How Do Swarovski Pocket Binoculars Differ?
You want to buy a Swarovski pocket binocular, but you dont know which one to choose. The reason? Small wonder, since the 10+ models look quite similar and that goes for the specs as well.
Swarovski Optiks are all about quality and everybody knows that and they back their products with a lifetime warranty, so that says it all. And when we talk about quality, we mean everything not only the optics. Just by looking at the instrument you know youre looking at quality.
For starters these binoculars not only carry the name of pocket binoculars for nothing they are that as well. You will hardly find any pocket binocular which fit the requirements as the ones from Swarovski. They all fit into the pocket of any jacket even a shirt; on top of this they are very lightweight maximum 8.1 ounce (some less than 7 ounces!)
Apart from some differences in how they look, there are some other differences relating to the technical aspects of binoculars. Some of these could be important enough for you to make your final decision. These differences will now be discussed.
Magnification:
Some of these pocket binoculars magnify by 8 times and some by 10 times.The Swarovski Optik Pocket 8x20B-P (Green) and 8x20B-P (Black ), the Traveler, Tyrol and the three crystal ones, the Tosca, Nabucco and Idomeneo all have magnification of 8x. The Swarovski Optiks Pocket Binocular (10x25B-P, Green) and the 10x25B-P, Black, as well as the Traveler have magnification of 10x.
Obviously you have more magnification with the 10x models, but that comes at a price. If you dont have a steady hand, dont even consider any binocular with a magnification of 10 times. The problem with higher power is the fact that the slightest movement (either from the object youre trying to look at, or your own hand holding the instrument) is exaggerated.
The bigger the power, the smaller the exit pupil, since the exit pupil is calculated by dividing the objective lens diameter by the magnification. So, with a magnification of 10x and an aperture of 20 mm, the exit pupil would have been 2 mm, which would be a limiting factor in fading or dim light. To counter this problem Swarovski widened the objective lens to 25 mm, thus maintaining the same exit pupil of 2.5 mm as is the case of the 8x20s.
Objective lens size:
Pocket binoculars have to be small enough to fit into at least the pocket of a jacket. To make them small enough, but still be able to perform as a binocular, is quite a challenge. Roof prism design binoculars, like the Swarovskis, have a distinctive advantage over porro designs and can be made very small indeed. The size of the objective lenses is the most crucial decision for the manufacturers of pocket binoculars. Too small lenses will render the instrument ineffective (too little light entering the instrument), but too big will make them too big and heavy. An ideal lens size seems to be 20 mm, with 25 mm probably at the edge.
The 25 mm of the Swarovski 10x25s present an advantage of more light entering the instrument (better image in fading light), but they also succeeded in keeping the size and weight well within what can be expected from a pocket binocular, as will be indicated below.
Weight:
The 10x25s are all slightly heavier than the 8x20s due to the wider objective lenses: 8.1 oz. vs 7.6 oz. However, this is not really that much.
Dimensions:
The dimensions of the 8x20s are exactly the same: Their height is merely 1.5 inches, they fold up to an incredible 2.3 inches and their length is not even 4 inches (3.98 inches). The 10x25s have the same height (1.5 inches) and width (2.3 inches), but are slightly longer (4.57 inches).
Field of view (FOV):
The field of view of a binocular is the range the viewer sees at a certain distance which is 345 feet at 1000 yards. Another way of stating this is in degrees: 6.6 degrees. The wider the FOV, the easier one can spot an object in the distance and the easier to follow a moving object; the narrower, the more difficult. One of the technical features that determines the FOV is magnification: More power translates into narrower FOV, as can be seen in the case of the 10x25s: 285 feet at 1,000 yards (5.4 degrees), which is considerably narrower than the 345 feet of the 8x20s. This is one of the sacrifices one has to make going for a more powerful binocular.
Close focus:
The longer the barrels, the further away the closest point of focus. The 8x20s can focus as close as 13 feet, whereas the 12x25s can only manage 16 feet. If this is important to you, you will have to consider one of the 8x20s. However, there are other binoculars which can focus as close as 1.2 feet (1 meter) and the Pentax papilio can do an incredible 18 inches! Generally speaking, the 13 and 16 feet of the Swarovski pocket binoculars are excellent and you really do not need to go closer unless you are into butterflies or real small things like bugs.
Price:
Even though the specifications are, generally speaking, quite the same, theres actually a huge difference in price from the lowest priced to the most expensive. At the low end of the price range you get the standard 8x20s and the Traveler 8x20, going for $679 at the moment. Then you get the 10x25s at $769. Then theres quite a jump to the luxury group, with the Tyrol 8x20 going for $840 and the glamorous ones with the lustrous housing studded with world famous Swarovski crystals, the Nabucco, Tosca and Idomeneo, topping the list at $899. This represents a difference of 32% between the lowest priced and the highest priced ones. This is quite a difference, considering the fact that the only difference is really the housing. On the other hand, a crystal pocket binocular from Swarovski will probably regarded as a piece of jewelry at the same time!
