal surface closer to the scope's exterior.

Kimmo

 

[Dean Peach]

I'm sure they know what they're doing.

 

[John Barber]

I'm sure they know what they're doing.

Famous last words !

Just going back to the scopes we tried at the shows - Birdfair etc. I wonder what happens to the demonstators they use ? Do they get cleaned up and sold as new ? I just wonder about the scope my local dealer is expecting to arrive from Swarovski later next week for me to look at - how do I know it wasn't a demonstrator from one of the shows ?

 

[Dean Peach]

I'm collecting mine anytime between Sept 12th -14th. It was shipped on Friday apparently.

 

[pete_gamby]

After I posted I also pondered the issue of most scopes with some air-glass gap between eyepiece and body and thought my post was therefore probably rather spurious. Neil's post suggests that in the real world, we get over these things anyway - especially as at the end of the day the mind and the eye should be on the prize i.e. the bird in view and not necessarily the tool(s) that are helping you see it!

No time at Falsterbo to play more today - the show was packed with people and we even got some raptors and a few white storks overhead to allow us to point our optics at something other than distant toilet signs, empty trees and the ever-present magpies on the showground bleachers

The wind is expected to be getting up tomorrow so maybe the people and birds will stay away so I can go and play my "Test The Competition's Optics" game some more...

Cheers, Pete

 

[Neil]

I'm collecting mine anytime between Sept 12th -14th. It was shipped on Friday apparently.

Lucky you Dean. I'm waiting for the straight version and I can't wait to get my hands on a 95 mm.
Neil.

 

[John Barber]

After I posted I also pondered the issue of most scopes with some air-glass gap between eyepiece and body and thought my post was therefore probably rather spurious. Neil's post suggests that in the real world, we get over these things anyway - especially as at the end of the day the mind and the eye should be on the prize i.e. the bird in view and not necessarily the tool(s) that are helping you see it!

No time at Falsterbo to play more today - the show was packed with people and we even got some raptors and a few white storks overhead to allow us to point our optics at something other than distant toilet signs, empty trees and the ever-present magpies on the showground bleachers

The wind is expected to be getting up tomorrow so maybe the people and birds will stay away so I can go and play my "Test The Competition's Optics" game some more...

Cheers, Pete

Pete, you're the man to ask: what DO you do with the demo optics after the shows have finished ??

 

[Mike Penfold]

The eyepieces do fog here in Hong Kong during the summer but not for very long. By the time I've walked to the hide they are usually ok with one wipe of a cloth. The objective on the other hand is a different story and can be 20 mins before it's clear. No point in wiping them either. I sometimes leave them out in the sun which speeds things up a lot.
Neil.

Neil,

You may want to try a Lenspen Fogklear dry anti-fog cloth on a scrupulously clean lens or filter.

Mike

 

[pete_gamby]

Pete, you're the man to ask: what DO you do with the demo optics after the shows have finished ??

For us, the stock we use at shows tends to have a fairly finite life - maybe 12 to 18 months or so, depending on what it is and how many times it gets shipped, un-boxed, re-boxed etc. The sales reps' samples can get replaced more often especially if its a model that is popular at field events (and usually rep samples get a harder life due to a higher frequency of events - typically one every two to three weekends).

Once we've decided it's time to retire a product, it comes back through the service department for grading.

Some items that are lower cost may not be worth refurbishing but will still be in working order and so can go into our "charity bins" donation stock - this is used for a variety of things including Wildlife Trust education centres, guides or conservationists in far flung territories etc. All these are supplied free of charge.

Otherwise the product will be refurbished and/or repaired as necessary and will be sold via one of our retailers as ex-demonstration at a discount from retail price. Some of these items are also used for donations to organisations that need "as new" gear but that also merit some support in price of the purchase.

We run a pretty tight ship with relatively few complete sets of samples in the field at any one time. Unlike IT or CE techonology, optics don't go end of life or get out-dated every six months so we can keep stuff on exhibition stock for as long a it still looks "as new".

HTH

Cheers, Pete

 

[John Barber]

Thanks for the information Pete, very interesting. I often wondered what happens to the demo stock – and now we know ! Also nice to see your company supporting charities: well done OPTICRON.

