Jason Bugay Reyes
Well-known member
Update once a year via bluetooth through the app and the battery remained with 50% on daily usage
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New AX Visio 10x32 binocular (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter John A Roberts
- Start date
Update once a year via bluetooth through the app and the battery remained with 50% on daily usage
The updates are handled via the Swaro Outdoor app, as you thought. Note that this is via a Bluetooth link to the phone, so rather sluggish. I've had three updates since I got the Visio last summer. My impression is that these were primarily to improve the recognition software, which has become much better at just admitting that the bird is not recognized, whereas initially it would hallucinate freely. If there were functionality changes, they were imperceptible.
The battery does not last for a full day of birding, I'd guess 4-5 hours in winter. Happily I'd bought a spare along with the glass, simply based on my experience with cameras. If there is a standby option to stretch battery life, I've not found it. Booting up the glass takes a good 15-20 seconds, so standby may be impracticable.
I don't know if the compass functions are normally on standby, but afaik the ID and camera functions are always live. Indeed, to ID a bird the unit takes a picture to compare with its Merlin based stored images.. The separate camera function allows for video as well, but no ID.
Same here.
I got 3 udpates within 8 months, which bring certain improvements in various areas, e.g.
- improved feedback as to why birds are not recognized
- bird ID, esp. for small birds, is possible at a slightly higher distance
- improved video stability
- correction of horizon in camera function in case bino wasn't held horizontally when taking the pic.
- also, the dragon fly app and butterfly app have been updated and expanded
Of course, limitations built into the hardware (e.g. focal distance of camera) are still there, so my "learnings" from a year ago (see SWAROVSKI AX VISIO: MY LEARNINGS IN A NUTSHELL) and my "recommendations" (AX Visio: is it really as bad as some reviewers claim??) remain valid in my view.
Jason has shown us what is possible with this innovative device, despite its limitations. Perhaps not enough for some, but for me.
P.S. yesterday just found this year's first starling in this region (with the Visio, distance 65 m)
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It amazes me that people just have to use electronics and batteries nowadays.
Where is the pride and sense of accomplishment that using your own learned skills and abilities give.
Granted these human abilities are sometimes hard to aquire , but people seem too lazy to even try , but I suppose that there is the question of instant gratification and all that.
Are peoples abilities deteriorating so fast that electronic "intelligence" is now deemed superior and absolutely essential.
Where is the pride and sense of accomplishment that using your own learned skills and abilities give.
Granted these human abilities are sometimes hard to aquire , but people seem too lazy to even try , but I suppose that there is the question of instant gratification and all that.
Are peoples abilities deteriorating so fast that electronic "intelligence" is now deemed superior and absolutely essential.
What a strange observation. None of my binos have electronics - I do like the purity of something wholly mechanical but that is a personal not practical thing. My camera has electronics with very effective IS but a friend of mine is having great fun with my lovely old wholly mechanical Olympus OM1 film camera at the moment. I like to have a map and compass when walking but I use a GPS with electronic maps. It's horses for courses and there is nothing mutally exclusive about electronics/no electronics.
If you rank bird and birding knowledge of the denizens here between 1 and 10, I am about 2. I can really see the attraction of having binos with camera and identification built in. It's a good way of learning apart from anything else. It is just another method of acquiring knowledge. And I am sure those who are serious will undoubtedly supplement it with reading, etc. The Visio is just another item to add to the armoury.
If you rank bird and birding knowledge of the denizens here between 1 and 10, I am about 2. I can really see the attraction of having binos with camera and identification built in. It's a good way of learning apart from anything else. It is just another method of acquiring knowledge. And I am sure those who are serious will undoubtedly supplement it with reading, etc. The Visio is just another item to add to the armoury.
Jason Bugay Reyes
Well-known member
It is depends with what the usage for the AX Visio per person. These technology really useful in my place for the enforcement units in getting evidence from illegal loggers and poachers. For birdwatchers, some of them do not have the luxury time to learn and identify birds seen through the non-electronic binoculars and scopes. Watching and taking pics or videos at the same time of those birds with the AX Visio helps them to appreciate nature too in their own way
updates and downloads of pics/video are "Bluetooth Up" and WIFI down. The Visio is its own WIFI hotspot, so when it's doing large picture/video sharing to your phone (or when you have other people's phones connected to your VISIO) it's transferring those images by WIFI, which is pretty fast.
