Swift Binoculars

[Barry Fitz-Gerald]

I bought a pair of these binos from a Hospice shop recently for £40. They have had a hard life - maybe not as hard as yours, but still a few dinks to the end plates and scuffed barrels. Looking down the tubes the objectives are dirty  (how the dirt got in there heaven knows) and there are black particles and a bit of fungus on the prisms. I guess the particles are from paint dislodged off the inside of the tubes. Despite all this the images through them are sharp and collimation is spot on - you can see the particles on the prisms as fuzzy blobs if you view a bright background, but looking at birds down the end of the garden they are very good. I got a quote from a binocular repair service that I have used before and who are top notch (in Norfolk) of £40 for a clean and service, which given the optical performance in a cruddy state would probably we a worth while investment. Forty years ago these binos were almost top of the range and compared with the East German Carl Zeiss quite favourably. Maybe a bino engineer could produce one functionong bino by cannibalising the one in poorest condition?

[johnbaz]

I paid £50 locally through Facey marketplace for these mk2 Audubon, Have to say, They perform better than my Zeiss Dekarem Q1 10x50!

They're super bright and clear although the focus rod was acting up and kind of jamming so I reckon they're ready for a service!

I just won a Swift Super Tecnar 10x50 off fleabay, Unfortunately the prisms are dusty giving a poor view in low light, They seem fine in sunlight though! (Obviously would be better after an internal scrub up!- No pics yet!)

 

Have to say, I love Swift bins as there's just so many models they produced through the years!!

Some Ascots!

 

Some Tecnars..

 

Super Tecnar 12x50

 

Trilyte 8x40 

 

10x50 Tecnar

Super Tecnar 10x50

 

I think most of their products were quality Japanese made, They had a lightweight line (Aerolite) that i've been told were real rubbish bargain basement type stuff though and was warned not to touch them!!

 

Hope you get those Audubon sorted, They really are nice bins 😎

 

John 👍

[Astro Noodles]

I'm not sure what to do with them. There is definitely a pair of bins in there somewhere but it is beyond my skill to fix them. 

I'm reluctant to bin them, so if anyone would like them, drop me a PM and I'll send them to you.