Unboxing the Habicht 8x30 (1 Viewer)

[oetzi]

Unboxing the Habicht 8x30 W

Today I received a parcel from Swarovski containing, upon some other stuff, a Habicht 8x30 W for a review. My intention is to evaluate a
-rather small and lightweight
-but high-class binocular,
-well below the € 1000,- threshold,
-for hiking and general outdoor use.
I have read a lot about this Habicht, it seemed to fit the bill. I contacted Swarovski and got one.:king:

I had only one hour left before the sun dipped behind the trees, so this is a first-impression only. Switching between the EL 8x32 SV and the Habicht I looked at everything from close up in the garden up to the more distant treeline. This is what happened:

The Habicht with its old-fashioned eyepieces is much more difficult to handle than the EL, thats for sure. I bulked them up with three layers of bicycle tubing and now they fit my eye-sockets so much better. But technical progress is very much palpable in this place with the EL.

Likewise focussing. Ok, its new out of the box, will probably break in, but the Habicht will never be a really fast focusser and light for the experienced birder. Not that it was ever intended to be.

That 3D-Effect: OH MY F*****G god, its almost unreal. So lifelike, the EL appears to be flat and boring. Mind, the sun was shining from 11:00 and was way down, so everything was backlit and therefore three-dimensional anyway, but still. Porros rule. Its like being immersed in the scenery. More glare, though.

Sharpness, on-axis, easily on par with the EL. Contrast, ditto. First impressions, mind, I need lots more time and other situations to make a real comparison. Beside the EL, the other bino to be compared with the Habicht will be the Nikon 8x32 EII. Those two are quite well-known among the BF-community, I hope it will make the review easier to follow.

In a nutshell, this optical quality, for this price? Whow! (Well, the cost of development and machinery must have been long since written off.)

Just once:
Lets not talk about the accessories
Lets not talk about the graphics

So did I regret committing to this bino? No! The Habicht appears to be an optical gem for a very attractive price. With some "shortcomings", compared with an alpha roof. With some obvious cost-savings in the exterieur, but my, what a view it provides||

Ok, I will get both feet back on the ground, switch back to my reserved, critical alter-ego and then proceed in the upcoming weeks.||
To be continued....

 

[Tobias Mennle]

Welcome to the club. Or secret order? On axis, the Swarovision 8.5x42 is the only sharper glass I know of.

 

[coolhand68]

Great glass! I just purchased a pair of these last month. Still comparing and trying them under difference lighting conditions. So far, my one and only minor complaint is the eye relief. I find I have to take a few extra seconds to get my eye placement just right in order to take advantage of this magnificent binocular.

Could you please post a photo of how they look with the bicycle tubing you've added? If I can figure out a way to squeeze one or two more millimeters of eye relief out of these they will get a lot more use.

 

[Elmer Fudd]

If the non-eyeglass wearers among the users and enthusiasts of the Swaro 8x30 porro would do me a favor:

Please try a look with your sun glasses or let an eyeglass wearer take a look through this pair of bins to describe how it works with specs.

 

[stephen b]

oetzi- Nice start to your review. looking forward to your further comments.

The 8x30 Habicht is simply a jewel of a binocular that is very well built and has optic qualities that rival any in the 80/32 class- including the 8x32 SV

 

[stephen b]

If the non-eyeglass wearers among the users and enthusiasts of the Swaro 8x30 porro would do me a favor:

Please try a look with your sun glasses or let an eyeglass wearer take a look through this pair of bins to describe how it works with specs.

I can use a 8x30 Habicht with or without my eye glasses. I usually use them without my eyeglasses most of the time, because my vision allows this, and I would prefer to not let my inferior eye glass glass to stand in the way.

But, even for those times using eye glasses I prefer not to roll down the eye cups and just let the rubber eyecups push up against my close fitting glasses. In this way obviously some of the FOV is lost, but really not to bad. In fact using them this way ( w/o the eyecups rolled down), the FOV for me is still as good or better than the Swarovski 8x30 CL.

 

[oetzi]

@Elmer Fudd
With the glasses I own, there is no chance of a full FOV.

ch68
Here is the picture of the modified eyepieces. 4 layers of bicycle inner tubing (measuring 46mm across, flat out, work perfectly). I doubt this will increase Er, since this figure is built-in.