Swarovski Optiks are all about quality and everybody knows that and they back their products with a lifetime warranty, so that says it all. And when we talk about quality, we mean everything not only the optics. Just by looking at the instrument you know youre looking at quality.
For starters these binoculars not only carry the name of pocket binoculars for nothing they are that as well. You will hardly find any pocket binocular which fit the requirements as the ones from Swarovski. They all fit into the pocket of any jacket even a shirt; on top of this they are very lightweight maximum 8.1 ounce (some less than 7 ounces!)
Apart from some differences in how they look, there are some other differences relating to the technical aspects of binoculars. Some of these could be important enough for you to make your final decision. These differences will now be discussed.
Magnification:
Some of these pocket binoculars magnify by 8 times and some by 10 times.The Swarovski Optik Pocket 8x20B-P (Green) and 8x20B-P (Black ), the Traveler, Tyrol and the three crystal ones, the Tosca, Nabucco and Idomeneo all have magnification of 8x. The Swarovski Optiks Pocket Binocular (10x25B-P, Green) and the 10x25B-P, Black, as well as the Traveler have magnification of 10x.
Obviously you have more magnification with the 10x models, but that comes at a price. If you dont have a steady hand, dont even consider any binocular with a magnification of 10 times. The problem with higher power is the fact that the slightest movement (either from the object youre trying to look at, or your own hand holding the instrument) is exaggerated.
The bigger the power, the smaller the exit pupil, since the exit pupil is calculated by dividing the objective lens diameter by the magnification. So, with a magnification of 10x and an aperture of 20 mm, the exit pupil would have been 2 mm, which would be a limiting factor in fading or dim light. To counter this problem Swarovski widened the objective lens to 25 mm, thus maintaining the same exit pupil of 2.5 mm as is the case of the 8x20s.
Objective lens size:
Pocket binoculars have to be small enough to fit into at least the pocket of a jacket. To make them small enough, but still be able to perform as a binocular, is quite a challenge. Roof prism design binoculars, like the Swarovskis, have a distinctive advantage over porro designs and can be made very small indeed. The size of the objective lenses is the most crucial decision for the manufacturers of pocket binoculars. Too small lenses will render the instrument ineffective (too little light entering the instrument), but too big will make them too big and heavy. An ideal lens size seems to be 20 mm, with 25 mm probably at the edge.
The 25 mm of the Swarovski 10x25s present an advantage of more light entering the instrument (better image in fading light), but they also succeeded in keeping the size and weight well within what can be expected from a pocket binocular, as will be indicated below.
Weight:
The 10x25s are all slightly heavier than the 8x20s due to the wider objective lenses: 8.1 oz. vs 7.6 oz. However, this is not really that much.
Dimensions:
The dimensions of the 8x20s are exactly the same: Their height is merely 1.5 inches, they fold up to an incredible 2.3 inches and their length is not even 4 inches (3.98 inches). The 10x25s have the same height (1.5 inches) and width (2.3 inches), but are slightly longer (4.57 inches).
Field of view (FOV):
The field of view of a binocular is the range the viewer sees at a certain distance which is 345 feet at 1000 yards. Another way of stating this is in degrees: 6.6 degrees. The wider the FOV, the easier one can spot an object in the distance and the easier to follow a moving object; the narrower, the more difficult. One of the technical features that determines the FOV is magnification: More power translates into narrower FOV, as can be seen in the case of the 10x25s: 285 feet at 1,000 yards (5.4 degrees), which is considerably narrower than the 345 feet of the 8x20s. This is one of the sacrifices one has to make going for a more powerful binocular.
Close focus:
The longer the barrels, the further away the closest point of focus. The 8x20s can focus as close as 13 feet, whereas the 12x25s can only manage 16 feet. If this is important to you, you will have to consider one of the 8x20s. However, there are other binoculars which can focus as close as 1.2 feet (1 meter) and the Pentax papilio can do an incredible 18 inches! Generally speaking, the 13 and 16 feet of the Swarovski pocket binoculars are excellent and you really do not need to go closer unless you are into butterflies or real small things like bugs.
Price:
Even though the specifications are, generally speaking, quite the same, theres actually a huge difference in price from the lowest priced to the most expensive. At the low end of the price range you get the standard 8x20s and the Traveler 8x20, going for $679 at the moment. Then you get the 10x25s at $769. Then theres quite a jump to the luxury group, with the Tyrol 8x20 going for $840 and the glamorous ones with the lustrous housing studded with world famous Swarovski crystals, the Nabucco, Tosca and Idomeneo, topping the list at $899. This represents a difference of 32% between the lowest priced and the highest priced ones. This is quite a difference, considering the fact that the only difference is really the housing. On the other hand, a crystal pocket binocular from Swarovski will probably regarded as a piece of jewelry at the same time!
Source...