New ATC/ STC 17-40x56 Telescope (1 Viewer)

[Hermann]

Perhaps you were never a climber or traveled at high altitude or in wilderness areas for extended periods of time, lol.

Actually, I do.

I actually have the next size up pack. But wherever possible - moreso as I age - I save weight and prefer to travel light and fast. Also, whether the bag fits under airline seat, or meets carry-on req, etc. all matter to me ;-)

This all makes perfect sense. Thanks for the explanation.

Hermann

 

[globalstar66]

Does anybody know if the ATC will fit in the field bag XL? FBP-XL field bag pro - Swarovski Optik

Or does anybody know of a bag that can protect the little scope? I might consider a towel or so, but I am just wondering. Maybe Swarovski will show up with a bag or cover especially designed for the ATC one day?

It will NOT fit in an XL FBP. Only the ATX/STX eyepieces with a 65mm Objective will fit in the XL FBP.

 

[4John]

Does anybody know if the ATC will fit in the field bag XL? FBP-XL field bag pro - Swarovski Optik

Or does anybody know of a bag that can protect the little scope? I might consider a towel or so, but I am just wondering. Maybe Swarovski will show up with a bag or cover especially designed for the ATC one day?

I keep my ED50 in a cut-to-length bit of UPVC ventilator duct lined with some foam from a sleep mat. The foam takes care of knocks and shakes and impact resistance if dropped and the UPVC takes care of crushing impacts foam can't handle. All that goes in my rucsac, but any bag will do.

 

[Dyrlege]

I keep my ED50 in a cut-to-length bit of UPVC ventilator duct lined with some foam from a sleep mat. The foam takes care of knocks and shakes and impact resistance if dropped and the UPVC takes care of crushing impacts foam can't handle. All that goes in my rucsac, but any bag will do.

Brilliant!

 

[gastonbe]

Wondering, is the 40mm zoom on this sufficient for most birding? E.g for seaside it might be somewhat missing? Compared to the ATS 65 which has 60max zoom. That's a third more.

Any thoughts or experiences on this?

 

[William Lewis]

Wondering, is the 40mm zoom on this sufficient for most birding? E.g for seaside it might be somewhat missing? Compared to the ATS 65 which has 60max zoom. That's a third more.

Any thoughts or experiences on this?

At the risk of sounding glib it depends how far away the birds are but for most of my birding 40x is more than enough, the tiny exit pupil at 40x of the stc/atc though wouldn't be enough for me.

I tend to find 8x fine for most of my local patch with the scope not often venturing out of the bag but on some lakes a bike ride away I use all 30x of my scope and very occasionally wouldn't mind a bit more.

If I was doing a lot of coastal/estuary/large lakes and locks and long range raptor work I would want a lot more to get a good look at things, 60x +.

I used the 60x of zoom when I had it quite often (many years ago) but it does necessitate a large objective (65mm+, ideally more like 80/90) to avoid the exit pupil becoming a bit too small and the view a bit too dim and you also need to carry a large tripod to hold that view steady.

I think if I did a lot of sea watching which I do love the atc/stc wouldn't be my first choice but as I live about as far from the coast as you can get in England it doesn't happen often so I have a scope that suits my general use - 30x with a 2.5mm exit pupil has seen me well for a good few years now.

Will

 

[gastonbe]

At the risk of sounding glib it depends how far away the birds are but for most of my birding 40x is more than enough, the tiny exit pupil at 40x of the stc/atc though wouldn't be enough for me.

I tend to find 8x fine for most of my local patch with the scope not often venturing out of the bag but on some lakes a bike ride away I use all 30x of my scope and very occasionally wouldn't mind a bit more.

If I was doing a lot of coastal/estuary/large lakes and locks and long range raptor work I would want a lot more to get a good look at things, 60x +.

I used the 60x of zoom when I had it quite often (many years ago) but it does necessitate a large objective (65mm+, ideally more like 80/90) to avoid the exit pupil becoming a bit too small and the view a bit too dim and you also need to carry a large tripod to hold that view steady.