 

[Gijs van Ginkel]

Previously there was some discussion about the prism systems of the ATX and STX telescopes. I checked it with the telescope designers and got the following information:
The ATX telescopes are supplied with Amici prisms just like the ATM and STM telescopes. The STX telescopes are supplied with Porro-2 prisms.
Focussing of the ATX/STX telescope is with a focussing lens. The group of lenses for the zoom effect are situated in the eyepiece.
There were also some remarks about the smoothness of the turning resistance of the foccussing ring and the zoom ring. Well today I had the first opportunity to use one of the new telescopes and the turning resistance of the focussing ring was in my hands smooth and with exactly the right turning resistance. The zoomring turned with some more resistance, but that was nice and adequate for accurate zooming, so I do not understand the criticism and the remarks about that aspect of the new telescope.
With regard to the lack of nitrogen filling of the gap between the objective module and the prism-eyepiece block: that is not different from the old situation with exchangeable eyepieces and I never had any problems with it.

 

[henry link]

The ATX telescopes are supplied with Amici prisms just like the ATM and STM telescopes.

That's odd. This cut-view of an ATM scope shows a Schmidt prism. Click on the image for an enlarged view.

http://www.swarovskioptik.us/upload/media/media/92/K09_ATM_querschnitt_var[2342].jpg

 

[John Barber]

As I’ve already indicated in earlier postings, I’m hoping to have a second look at the new ATX 95 in the next few days, with a view to buying.

As someone who is purely a user of optical equipment, and not a technical expert, could any of the experts out there perhaps give some pointers as to what they would be looking for when trying a new scope in a dealers shop.

Any advice would be gratefully received.

 

[tonimaroni]

...There were also some remarks about the smoothness of the turning resistance of the foccussing ring and the zoom ring. Well today I had the first opportunity to use one of the new telescopes and the turning resistance of the focussing ring was in my hands smooth and with exactly the right turning resistance. The zoomring turned with some more resistance, but that was nice and adequate for accurate zooming, so I do not understand the criticism and the remarks about that aspect of the new telescope...

To my understanding the zoom ring turns with more resistance by purpose: You can discern the focus and the zoom ring without looking at it.

 

[Gijs van Ginkel]

Henry, from the cut-away of the ATM telescope it is not very well possible to see which prism is used, since it shows only part of the roof prism and the part of the Amici prism shown can easily be confused with a Schmidt prism. An Amici prism is a very efficient prism by the way, with little light loss.

 

[dipped]

As I’ve already indicated in earlier postings, I’m hoping to have a second look at the new ATX 95 in the next few days, with a view to buying.

As someone who is purely a user of optical equipment, and not a technical expert, could any of the experts out there perhaps give some pointers as to what they would be looking for when trying a new scope in a dealers shop.

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Well ah if you could rustle up an artificial star from somewhere in or outside the shop you could do a startest. There's plenty on what to look for in the forums. I would suggest a period of grace from the dealer if you got it home and weren't happy. The real stars at night are getting earlier if you can't do an artificial star test. As a rule the focus should snap sharp at the highest mag if you can't do the star test in the shop but if I was spending that amount of money I would want the best specimen I could get.

 

[henry link]

Henry, from the cut-away of the ATM telescope it is not very well possible to see which prism is used, since it shows only part of the roof prism and the part of the Amici prism shown can easily be confused with a Schmidt prism. An Amici prism is a very efficient prism by the way, with little light loss.

Gijs,

The prism on this page labeled "AR 45 roof" is an Amici prism with a 45º deflection angle. It doesn't resemble the prism in the ATM cut-away. Scroll down to "CR 45 roof (Schmidt)". That's the wedge shaped prism in the ATM.

http://www.tecplusplus.de/ManualLu/prisms.htm

Henry

 

[henry link]

As I’ve already indicated in earlier postings, I’m hoping to have a second look at the new ATX 95 in the next few days, with a view to buying.

As someone who is purely a user of optical equipment, and not a technical expert, could any of the experts out there perhaps give some pointers as to what they would be looking for when trying a new scope in a dealers shop.

Any advice would be gratefully received.

I consider it essential to star-test the unit being purchased. There is too much variation in the quality of even expensive scopes to trust in anyone's reputation. You'll find plenty of information about star-testing on the internet, but unfortunately star-tests are not always that easy to interpret, especially if you've never done one.

The main defects that turn up in spotting scopes are astigmatism, excessive spherical aberration, miscollimation, pinching and badly made roof prisms. Look for examples of how those appear. Over the years I have posted a rogue's gallery of star-test photos of defects in spotting scopes here which you can probably find with a search. I prefer a daylight artificial star test. Outdoors i use a glitter point of sunlight in a small glass ball about 40-50 meters from the scope. 70x should be enough to show the typical problems.