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Swarovski ats 65 hd vs other scopes (1 Viewer)

J

JackT

Twitcher
Ireland
Hi, I'm looking to purchase a new scope and at the moment I've singled out the ATS 65 as the one that best suits my budget and quality. I was wondering if there are Any scopes of this price or cheaper that outperform it?

Also, I do have my reservations about it being a 65 and was wondering whether its worth getting an 85 (of which scope type at the same price)
 
JackT said:
I assume it goes through the zooms okay as well?
Click to expand...
I can't speak for the new Kowa 66a, but I have owned both ATM 65HD and 80HD (with the 25-50x) and have recently purchased a Kowa 883 (25-60x). The WA zoom on the Swarovski worked better for me on the bigger scope, but is clearly surpassed by the 883 (no surprises there given the increased surface area!), which delivers a brighter, wider image with more reach.
As always, the best thing to do is to test them together at an optics shop, and let your eyes choose the best for you 👍🏼
 
dwatsonbirder said:
I can't speak for the new Kowa 66a, but I have owned both ATM 65HD and 80HD (with the 25-50x) and have recently purchased a Kowa 883 (25-60x). The WA zoom on the Swarovski worked better for me on the bigger scope, but is clearly surpassed by the 883 (no surprises there given the increased surface area!), which delivers a brighter, wider image with more reach.
As always, the best thing to do is to test them together at an optics shop, and let your eyes choose the best for you 👍🏼
Click to expand...
That would be ideal but unfortunately there aren't many (if any!!) optics shops here in Ireland who stock all the scopes I'd want to look through
 
It’s difficult when you can’t. I did manage to source a used ATX 85 for less money than a new ATS 65 HD with a warranty and I’m very pleased with
Sc0tty said:
In my opinion the Kowa dual focusing system is much better than the barrel focusing on Swaros. Kowas are less prone to CA. The only advantage of the Swaros is being rubber armoured.
Click to expand...

I have an ATX 85 and that’s excellent and flexible. I’ve seen a few pre-owned ATX scopes with warranty and very reasonable prices in the U.K.
 
Sc0tty said:
In my opinion the Kowa dual focusing system is much better than the barrel focusing on Swaros. Kowas are less prone to CA. The only advantage of the Swaros is being rubber armoured.
Click to expand...
Your point about CA is interesting. Out of scopes that I've looked through in the field, I find it's the other way around.

However there aren't many of the newer Kowas over here

I've read articles saying that the Kowa is prone to breaking and if that's the case then that'd be a fairly big problem for me
 
Last edited:
JackT said:
This thread contains a lot of stories of easily broken Kowas. I've seen a Swarovski slam onto a path and be just fine...Thread 'kowa tsn fragility' kowa tsn fragility
Click to expand...
Thank you. However, I read mixed statements and nothing in it IMHO that supports your "statistical" statement of Kowas being "prone to breaking".
 

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