Hi Brock,
What is the s/n of your MC 804? Mine is 950681 (i.e., made in 1995). The coatings are distinctly green.
Thanks,
Ed
Ed,
These were made in 1991. Green and magenta colored coatings on EPs and objectives.
I also had three FMC 804s (one was the ED version). They showed improved color saturation, contrast and brightness, and more neutral color, but smaller sweet spots and more pincushion.
Panning with the MC 804 is smooth and comfortable due to moderate level of pincushion and good edges. The FMC 804s exhibited the "Funhouse Effect" while panning, and my eyes darted ahead into the "zone of unknowingness".
An curious thing is that the EPs in the two non-ED FMC versions had different characteristics. One sample was sharper on axis but had a higher level of pincushion and field curvature. The other had better edges, though not as good as the MC 804 and less pincushion than the other FMC sample but not as low as the MC version. I had both samples at the same time, so this was an A/B comparison.
The ED version had the smallest sweet spot, in the shape of a vertical slit. The end stars in Orion's Belt could not fit horizontally in the "sweet slit" and the belt covers only 3* of the sky! I had to turn the bin on its side to get both end stars in view at the same time.
My first 804 was a MC version, with the same performance characteristics as my present sample. I sold it to buy the FMC version, thinking I'd be upgrading.
The FMC 804 was an upgrade in the sense of being a bit sharper, brighter and more contrasty, but the trade-offs in higher distortion and field curvature were not worth it for me.
Not sure why Swift redesigned the EPs in the FMC version this way. If they had kept the good edges and lower distortion and just added FMC, they would have been great birding and astro bins.
The higher distortions in the FMC version also compromised the "ease of view" of the MC 804.
I had the MC 804s out for a spin at lunch and that ease of view is what strikes me as I panned the landscape. Very sharp and comfortable views. One of the great Classic porros.
Brock