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Swarovski Habicht 7x42 dissection (4 Viewers)

dorubird said:
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This Habicht is my favorite 7x magnification binoculars. It gives a captivating image and has a very stylish appearance!
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It is such a beautiful binocular and you capture it so well in this lovely photo. I love mine, I had to really convince myself that I needed one and it was impossible to try one here in the UK.

But I read all the reviews, saw your previous photo's and went ahead and ordered one unseen. Love at first sight!

It is so far removed from the clinical binoculars that pander to modern tastes and its elegance and purity of design is a thing of true beauty.

I received a pair of Curio's yesterday, bought for their compactness, and it is quite astounding how they mirror the optical clarity and transparency of the Habicht's for something so small.

The Habicht's still rule though!
 
As others have said about new Habicht series, I also experienced an focuser smoothens with my Habicht 7x42. Now, after a while, it moves better but not perfectly. If I had to estimate, my Habicht focuser has become from "Very Stiff" somewhere between
"Stiff" and "Normal" (Very Stiff-- Stiff-- Normal- -Smooth)
Habicht focuser.JPG
 
dorubird said:
As I use this Habicht 7x42, I definitely realize the following aspect even better: I like its aparent visual field of view exactly as it is, small and narrow! It is a purely aesthetic pleasure! It's the binoculars with the biggest personality I've met by far! It is a binocular that requires a lot of understanding to begin with, and it is very easy to abandon it because of the weak specifications. But after you use it without prejudgment related to AFOV, it turns into magic with time.
This narrow AFOV, which everyone spits out (including me), is illuminated by an extraordinarily clear image that floats in a totally black space, creating a unique and powerful aesthetic impression.
This aesthetic impression paradoxically, if the AFOV had been increased, would disappear!
This paradoxically experience clearly confirmed to me, once again, that a pair of binoculars cannot be characterized only by some numbers (even carefully and objective placed in tables), but also through strongly subjective impressions, but honest! The complexity of reality, even of a simple pair of binoculars, cannot be reduced only to numbers, it also has other values that escape the measuring devices, but not to our perception!
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@dorubird

Very nice. For context I generally prefer a large FoV and AFoV. But, I have experienced exactly the same aesthetic impression you describe especially in long distance viewing. My first high end bin was a Swift IF 7x50 marine Porro (no compass) purchased in 1984 (gifted to a family friend several years ago). I don't recall the exact specs but FoV was short of 400 feet, the image both "illuminated" and "floating" as you say in a perfectly black outer circle. But for years I used it exclusively for sailing where it was a practical and indispensable tool -- but never noticed the aesthetic qualities of the image. Then about 14 years ago I began to regularly use it on the beach where we have 180 degrees of unobstructed view up to @12 to 15 miles on clear bright days. This was a revelation. It was like looking into a magical Faberge snow globe.

I use and like ultra wide Porro models as well but they don't deliver the same image quality. Sometimes, less is more.

Mike
 
As I said in the other thread, the focal length of the 10x40 eyepiece (same as the 8x30) is too short to make a wide field 7x42 when combined with the 7x42 objective lens. The result would be a 10x42 that would be nearly identical to the 10x40 in every way.

Making a wide field 7x42 Habicht would require an eyepiece that matches the focal length of the current 7x42 eyepiece, but with wider lenses, a wider eyepiece fieldstop and bigger prisms thrown in as well. In other words it would have to be a completely different binocular.
 
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Kawon said:
Maybe someone compared the mentioned Swarovski 7x42 with Zeiss Dialyt?
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I certainly did and found that the 7x42 Dialyt T*P* was outstanding. My individual opinion on it was that coloration of the Swarovski Habicht was more neutral and the Zeiss seemed warmer. The Habicht was brighter overall (modern coatings and less glass) and sharper in the center; however, the fall-off from center was comparable between the two. Given that the Zeiss Dialyt was so much wider it gave such an open airy feel to it. So, you almost could take the Habicht image circle and just add an additional portion surrounding it. Overall, a darker image circle but a great one nonetheless.

The 3D appearance in views was better with the Habicht but the AK prisms in the Dialyt still gave depth. These are not your typical modern roof and are basically an in-between of old school porro and a modern (more flat viewing) roof.

I landed on my favorite being the Habicht for its brightness and an oh so simple viewing experience. I can't induce blackouts with them. The image circle just appears without any fiddling around.

The Zeiss could blackout for me if I pushed in too much but that certainly pales in comparison to other binoculars I have used. If only Zeiss rebooted the Dialyt with modern coatings. It would wow. Its ease and comfort of view is probably the best that I ever experienced with a roof. I never was lucky enough to try the Zeiss FL.
 
I received the Habicht 7x42 I bought from Viraj and am very happy with it! I was really afraid the very small afov would bother me, but it is not the case. It is not as bad as expected. Now I understand why some people say this is the best out of the Habicht series. In this model the Habicht does really shine. Very bright with 6mm exit pupil and 96% transmission. The most pronounced 3D imo (compared with the 8x30 and the 10x40, probably because of the bigger dof). The longest eye relief, so the small eyecups don't bother that much (also because of the 6mm ep). The least glare. Very lightweight for a 42mm. I like its looks as well. Much prettier than the GA version. However, that is personal. It's a classic! It's Spartan! :)

I am a 10 power person. So for birding at bright days (90% of the time) I prefer the NL 10x32 and the 12x42. But at darker days, dark forests, twilight, I will take these (although it is a tough competition with the SLC 8x42).

IMG-20250108-WA0005.jpeg
 
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Does anyone know if you can tighten the hinge yourself? It may be a bit tighter for my taste. I see two screws here. Can I fix that with tightening one (or both) of the screws here?

1000017356.jpg1000017356.jpg
 
ReinierB said:
Does anyone know if you can tighten the hinge yourself? It may be a bit tighter for my taste. I see two screws here. Can I fix that with tightening one (or both) of the screws here?

View attachment 1622725View attachment 1622726
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I have tightened mine before (slightly) but did so with a screw driver that fit the groove perfectly. The same would probably work for loosening some. I was petrified of the tip of the tool slipping out of the groove and causing damage. I pressed in hard with every torque. It shouldn't take much to test and see if its making a difference on your hinge tension. It at least did on mine.

I dont know if the modern ones use blue loctight so I would say if you meet total resistance, I would stop before nicking the groove.
 
ReinierB said:
Does anyone know if you can tighten the hinge yourself? It may be a bit tighter for my taste. I see two screws here. Can I fix that with tightening one (or both) of the screws here?

View attachment 1622725View attachment 1622726
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I would not loosen the screw, because I consider this "stiffness" an advantage. Maybe if I frequently shared the binoculars with someone with a different IPD, maybe only then would I loosen the screw
 
recon493 said:
I have tightened mine before (slightly) but did so with a screw driver that fit the groove perfectly. The same would probably work for loosening some. I was petrified of the tip of the tool slipping out of the groove and causing damage. I pressed in hard with every torque. It shouldn't take much to test and see if its making a difference on your hinge tension. It at least did on mine.

I dont know if the modern ones use blue loctight so I would say if you meet total resistance, I would stop before nicking the groove.
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Thanks!
Did you tighten both screws? Or just one?
 

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