2013-03-23T21:00:00
Rated 5 out of 5
Blingless yet Bodacious
These binos have a good 'ol generic standard issue porro prism look. No bells, no whistles, no snazzy "euro" gestalt. But when you look through them, things get really satisfying. Image color, brightness and clarity compares to some much pricier alternatives. The wide field of view has a pronounced stereoscopic quality, which is very both pleasing and useful. There is a VERY narrow band of slight blurryness at the periphery of the field of view, comparable to my Vortex Razor 10x50s and my Vanguard 10x42s, neither of which can match the clarity, color or brightness of the Swifts.
The central focus wheel is slow, which may or may not matter to a given user. I like it. The right eye diopter has an unconventional styling, but it is smooth and accurate. The eye cups are comfortable, but feel underbuilt, we'll see. The overall "feel" of the body is light for its size and may give the impression of being a bit skimpy on construction. Time will tell on that issue.
No internal reflections in the field of view even when you hold them really crooked, no vignetting unless you completely screw up the eye relief with the cups.
The only obvious shortcoming is that the interpupllary distance cannot be adjusted tight enough for people with very narrow set eyes.
If you are looking for very high quality performance for your dollar and bling doesn't matter, you are going to love these.
Pt
2009-06-18T21:00:00
Rated 5 out of 5
Brilliant
I collect and use binoculars. My main focus is Zeiss binoculars old and new. Swift have been making an Audubon model for over forty years. This Swift model has had nothing but praise ever since it first came out. This 'new' model Audubon has been around for a few years now. Unlike previous Audubons it has the added advantage of weatherproofing and nitrogen filling. The resolution, contrast and colour correction of the ED model is superb. I have compared this model against those of Zeiss and Leica. Not in a shop or a casual afternoon swapping among friends but from owning the binoculars concerned. I was astounded at the performance of the Swift. It equals that of the European roof prisms. Sure it is not as sleek as a roof prism. But it does not need phase correction to brighten the view and the stereoscopic viewing effect and wide field from a porro prism is far more pleasing.
If you don't require the space savings of a roof prism model and want the best possible image. The Swift Audubon 820ED is the best new porro prism buy out there. The price is an added bonus.
Michael
2009-05-11T21:00:00
Rated 5 out of 5
Superb Optics!
A wonderfully crisp and wide image with great apparent depth-of-field.
I have since retired a much more expensive pair of 10x Zeiss binoculars because I like the view in these better.
These are somewhat bulkier than roof-prism models and the focusing is a little slower... but if you enjoy that almost "stereo" look of porro-prism binoculars... this is the pair for you!
Adorama's price is great deal!
TODD J.
2008-09-04T21:00:00
Rated 4 out of 5
For the money, more than I had expected
I use my Swifts for birdwatching and plane spotting.
In these applications, these binoculars have exceeded my expectations.
The ED option is well worth the slight additional cost.
For what I paid, I would have accepted less performance. Instead, the image quality is better than I had expected.
However, the binocular case is too tight.
Inorder the stow the instrument, I must collapse the entire unit.
In the process of doing this, all of my adjustments are disturbed - interpupillary distance and eyecup distance.
This simply creates unnecessay wear of these elements.
And, the objective lens caps are often stripped off while being placed in the case.
A slightly larger case would be nice.
aom22
