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Here are the new modular Swarovski scopes (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter frank.e.oy
- Start date
Mary have a look at the Digiscoping cameras forum as it is being used with the Nikon V1,Sony Nex 5n and 7 and Micro Four Thirds cameras.
You can see here http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=235819.
It's still early days and lots of new users are being frustrated with poor winter weather and the holiday season.
Neil.
STX In Stock
Hey All, our shop now has an STX Modular Eyepiece in stock. We were pleasantly surprised to get one in this soon. They'll be hard to come by for a bit longer so if anyone's interested feel free to PM me.
Hey All, our shop now has an STX Modular Eyepiece in stock. We were pleasantly surprised to get one in this soon. They'll be hard to come by for a bit longer so if anyone's interested feel free to PM me.
I got out on Wednesday for my first outing in 2013 with the STX 95 mm. I was using the TLS APO and the Sony Nex 7 all morning.
I'm seeing a little shadowing in the corners with the NEX - Nikon Adapter I'm using so I will look around for a different one.
I'm also still getting to grips with the high magnifications of this setup but if you want to fill the frame with a Northern Pintail feeding in the mud then it's the way to go.
https://vimeo.com/57632669
Still very impressed with the build quality with this kit.
I'll be out with the waders next week as the tides should be high enough to bring them in closer.
Neil
I'm seeing a little shadowing in the corners with the NEX - Nikon Adapter I'm using so I will look around for a different one.
I'm also still getting to grips with the high magnifications of this setup but if you want to fill the frame with a Northern Pintail feeding in the mud then it's the way to go.
https://vimeo.com/57632669
Still very impressed with the build quality with this kit.
I'll be out with the waders next week as the tides should be high enough to bring them in closer.
Neil
I'm sorry I haven't done any comparison testing at the moment as my back is still giving me trouble and I can't take too much kit out in the field. Also the pollution levels here are very high at the moment so comparisons wouldn't mean very much, especially at distance.
What I did do was get out the trusty Nikon 8400 to try on the new scope and I was impressed again at how good that camera is. The heron was at 100 meters,thrush at 25 meters and the flycatcher at 12 meters.
I will do some more next week.
Neil
Nikon Coolpix 8400 and Swarovski STX 95 mm and Swarovski DCB 11 adapter
Hong Kong,
China.
Jan 2013
What I did do was get out the trusty Nikon 8400 to try on the new scope and I was impressed again at how good that camera is. The heron was at 100 meters,thrush at 25 meters and the flycatcher at 12 meters.
I will do some more next week.
Neil
Nikon Coolpix 8400 and Swarovski STX 95 mm and Swarovski DCB 11 adapter
Hong Kong,
China.
Jan 2013
Attachments
One of the reasons I like the STX 95 is the ability to go to 70x. Great for reading leg Flags at distance amongst other things.
It also gets me into the flocks of roosting birds for video
https://vimeo.com/59205121
These photos were all taken around the long end of the zoom from 30 - 45 meters with the very economical Nikon P310 which I was testing out for the first time.
Neil
Nikon Coolpix P310 and Swarovski STX 95 mm Scope and Sw DCB 11 (using a Manfrotto Sliding Plate for balance )
Mai Po Nature Reserve
Hong Kong,China
February 2013
It also gets me into the flocks of roosting birds for video
https://vimeo.com/59205121
These photos were all taken around the long end of the zoom from 30 - 45 meters with the very economical Nikon P310 which I was testing out for the first time.
Neil
Nikon Coolpix P310 and Swarovski STX 95 mm Scope and Sw DCB 11 (using a Manfrotto Sliding Plate for balance )
Mai Po Nature Reserve
Hong Kong,China
February 2013
Attachments
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John Russell
Well-known member
Jason,
If I understood you correctly, the blind hole in the tripod foot of the STX is not deep enough to let you clamp the plate to it.
I use a Berlebach 552 head (Arca Swiss compatible) with my ATM65 HD and had a similar problem, as the original Berlebach plate would not clamp to the tripod foot. I prefer to use 3/8" threads if provided and until recently used a short Novoflex plate.
The ATM65 is however rather tail-heavy and I mentioned the problem to the Berlebach engineer at Photokina last September. He had a special 117 mm plate adapted for me with a slightly shortened 3/8" screw and a 5 mm video pin at the front.
Although Arca Swiss plates from different manufacturers are usually interchangeable, the anti-loss arrangements are not always compatible, so I can't suggest an alternative plate.
I really think Swarovski should bore and tap a deeper thread but in the meantime your best bet would be to use a different fixing screw or to get a machine shop to shorten the Wimberly one by a few tenths of a mm.