I think if I did a lot of sea watching which I do love the atc/stc wouldn't be my first choice but as I live about as far from the coast as you can get in England it doesn't happen often so I have a scope that suits my general use - 30x with a 2.5mm exit pupil has seen me well for a good few years now.

Will

Thanks for the info. I think for most of my birding the 40x will suffice. For the few occasions it doesn't, no big deal, I suppose.

Concerning exit pupil I compared it with the ATS/ATX65.

ATS65:
25-60mm: 3,3 - 1,1 mm
25-50mm: 2,6 - 1,3 mm

ATX65
25-60mm: 3,4 - 1,4 mm

ATC:
3.4 - 1.4mm

There's not that much difference here but I think the weight difference you get with the ATC IS substantial and you do gain a lot there. A happy tradeoff for me personally (I hope).

I think you'd need to look at heavier scopes if you really want good low light performance. Some of us here in the thread are willing to make that sacrifice.

FYI here's a good new review comparing it with the ATS 65:

Swarovski ATC 17-40x56mm Spotting Scope Review

Swarovski ATC 17-40x56mm review. Court discusses his likes and dislikes of the Swarovski ATC spotting scope.

www.rokslide.com

 

[ReinierB]

Nice rainguard he has there

 

[ReinierB]

I figured that the ATC is handable without tripod when there is not too much wind. Just press it against you eye and hold the scope with one hand an the end to stabilize it. I really think I will bring the scope often with me without a tripod (or hold the tripod in my backup, for just in case). I do not use the shell. It does not add much. Maybe when you put the scope on your bag or something.
17 power is the max, for handhold, imo.

 

[gastonbe]

I figured that the ATC is handable without tripod when there is not too much wind. Just press it against you eye and hold the scope with one hand an the end to stabilize it. I really think I will bring the scope often with me without a tripod (or hold the tripod in my backup, for just in case). I do not use the shell. It does not add much. Maybe when you put the scope on your bag or something.
17 power is the max, for handhold, imo.

One of those bean bags in a shelter might work. I wouldn't try hand-holding it personally but for a quick spot check it might work!

 

[Ignatius]

View attachment 1492164Nice rainguard he has there

Anyone have any idea where to get that rainguard?

 

[William Lewis]

Thanks for the info. I think for most of my birding the 40x will suffice. For the few occasions it doesn't, no big deal, I suppose.

Concerning exit pupil I compared it with the ATS/ATX65.

ATS65:
25-60mm: 3,3 - 1,1 mm
25-50mm: 2,6 - 1,3 mm

ATX65
25-60mm: 3,4 - 1,4 mm

ATC:
3.4 - 1.4mm

There's not that much difference here but I think the weight difference you get with the ATC IS substantial and you do gain a lot there. A happy tradeoff for me personally (I hope).

I think you'd need to look at heavier scopes if you really want good low light performance. Some of us here in the thread are willing to make that sacrifice.

FYI here's a good new review comparing it with the ATS 65:

Swarovski ATC 17-40x56mm Spotting Scope Review

Swarovski ATC 17-40x56mm review. Court discusses his likes and dislikes of the Swarovski ATC spotting scope.

www.rokslide.com

Exactly. All those small ish scopes struggle at higher magnifications to keep the exit pupil from getting quite dim other than in very good light. Even my old 85mm was quite a lot dimmer at 60x where the exit pupil was at 1.4mm the same as the atc is at 40x.

You can see how the aperture is affecting things in your notes as well, the atc is at 3.4mm at 17x where as the atx 65 is at the same 3.4mm at 25x - a useful magnification, where the atc is already down to 2.4mm.

I've been sacrificing a bit of performance for a number of years - my scopes the swaro ctc 30/75 so I know where your coming from! I carry a scope all the time but don't want to carry a huge amount of weight in it or the tripod but the atc/ctc or Nikon Ed 50 or Kowa 551 are just a smidge too compromised for their intended purpose for my uses. No one's in the wrong though, it's just horses for courses.

will

 

[henry link]

Anyone have any idea where to get that rainguard?

