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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ClayTaylorTX" data-source="post: 1274318" data-attributes="member: 81704">Hi all - I have finally returned home after an exhausting series of trips, including working the Swarovski Optik UK Digiscoping Stand at the Bird Fair.   The new Swarovski 25-50xSW eyepieces were even more impressive than I had imagined they would be, as we had identical ATM 65 HD scopes set side-by-side, one with the new zoom eyepiece, and the other with the 30xSW eyepiece.   From inside the tent it was impossible to really evaluate the resolution and brightness of the two eyepieces, but there were no obvious defects in the image of the zoom eyepiece when set at 30x and compared to the fixed-power eyepiece.   The fixed eyepiece had a slightly larger FOV, but it was close enough to the zoom that you had to carefully look at the image coverage to see it.I had hoped to persuade one of the Leica guys to meet me out back of the Optics Marquee for an old-fashioned shootout, but it never happened.   However, an employee of another optics company, after seeing the side-by-side ATM 65 HDs, remarked that Swarovski will have a hard time selling 30xSW eyepieces in the future.On Friday evening I was able to take the zoom, along with my trusty old 20-60xS and my STS 80 HD to one of the hides to get an idea of what to expect.   there were a lot of people in the hide, and the floorboards were vibrating a lot, so top-shelf photos were not in the offing.However, here's the basic view - my Canon A570 IS camera on its wide-angle setting, using the DCA camera adapter.   The dramatically larger image circle is the wider AFOV of the new eyepiece.   Note that the true FOV is slightly larger than the old zoom at 20x, but the birds are larger due to the 25x.   That's a win-win in my book.  An added benefit is that P&S cameras that have not worked well behind the older zoom might now do so - one attendee that had a Canon A720 was able to get no vignetting with his camera at WA (equiv. to a 35mm lens, or 0.7x) and the zoom set to 40x - a final equivalent magnification of 28x at the sensor.  Very cool.Clay TaylorSwarovski Optik NActaylor@att,net20-60xS eyepiece at 20x / 25-50XSW at 25x</blockquote>

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