What it does, for me, is increasing the diameter of the eyepieces to the point where they dont "float" in front of the eyes anymore. Instead I am able to rest/press them against the underside of the brows, thus making it possible to immediatley find the correct position. (Since I have deep-set eyes with large eye sockets, eyepiece diameter is an important factor for me.)

Try different amounts of layers and work your way up. (The original eyepiece cover wont work anymore with this modification, though.) My Habicht is fine with 4, the Opticron SR.GA needs more than the shown 2. Even the EL 8x32 SV was improved with one layer, but I switched to the WES, winged eyecups.

Since the Habicht is prone to reflexions in the eyepieces - with the light at the correct angle, I can see my oen retina with its blood vessels mirrored - the WES will be tried there, too.

 

[oetzi]

Introducing the Habicht to my readers:
http://www.outdoor-professionell.de...ovski-habicht-8x30w-eigenschaften-testbeginn/

 

[oetzi]

Schlepping with style

I bought a vintage bino bag, which fits the Swaro very well. Looks better, too.||

4 layers of bicycle inner tube beefed up the somewhat anorexic exepieces, makig the Habicht more suitable for my face. The eyepiece cover of my Kowa is now in use again.
I wear the bino across, bandolier-style, for safe carrying and easy access. For this purpose I turned around the strap, so the non-sticky leather rests against the body. its shape (wide rather than hight) makes this compact Habicht easy to carry in this style.

The focusser is way to stiff and slow to make the Habicht a dedicated birder-bino. For allround use its hard to beat.

 

[Hermann]

The focusser is way to stiff and slow to make the Habicht a dedicated birder-bino. For allround use its hard to beat.

The focuser will get somewhat looser with use.

Hermann

 

[PHA]

Hi,

I have said this before but I like to say again: The Habicht, all of them but specially the models I have had and have, the 8x30 and the 10x40 are at the highest level in optics and mechanics as well! When I compare the 10x40 W GA with the Zeiss HT 10x42.....

Best regards and enjoy your binocular!

PH

 

[chartwell99]

The focuser will get somewhat looser with use.

Hermann

Mine never did, but I agree with all prior comments as to optical excellence.

 

[oetzi]

The focusser did loosen up a bit. It does, however, take stronger fingers to turn it, which I do not have. For me, its a two-hands-bino, with opposing fingertips pushing the wheel, not pulling it. If you got strong coal-shovels for hands, your experience might vary.

This, plus its not as fast a focusser as todays roofs, means it take that bit longer to focus on a bird. Otherwise, great bino. Could become my favourite carry-around-all-the-time-just-in-case not-so-bulky-bino.

I do notice the better contrast of the Habicht in comparison to my EL. Even through its much more pronounced glare, it delivers quite a punch. I also do notice the far inferior ergonomics of this old timer.

Luckily, I will have the use of it til August, which means I would have the time to save up a few pennies|=)|. As if I "need" another bino.|=@|

 

[stephen b]

It just goes to show that we are all different in our preferences, and thoughts regarding these Habichts. I find the 8x30 to be ergonomically for me better than both of the 30/32 mm Nikon porros ( EII and SE). The Habicht just fits my hand great, and middle and ring finger fits wonderfully between the prism housing and center bar. And then both index fingers on the focus wheel resting gently. A real joy with 2 hands- as I usually hold all binos unless I am just doing a quick look. I find the EII to be a bulky clunky type fit in my hands.

My eyes also work great with the 8x30 Habicht and I find overall the binocular is as easy to use as the 8x32 SV and the 8x30 SLC. And regarding the focus of the Habicht- it works just fine for me. Sure it is a little stiff, but really no more so than my 6x30 Leupold Yosemete. And focus travel on the Habicht ( 8x30) for between 35 or so feet and infinity is literally a good amount under a 1/4 turn. With the small focus wheel on these and both fingers on the focus wheel, you are not moving the wheel very far at all even if you have to focus quickly. Now if you are going from 8 feet and infinity quickly back and forth, maybe that is an issue- but who really does that.

