Alula tests the latest top birding scope: The Swarovski ATS 80 HD

Swarovski’s new large telescope was presented in September, and as soon as the first shipment arrived in Finland, ALULA’s tireless test team went to work to find out what the new heir “was made of”. Would it equal - or even surpass - the distinguished winner of our previous test, the Zeiss Diascope 85? Could it secure a standing among critical and hardened birders equal to that of its predecessor, the AT 80 HD? Since ALULA has already featured two relatively extensive scope comparison tests in the recent past, we opted this time to test the newcomer only against these two tough yardsticks. Thus, we hoped to answer two questions sure to interest birders: is this the best available birding scope, and do owners of the older Swarovski now have reason to start upgrading? 

To minimise the effects of unit-to-unit quality variations discussed in my previous reviews, we first screened the six scopes in the first shipment and picked the one with the best image. Then, as a reference to pit it against, we selected the best Zeiss from a similar number of scopes, and also used the best older Swarovski we knew of. Field tests were conducted on a cloudy and chilly October day, with hardly any thermal shimmer in the air and with light levels staying very even. Flare and backlight properties were tested separately on a sunny morning. Twilight tests, where the older Swarovski was no longer present, were conducted in the evening prior to, during and after sunset on an overcast day. In addition, we did resolution and other tests indoors with the aid of test targets. The scopes were tested with zoom eyepieces, and we also briefly tried 30x wide-angles on the new Swarovski and the Zeiss. 

Technical properties and usability

Save for its larger objective, the new ATS 80 HD is the same telescope as its little brother, the ATS 65; thus, they also use the same eyepieces. The eyepieces also provide identical magnifications in both the 80 and the 65mm models, unlike with the Zeiss and Nikon models. The larger objective also takes care of the ATS 65’s balance problem, and with a zoom the ATS 80 is only slightly rear-heavy. The scope is about ten centimetres shorter than the old AT 80, and also weighs slightly less despite being fully armoured with Swarovski’s dark-green polyurethane armour. In this regard, the design of the new scope has succeeded exceedingly well. However, the size and weight of the Zeiss Diascope 85 are roughly the same, while it also features a larger objective lens, but the Zeiss is not armoured. The scope’s metal tripod foot is designed to fit directly into Swarovski’s own video head in place of its quick release plate, whereby the plate can be omitted. This would be a clever idea, except the head itself is unpleasant to use since it is not fluid-damped and is not sturdy enough to allow the scope to fully benefit from the high magnifications it is capable of. As in the old model, focusing is done with a wide ring around the rear of the scope’s body, but in the ATS 80 the ring is rubberised and, therefore, more pleasant to handle in cold weather. It also has a considerably slower gear ratio, which is an advantage when focusing at high magnifications. The focus ring moves stiffly, however, and thus both the old Swarovski, and especially the Zeiss, can be focused with much less shake. The new scope’s design, with its high protruding eyepiece, makes aiming from the viewing position along the objective barrel much more difficult, and Swarovski has, therefore, added a tiny tube next to the eyepiece to function as a sight. Unfortunately for birders, the sight is unsuitable for capturing moving targets. The press-on eyepiece cover is tethered to the eyepiece to prevent accidental loss. The objective cover attaches with a bayonet. Eyepieces attach using a bayonet with a safety latch which needs to be pressed down in order to remove the eyepiece. This prevents the eyepiece from dropping off while zooming. The eyecups are sturdy, rubber-rimmed twist-out designs which can be removed for cleaning. In addition to the zoom, Swarovski offers 20x, 30x and 45x wide-angles. With the exception of the 20x wide, the new eyepieces can also be used in the old ST/AT 80 scopes. All of the new eyepieces offer generous eye-relief for viewing with spectacles. Both the scope and the eyepieces are guaranteed waterproof and nitrogen purged, and have a 10 year warranty. Being rubber armoured, the ATS 80 does not necessarily need a protective case, but Swarovski has promised one by winter 2003. 

The new Swarovski was tested as soon as it arrived in Finland.

