New ATC/ STC 17-40x56 Telescope (2 Viewers)

[John A Roberts]

Swarovski has just loaded details of a new compact telescope on its website. See: ATC/STC

The technical specifications (attached below) and the instruction manual can be found at: ATC 17-40x56 - Swarovski Optik

And obviously there'll be a lot more to come.


John

 

[John A Roberts]

As can be seen both versions are small, and stress is being placed on the ability to use then from an improvised rest, or even hand held:





The Product Description for the STC is essentially the same, although it is 27 mm / 1" longer.

 

[John A Roberts]

An image showing the half shell on the underside of the ATC:

 

[John A Roberts]

And the Press Release.

The 2 models will be available from the 3rd of October in 3 versions: the ATC in either green or burnt orange, and the STC in green.

 

[Vespobuteo]

Nice scope, very sleek design, impressive wide-angle eyepiece specs (AFOV 57-71°).

Maybe 1 kg is a bit too much as a backup-scope.

Not completely convinced on the helical focuser, even though Swaro has a very smart solution in the extra bottom plate.

And how useful will this be without a tripod or monopod? (as shown in the marketing...)

 

[John A Roberts]

And from the manual, use with and without a tripod, and the function of the half shell:



And the STC showing the half shell in place:

 

[Vespobuteo]

And from the manual, use with and without a tripod, and the function of the half shell:

No need for tripod when looking at the marketing...



Birds in flight without a fluid head will be challenge....

 

[Ratal]

Straight scope with a pistol grip is looking a mighty fine set up indeed. Might be in on this depending on the stiffness of that focuser.

 

[Vespobuteo]

Straight scope with a pistol grip is looking a mighty fine set up indeed. Might be in on this depending on the stiffness of that focuser.

I think straight will be easier as well. But maybe top-focuser would have been better.

Let us know how it goes. Good FOV at 17x though.

Straight or angled will be tough choice on this one.

Can see advantages with angled in some cases.

But will have to see to believe this one.

 

[Brummie]

Will be interested to see how this compares optically to an Opticron MM4 60, which I think only weighs about 2oz more with the SDLv3 eyepiece. I guess the FOV is probably better in the ATC for a start.

 

[dwatsonbirder]

Is it possible that given the location of the tripod mount, helical focus, 56mm objective and zoom rather than fixed lens that there is some shared "genetics" with Hawke/Celeston/Bresser/Svbony 56mm scopes? Eyepiece and prism design looks different (as one may expect at 10x price) but I wonder if this may be swaro's first foray into outsourcing their kit to reduce the price?

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Review here:

Swarovski ATC 17-40x56 travelscope - BirdGuides

With the launch next month of its new ATC spotting scope, Swarovski Optik effectively demonstrates it is now possible to fit a quart into a pint pot. Mike Alibone reveals its potential.

www.birdguides.com

 

[Vespobuteo]

Is it possible that given the location of the tripod mount, helical focus, 56mm objective and zoom rather than fixed lens that there is some shared "genetics" with Hawke/Celeston/Bresser/Svbony 56mm scopes? Eyepiece and prism design looks different (as one may expect at 10x price) but I wonder if this may be swaro's first foray into outsourcing their kit to reduce the price?

The ATC is 4-5 times the price so I don't think that is very likely.

Made in Austria is my impression.

 

[Moo]

Laughable pricing at £1895.

 

[John A Roberts]

The 4 page Fact Sheet (brochure) in 5 languages can be found at: My Service

 

[ticl2184]

Told you Guys .....

I got one reply goin my post a few weeks ago...😛

Cheers
Tim

 

[Mike Crawley]

Keen to try one out but I suspect that I won’t be buying one unless it’s significantly better than my MM4 60mm

 

[Brummie]

Laughable pricing at £1895.

If that’s the Swaro price, it’ll presumably be 10% less even at full retail.

There’s a US website that has them listed for $2350, which seems steep given that the dollar and euro are at parity these days.

If the reviews are good and I can eventually get one for not too far north of $1500, then I’d be interested.

 

[Brummie]

Keen to try one out but I suspect that I won’t be buying one unless it’s significantly better than my MM4 60mm

Probably significantly better FOV at low mags (someone should be able to dig out the figures), sharper at the field edge, and much more user friendly zoom (i.e. doesn’t require adjusting focus or eye relief). I’ll be looking out for any differences in low-light performance or CA.

 

[wllmspd]

The obvious niche they weren’t addressing, given that often you don’t want or can’t take a full sized scope. If it was a bit cheaper then they would have killed Kowa 553 sales. The field of view looks very nice, especially at the low end where it doesn’t get too narrow. Also stopping at 40x means things aren’t stretched too far and dim. Sure it’ll sell well for those who have the funds.

Peter