Product Review: Svbony SV410 9-27 x 56mm ED Mini-Spotting Scope (2 Viewers)

[Dipperdapper]

Hello Everyone,

Pleased find below a link to my recent review of the Svbony SV 410 9-27 x 56mm ED mini spotting scope:

Product Review: Svbony SV410 9-27 x 56mm ED Mini Spotting Scope. | Neil English.net

I hope you find it informative!

With best wishes,

Neil.

 

[wllmspd]

Interesting to hear it performs well. Does it take astro eyepieces as the hummingbird model does? You are starting to sound like a Svbony salesman… but if their stuff delivers for the price then all the better for the consumer. Might be a useful unit to keep my companions occupied when I am using my big scope.

Peter

 

[Dipperdapper]

Hello Peter,

I'll promote any product that offers genuine value for money, regardless of who sells it.

The answer to your question is no. It appears to be a built in 7-21mm zoom ocular, although it did come with an extra set of caps that look like those you get with an eyepiece.

Kind Regards,

Neil.

 

[wllmspd]

Minor issue, I like wide fields and generally avoid zooms, but then I am not going to be the main user. How does the image quality hold up at the max power…. Some report the hummingbird model not doing too well.

Peter

 

[Dipperdapper]

Dear Peter,

This is my first spotting scope. Never compared it to anything else. All the images were taken at 27x so you can judge for yourself. There is a small amount of CA at the highest powers on high contrast targets, but is sensitive to eye placement and the image of the telephone pole shows more than I can see visually(think worse case scenario).

Cheers,

Neil.

 

[wllmspd]

Looks good. I come from astro refractor land, great (but overly weighty) views.

Peter

 

[OrdinaryLight]

Neil, thanks for your review of the Svbony. I stumbled across the scope online and ordered one after seeing your report. I've really enjoyed this little scope! I mostly use it on a monopod as part of a light weight nature walk kit in concert with some Kowa 6.5x32s, but use it in other situations too (feeder watching from inside the house; quick looks at the night sky).

My smallest astro scope is a Stellarvue SV60eds 60mm f/5.5 and it's incredible how much smaller and lighter the 56mm micro spotter is. I've used astro scopes as spotters before and while they have great optics and can serve in the role, a purpose built spotter has benefits in the field.

 

[mbb]

I had never heard Svbony, let alone of that specific model.
Has anyone compared it (hands on) with the other "small scopes" like the Nikon ED50, Vortex Razor HD 50, Opticron (several ones)...?

Or with any other scope?
(I don't expect it to be on par with the best 65-85mm scopes. Rather wondering if they would be of added value (and with enjoyable viewing) when cycling with already an top/alpha binocular, but without larger/heavier scope.)

 

[Dipperdapper]

Neil, thanks for your review of the Svbony. I stumbled across the scope online and ordered one after seeing your report. I've really enjoyed this little scope! I mostly use it on a monopod as part of a light weight nature walk kit in concert with some Kowa 6.5x32s, but use it in other situations too (feeder watching from inside the house; quick looks at the night sky).

My smallest astro scope is a Stellarvue SV60eds 60mm f/5.5 and it's incredible how much smaller and lighter the 56mm micro spotter is. I've used astro scopes as spotters before and while they have great optics and can serve in the role, a purpose built spotter has benefits in the field.

Hello OrdinaryLight,

Thanks for the feedback and very glad to hear you like it!
It's such a quirky little spotter, so versatile and ultraportable.

Merry Christmas!

Neil.

 

[OrdinaryLight]

I had never heard Svbony, let alone of that specific model.
Has anyone compared it (hands on) with the other "small scopes" like the Nikon ED50, Vortex Razor HD 50, Opticron (several ones)...?

Or with any other scope?
(I don't expect it to be on par with the best 65-85mm scopes. Rather wondering if they would be of added value (and with enjoyable viewing) when cycling with already an top/alpha binocular, but without larger/heavier scope.)

I haven't seen a direct comparison but this post has some impressions relating a similar 50mm scope to scopes in the Nikon's class:

Hummingbird Micro-scopes

There's a generally positive review of the new Celestron Hummingbird x9-x27x56 "micro-scope" in the latest edition of 'Birdwatch'. It uses ED glass, is waterproof, the FoV is 74-32m at 1000M and only weighs 590g (inc. eyepiece). There's an even smaller x7-x22x50 scope which weight 540g (not sure...

www.birdforum.net

I'd just mention that my 56mm Svbony is good into the ~20x range (and I'll use it at 27x when needed) though I'm not sure if that's due to the increased aperture or other differences between the Svbony and that Athlon scope from 2016.