Optical performance 

From the outset it became clear to our test team that we were dealing with a truly high-quality trio of scopes. Circumstances naturally vary, but the test target, which in our previous big scope test had been unresolvable for most of the scopes, was easy to resolve with all three. Zeiss had the best resolution, but its edge over both of the Swarovski scopes was minimal. Opinions varied a little with respect to the new and old Swarovski models, and in practice we considered their resolution to be equal. Tests indoors with resolution targets confirmed these results, with the Zeiss a bit ahead of both Swarovskis. Contrast was most prominent in the new Swarovski, with black being conveyed especially vividly. Second in contrast was Zeiss, with the old Swarovski close on its heels. Zeiss had the brightest image, while the new Swarovski was markedly brighter than the old. In twilight tests, the high contrast of the new Swarovski surprisingly helped it to show nearly as much detail as the somewhat brighter but less sharply contrasty Zeiss. Flare and backlight properties were tested by viewing an object close to the bright morning sun. Here the image of the ATS 80 HD was nearly free of objectionable reflections, while the Zeiss tended to have a large disc-shaped reflection covering most of the image. However, it was possible to more or less avoid this reflection by looking into the eyepiece from an upward angle, whereby one could see just as much detail in the object as with the Swarovski. As for colour balance, we are accustomed to a warm bias with Swarovski, and the old AT 80 did give the image a slightly yellow bias. The rather prominent yellow bias of the Zeiss image was already criticised in our earlier tests. At small magnifications, the new ATS 80 HD looks more neutral than the other two, but at high magnifications its image gets a markedly violet-blue bias, which renders the image somewhat cold. Users generally adapt to the colour bias of their scope and come to consider it neutral, but the difference in bias between the old and the new Swarovski is rather pronounced. There were also some differences in the ability to resolve colour hues, but due to the different colour bias of the scopes it would depend on the colour palette of a given target which of the scopes would show the hues easiest. General ease of viewing was considered best in the Zeiss - the optimal image was quick and easy to find, eye placement was not critical, and refocusing when necessary was easy. The old AT 80 HD was nearly as good, but with the new ATS the members of our test team had more trouble finding optimal eye placement. Swarovski’s new zoom has a wider field of view than the old one (2.06-1.14°vs. 1.9-0.95°) while image quality at the edge of field has further been improved, and this might have taken its toll on ease of viewing. The field of the Zeiss zoom is even wider (2.47-1.19°) but image quality at the edge is good only at high magnifications (at 60x the super-sharp area is even wider than with the ATS 80’s zoom), and, especially in the range of 20-30x, its image is very muddled around the periphery and twists and churns unpleasantly when panning. The image of the ATS’s zoom is sharp almost to the edge at all magnifications, and behaves very well when panning. Swarovski’s new 30x wide-angle is better than Zeiss’s 30x wide-angle. Both are sharp and easy to view with, but with Zeiss the sharp area covers less than two thirds of the field, while the Swarovski remains sharp almost to the edge. Contrary to my mistaken statement in the small-scopes test, the field of the Zeiss wide-angle is slightly narrower than that of the Swarovski, which in turn is not as wide-angled as the corresponding eyepieces by Leica and Nikon. At the presentation event for the new ATS 80 in September, I had a chance to view with the upcoming 45x wide-angle, which impressed me as being even better than the 30x. 

Conclusions

The new ATS 80 HD is an excellent telescope. It offers first class optical performance, excellent usability, has no significant shortcomings, and is stylish to boot. However, it does not offer unprecedented performance levels - in order to do that a larger, 85-90mm objective lens would likely have been needed. On the whole, it rises to the level of the Zeiss Diascope 85 FL, and it depends on the individual users’ preferences and habits which would be the better birding partner. The ATS 80 HD is also slightly better than its predecessor, the AT 80 HD. The newcomer is a little brighter, has better contrast, and is significantly more compact. However, it does not offer improved resolution, eye placement is easier with the old zoom, and aiming with the old scope is quicker. Thus, I do not see a particularly strong case for upgrading an older Swarovski to the new one. On the other hand, if you are looking for the best available birding scope, you must definitely take a look at the Swarovski ATS 80 HD.  

How does the new Swarovski compare with the winner, Zeiss? Read the results above.

Specifications: Length (measured with zoom eyepiece) c. 41 cm Weight n. 1670 g Closest focusing distance 5 m Eyepiece fields of view: 20 - 60x S zoom 2.06-1.14° 20x SW 3.44° 30x SW 2.40° 45x SW 1.60°

 

 

Kimmo Absetz