If the Habicht works for you- it is a superb optical instrument. I wonder sometimes if we have gotten to soft with the optics we use and nit pick all sorts of things. It is as if we wonder how in the world people used binoculars in the 50's and 60's etc. There a famous birder ( Chandler Robbins) who did most all of his birding with a old beat up 10x50 Bushnell porro. Seems as if he made due. I would venture to guess that the modern Swaro Habichts certainly work as well as what he used.

But these old style Habichts are not for everyone- and we have lots of other binos to choose from.


Chandler Robbins thread on here:

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=144506

 

[henry link]

I bought a vintage bino bag, which fits the Swaro very well. Looks better, too.||

4 layers of bicycle inner tube beefed up the somewhat anorexic exepieces, makig the Habicht more suitable for my face. The eyepiece cover of my Kowa is now in use again.
I wear the bino across, bandolier-style, for safe carrying and easy access. For this purpose I turned around the strap, so the non-sticky leather rests against the body. its shape (wide rather than hight) makes this compact Habicht easy to carry in this style.

The focusser is way to stiff and slow to make the Habicht a dedicated birder-bino. For allround use its hard to beat.

0etzi,

Your bino bag bares some resemblance to the original Habicht 8x30 sport case. I have one of those from the late 80s and it's a thing of beauty. There was an even nicer hard case which I got with a 10x40 Habicht about the same time. The Habichts were sold then with the sport case. It and the hard case were also available as very pricey accessory items. The sport case listed for $80 and the hard case for $115 in 1991 when the 8x30W listed for $515 with the case. If they were still made the cases would easily cost $200-250 in today's money.

The photo below shows some of the cool accessory items that used to be available. I still have some of the rubber objective ring protectors, which will fit most 8x30's.

Henry

 

[oetzi]

This kind of bag is often found with vintage german binos of the 50s. I have an older case with the families porro, took the measurements and searched/found this one at ebay for € 20,-.
Accessorie-wise, current binos are somewhat underwhelming.

 

[oetzi]

Hard at work.
No expenses spared.
Homemade beanbag on a tripod, USAF chart from macs coming soon.
||

 

[Rathaus]

Welcome to the club. Or secret order? On axis, the Swarovision 8.5x42 is the only sharper glass I know of.

By coincidence I did this very comparison yesterday late afternoon. I was on a ridge top five km from a 60 storey building with a thin spire maybe thirty metres high on top. On top of that spire is a very small hypodermic like lightening conductor perhaps a foot or two tall, which is visible only in good clear weather with my best bins and mounted.

As it got darker and darker just following sunset I could still discern the lightening rod in both 8x30 Habicht and 8.5x42 SV. The Habicht obviously required more technique but it was a close call and maybe, maybe yes the SV was sharper as the light was starting to fade. In brighter conditions the minuscule difference may be less.

At this point It was getting a bit darker, so I mounted the canon 10x42 IS L and obviously they easily resolved the lightning rod. What astonished me was that as I moved the canons off axis from the rod....that impossibly faint and thin rod was just as visible. I moved it until it was actually touching the absolute edge of the cannons fov, top and bottom, and I could still see the Lightning rod very clearly. Unbelievable stuff I thought, considering it has a huge apfov. The little habichts could also still resolve the Lightning rod at this stage on axis.

I actually mounted the habichts and others on top of a tripod mounted rubber Fujinon...it makes a great non slip mount!

I have no idea how an old design but newish coated and tiny 8x30 Habicht can compete with these binos. They suck in clean photons with a force to be reckoned with.

I'm a bit obsessed with all Habichts (do they have their own secret forum here?)...and their leather cases...the smell of them..the look of them....I've got a fresh new (for hiking and roughousing) rubber 10x40 arriving soon. I realise it's not going to smell like an ancient library of leather bound books or fine cigar boxes, but I do hope it smells better than the fmtr fujis.

Cheers

 

[Oskar Moilanen]

I always thought that the rear coverings of the modern Habicht are made of metal, the covers that say Habicht and 8x30W. But I read in a review just recently that they're actually plastic, is this true? I've been looking to buy a Habicht to have a waterproof Porro to accompany my 8x30 EII. Not that it would be a real deal breaker if it is plastic, but it feels kind of cheap by Swarovski.

 

[Dennis Mau]

You can get a brand new pair of Habicht's 8x30 from Germany for with fast free shipping for $829.00. Good deal for a good porro.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SWAROVSKI-B...508?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item54066ba024