John
horukuru
Here I Come !
My question to henry and Kimmo, what is the reason when we zoom our scope let say from 30-70x eyepiece using the STX95, the view become dimmer and obvious CA at 70x ? But the FOV remained the same like at 30x. Was it because of the lens construction etc ?
I do noticed the same with my Nikon EDG85 on 20-60x eyepiece. I tried for an hour near sunset the STX95 just now and was impressed with the sharpness it has at 70x and reminded me of my friend's Nikon ED82 on 75x. My ED82 and EDG85, both at maximum zoom was not sharp ...
The CA was visible while looking at Glossy Starling (very dark green bird) against the grey sky.
The reason why I asked because beginner birders in my place might ask this question when they first try a scope for birding.
Thanks !
I do noticed the same with my Nikon EDG85 on 20-60x eyepiece. I tried for an hour near sunset the STX95 just now and was impressed with the sharpness it has at 70x and reminded me of my friend's Nikon ED82 on 75x. My ED82 and EDG85, both at maximum zoom was not sharp ...
The CA was visible while looking at Glossy Starling (very dark green bird) against the grey sky.
The reason why I asked because beginner birders in my place might ask this question when they first try a scope for birding.
Thanks !
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Hi Horukuru,
Henry can add his bit, but the short and simple answer I'd give is this. As you zoom up, the exit pupil of the scope gets smaller, since the exit pupil is always objective diameter divided by magnification. The image begins to become visibly dimmer when the exit pupil becomes smaller than your eye's pupil at the light level you are viewing at. With the ATX 95, at 30x the exit pupil will be just under 3.2mm or a little less than in a 10x32 binocular. At 46x it would be 2mm, and the image will start to look visibly dimmer in all but the most glaring light. At the 72x maximum magnification of the ATX, the exit pupil is down to about 1.32mm which is much smaller than the pupil of your eye at any light level. Your EDG 85 at 60x would have had an 1.42mm exit pupil, likely giving a very slightly brighter view than the Swaro at 72x, but since the Swaro has a little bit better light transmission, the difference would not be very much. Your old Nikon ED 82 on the other hand, has at 75x an exit pupil of 1.1mm, and with slightly lower light transmission on top of that, markedly darker image than the big Swaro at 72.
As to CA, the level of longitudinal CA in the image the scope objective creates is the same for all magnifications, but just like detail in the image gets easier to see with more magnification, so do image defects, so the higher the magnification the better you see the CA that is there. Now, Nikon scopes have less CA than most. In my view only the Kowa 883/884 has less CA than the Nikons, Zeiss about the same and Swarovski models have had a little bit more. So, at equal magnification to the Nikons, the Swarovski could show more CA. Also, since the Swarovski zoom eyepiece has such a wide angle, you will be able to see more lateral CA far off axis than in the Nikons simply because the Nikons with a narrower fov will not show anything as far off axis as the Swaro does.
If your ED 82 and EDG 85 at maximum zoom magnification was not sharp, you have unfortunately likely had scopes that were not quite as good as they could have been. My excellent sample of the ED 82 is sharp (very sharp) up to 75x, but a good sample of the ATX 95 is even sharper at its maximum zoom.
Hope this helps, and enjoy your new scope.
Kimmo
Henry can add his bit, but the short and simple answer I'd give is this. As you zoom up, the exit pupil of the scope gets smaller, since the exit pupil is always objective diameter divided by magnification. The image begins to become visibly dimmer when the exit pupil becomes smaller than your eye's pupil at the light level you are viewing at. With the ATX 95, at 30x the exit pupil will be just under 3.2mm or a little less than in a 10x32 binocular. At 46x it would be 2mm, and the image will start to look visibly dimmer in all but the most glaring light. At the 72x maximum magnification of the ATX, the exit pupil is down to about 1.32mm which is much smaller than the pupil of your eye at any light level. Your EDG 85 at 60x would have had an 1.42mm exit pupil, likely giving a very slightly brighter view than the Swaro at 72x, but since the Swaro has a little bit better light transmission, the difference would not be very much. Your old Nikon ED 82 on the other hand, has at 75x an exit pupil of 1.1mm, and with slightly lower light transmission on top of that, markedly darker image than the big Swaro at 72.
As to CA, the level of longitudinal CA in the image the scope objective creates is the same for all magnifications, but just like detail in the image gets easier to see with more magnification, so do image defects, so the higher the magnification the better you see the CA that is there. Now, Nikon scopes have less CA than most. In my view only the Kowa 883/884 has less CA than the Nikons, Zeiss about the same and Swarovski models have had a little bit more. So, at equal magnification to the Nikons, the Swarovski could show more CA. Also, since the Swarovski zoom eyepiece has such a wide angle, you will be able to see more lateral CA far off axis than in the Nikons simply because the Nikons with a narrower fov will not show anything as far off axis as the Swaro does.