It's this digiscoping adapter:

S1 Spotting Scope Adapter - MAGVIEW Gear: Premium Digiscoping

The MagView S1 system is the most streamlined, multifunctional spotting scope digiscoping system to date. Be ready to capture content at a moment's notice.

magviewgear.com

 

[gastonbe]

It's this digiscoping adapter:

S1 Spotting Scope Adapter - MAGVIEW Gear: Premium Digiscoping

The MagView S1 system is the most streamlined, multifunctional spotting scope digiscoping system to date. Be ready to capture content at a moment's notice.

magviewgear.com

Cool that it works as an eye piece! I have been wanting to find one.

 

[gastonbe]

Exactly. All those small ish scopes struggle at higher magnifications to keep the exit pupil from getting quite dim other than in very good light. Even my old 85mm was quite a lot dimmer at 60x where the exit pupil was at 1.4mm the same as the atc is at 40x.

You can see how the aperture is affecting things in your notes as well, the atc is at 3.4mm at 17x where as the atx 65 is at the same 3.4mm at 25x - a useful magnification, where the atc is already down to 2.4mm.

I've been sacrificing a bit of performance for a number of years - my scopes the swaro ctc 30/75 so I know where your coming from! I carry a scope all the time but don't want to carry a huge amount of weight in it or the tripod but the atc/ctc or Nikon Ed 50 or Kowa 551 are just a smidge too compromised for their intended purpose for my uses. No one's in the wrong though, it's just horses for courses.

will

Agreed! Good summary. I do find the wide view to be a feature for the ATC. From the review mentioned:

The viewing experience through the wide integrated eyepiece was nothing short of fantastic. It was exactly the same as looking through a wide-angle 65mm spotting scope eyepiece. This thing was a pleasure to sit behind.

In the twilight category, the ATC gathered light very well at dusk, however (and obviously,) the 65mm won out in this field but not by much.

I was surprised to see the 25-50mm exit pupil on the ATS65 to have a smaller exit pupil than the ATC.

 

[William Lewis]

Agreed! Good summary. I do find the wide view to be a feature for the ATC. From the review mentioned:

I was surprised to see the 25-50mm exit pupil on the ATS65 to have a smaller exit pupil than the ATC.

Exit pupil is just aperture divided by magnification. So the 17x mag and 56mm aperture of the atc/stc gives you your 3.29mm - why they state 3.4 I don't know!

 

[gastonbe]

Exit pupil is just aperture divided by magnification. So the 17x mag and 56mm aperture of the atc/stc gives you your 3.29mm - why they state 3.4 I don't know!

Indeed, I was confused by my typo, which said 25-60mm but was supposed to be 20-60mm in post 287.
Thanks for clearing that up. I must have copied the exit pupils of the ATX85 objective then because the difference at 25mm you mentioned is way too big.

Here's the correct stats, please ignore my original post. For reference sake:

ATS (65mm):
20-60mm: 3,3 - 1,1 mm
25-50mm: 2,6 - 1,3 mm

ATX (65mm):
25-60mm: 2.6 - 1,1 mm

ATC (56mm):
17-40mm: 3.4 - 1.4mm

So, at 25mm, we'd be looking at 2.24 (ATC) vs 2.6mm (ATX).

 

[ReinierB]

So that might suggest that the ATC is more suited for twilight because of the possibility for having the biggest exit pupil?

 

[William Lewis]

So that might suggest that the ATC is more suited for twilight because of the possibility for having the biggest exit pupil?

Not exactly, the benefit of the larger exit pupil is purely a result of the lower magnification.

 

[wllmspd]

If you want a bright image at high powers you just need to throw aperture at it, with the side effect of it being harder to lug about. Remember that in the daytime your eye pupil might be smaller than the scope exit pupil, which will limit the brightness you see (unlikely with a spotter unless at lowest power, more likely with larger objective binoculars). Nothing can be done about it.
I think the “mm” in the table as in “ 20-60mm” should be “x” for magnification as the focal length of the eyepieces is normally between 8-24mm, nothing like 60mm?!

Peter