Some other relevant information is available in this thread:

Noblex 8-24x50 ED short summary

Hello birders / optics enthusiast just to open thread for the 8-24x50 ED from Noblex. Base on Binomania review https://www.binomania.it/recensione-del-noblex-ns-8-24x-50-ed/ and some good price in German shops...

www.birdforum.net

I think that whether you would find it to be of value and enjoyable is pretty subjective. The cost ($165 on Amazon US) and size mean there are definite optical compromises and depending on your tolerance for these they may outweigh the benefits for you. Your mention of using it alongside top/alpha binoculars gives me pause as that will make the compromises more apparent. I use it alongside Kowa 6.5x32 BDIIs that, while generally well regarded, are certainly not in the alpha class.

Generally speaking, the most apparent compromises for me are the narrow FOV (4.5deg @ 9x) and high field curvature resulting in a smaller sweet spot. There's some false color on high contrast areas at higher powers (varies with eye placement). I've been pleased with brightness, color, and sharpness from the scope for what it is - a low power, compact spotter that fits between binoculars and a standard spotter.

The Celestron Hummingbird ED accepts standard 1.25" eyepieces (unlike the SV410, but at more than 2x the price), which might help with the compromises at the cost of going to a fixed focal length EP in return for a wider, better corrected view. I'd speculate that a Nikon ED50 would best both of these optically.

Personally I enjoy the scope and will use it more than a larger spotter just because it better suits the way I observe most often. To me the most impressive thing is that the 56mm Svbony gives better views than I would expect for something of this price and size.

 

[mbb]

I haven't seen a direct comparison but this post has some impressions relating a similar 50mm scope to scopes in the Nikon's class:

Hummingbird Micro-scopes

There's a generally positive review of the new Celestron Hummingbird x9-x27x56 "micro-scope" in the latest edition of 'Birdwatch'. It uses ED glass, is waterproof, the FoV is 74-32m at 1000M and only weighs 590g (inc. eyepiece). There's an even smaller x7-x22x50 scope which weight 540g (not sure...

www.birdforum.net

…

I think that whether you would find it to be of value and enjoyable is pretty subjective. The cost ($165 on Amazon US) and size mean there are definite optical compromises and depending on your tolerance for these they may outweigh the benefits for you. Your mention of using it alongside top/alpha binoculars gives me pause as that will make the compromises more apparent. I use it alongside Kowa 6.5x32 BDIIs that, while generally well regarded, are certainly not in the alpha class.

Generally speaking, the most apparent compromises for me are the narrow FOV (4.5deg @ 9x) and high field curvature resulting in a smaller sweet spot. There's some false color on high contrast areas at higher powers (varies with eye placement). I've been pleased with brightness, color, and sharpness from the scope for what it is - a low power, compact spotter that fits between binoculars and a standard spotter.

The Celestron Hummingbird ED accepts standard 1.25" eyepieces (unlike the SV410, but at more than 2x the price), which might help with the compromises at the cost of going to a fixed focal length EP in return for a wider, better corrected view. I'd speculate that a Nikon ED50 would best both of these optically.

Personally I enjoy the scope and will use it more than a larger spotter just because it better suits the way I observe most often. To me the most impressive thing is that the 56mm Svbony gives better views than I would expect for something of this price and size.

Thank you for the reply!
That Celestron seems strangely similar and the comparison there with the Nikon ed50 is interesting, though not that positive. The fact that it does accept other eyepieces is interesting though, as the eyepiece strongly defines a scope’s total performance.

The fact that I have some ‘alpha’ grade optics doesn’t mean that I can only enjoy that. It is true of course that it quite sets the bar, but I can perfectly enjoy a good Kite (they have some very good optics) or even my old Docter Classic 8x30 (notwithstanding its slightly yellow cast and lower level of finishing etc.). I’m mainly wondering if it could take the same « just in case » role as a small « take in the cycling bag anyway » (when I might otherwise only have a 32-42mm binocular without scope) as my small 8x20 now serve as « take in my jacket/office bag anyway » (when I might otherwise have taken no binocular with me). Sometimes I do take my 65mm scope on my back when cycling on my own, using a Scopac, but sometimes I don’t want to carry it (depending on where I go, a.o. because of weight and more difficult to stow away).
Having looked a bit further online, it seems the Kowa TSN-501 might be an interesting option that I hadn’t considered yet (cheaper and lighter than a new Nikon 50ED or Vortex Razor HD 50, but still getting relatively good response, for its size and price, though there are still not that many review with comparisons out there, and not one here nearby to test).
It would be interesting to find some comparison between those: Kowa TSN-501 (not the much more expensive and heavier 553), the Celestron , Sbony, Nikon, Vortex, Opticron… Maybe I just haven’t searched well enough.