If your ED 82 and EDG 85 at maximum zoom magnification was not sharp, you have unfortunately likely had scopes that were not quite as good as they could have been. My excellent sample of the ED 82 is sharp (very sharp) up to 75x, but a good sample of the ATX 95 is even sharper at its maximum zoom.
Hope this helps, and enjoy your new scope.
Kimmo
horukuru
Here I Come !
Thanks a lot Kimmo and usually I see the CA off axis with both Swaro and Nikon when i move my eyes to the edge of eyepiece.
Let say example if the ATX/STX scope is not sharp on maximum zoom, which one need to be replace ? Is it the objective or the eyepiece module ? The STX95 I'm using now is excellent sharp at 72x hehehe
I remembered my previous ED82 with 25-75x zoom fell twice to the ground. Then when my friend bought his ED82 with the same zoom, I compared at 75x looking at lines of the wood under shade in the forest. Mine was not sharp but his is insanely sharp ! Is it because the scope fell Kimmo and causing misalign on the glass etc ?
Let say example if the ATX/STX scope is not sharp on maximum zoom, which one need to be replace ? Is it the objective or the eyepiece module ? The STX95 I'm using now is excellent sharp at 72x hehehe
I remembered my previous ED82 with 25-75x zoom fell twice to the ground. Then when my friend bought his ED82 with the same zoom, I compared at 75x looking at lines of the wood under shade in the forest. Mine was not sharp but his is insanely sharp ! Is it because the scope fell Kimmo and causing misalign on the glass etc ?
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horukuru
Here I Come !
Good idea John !
Let me try first by inserting bigger bushing on the tripod mount for the arca swiss plate. If it fits, problem solve hehehe if not, I will ask my friend at his shop.
Horukuru,
Short answers to your two questions.
Problems with sharpness at maximum magnification are nearly always caused by the objective, not the eyepiece. However, problems can be caused by the prism assembly, which with the ATX/STX comes bundled with the eyepiece. Still, if you were to try several combinations of objective module/eyepiece module, you would probably not notice much differences when you swab the ep/prism, but would see the different objectives giving slightly different image sharpness and microcontrast.
As for the Fieldscope, falling to the ground is not a good thing for any scope, and it is a matter of luck when this happens whether the image suffers or not and by how much. If you are lucky, nothing changes, and if not, a super-sharp scope can turn into junk. Collimation can go off, uneven stresses can be induced to the lens elements etc.
So don't drop your scope, no matter what brand or model. Some scopes are more durable than others, but every fall and drop is different, and you should not take risks with any of them.
Rick,
I thought Horukuru meant lateral CA, but could not be sure, and if you view out-of-focus star images or in-focus glitter points at maximum zoom or boosted magnifications, you will see some traces of longitudinal CA in just about all scopes. The only one I would consider an exception to this is the big Kowa with true fluorite crystal objective, but the levels of longitudinal CA in the other top scopes is so low as not to be visible in even critical normal viewing. But, if you obsess about this, the 883/884 is the way to go.
Kimmo
Short answers to your two questions.
Problems with sharpness at maximum magnification are nearly always caused by the objective, not the eyepiece. However, problems can be caused by the prism assembly, which with the ATX/STX comes bundled with the eyepiece. Still, if you were to try several combinations of objective module/eyepiece module, you would probably not notice much differences when you swab the ep/prism, but would see the different objectives giving slightly different image sharpness and microcontrast.
As for the Fieldscope, falling to the ground is not a good thing for any scope, and it is a matter of luck when this happens whether the image suffers or not and by how much. If you are lucky, nothing changes, and if not, a super-sharp scope can turn into junk. Collimation can go off, uneven stresses can be induced to the lens elements etc.
So don't drop your scope, no matter what brand or model. Some scopes are more durable than others, but every fall and drop is different, and you should not take risks with any of them.
Rick,
I thought Horukuru meant lateral CA, but could not be sure, and if you view out-of-focus star images or in-focus glitter points at maximum zoom or boosted magnifications, you will see some traces of longitudinal CA in just about all scopes. The only one I would consider an exception to this is the big Kowa with true fluorite crystal objective, but the levels of longitudinal CA in the other top scopes is so low as not to be visible in even critical normal viewing. But, if you obsess about this, the 883/884 is the way to go.
Kimmo
