Swarovski BTX - Dual eyes

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Jul 30, 2013
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Humboldt county
There was a small article in the local paper this week about a birding club outing in a couple weeks. I have zero interest in birding but was thinking of going just in hopes of getting to take a peek through some top shelf glass. :cool:

I joined a local birding club just to do that, I offered to take photos and such for them as long as I could gander through their optics. The BEST decision I ever made regarding optics in my opinion, every birder I've met has been extremely nice as well.


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AlaskaZag

FNG
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Aug 28, 2014
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Will the 1.7 extender work with the ATX eyepieces? Would be cool to get 120x out of the 95mm.
 
Joined
Feb 28, 2012
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Bellingham, WA
In my opinion the BTX is a game changer for anyone that spends extended amounts of time behind a spotter picking apart the countryside. The simple matter of Eye Strain should now almost be non-existent when compared to a single ocular device..... allowing the hunter more time behind the glass and less time resting eyes equating to more game found and less miles on the boot leather! GAME CHANGER, I am very excited to try the BTX out!
 

Matt Cashell

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Feb 25, 2012
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Western MT
it isn't going to really up the light gathering unless you use the big lens ... Guess I'm looking at twin barrels on 56's being 112mm combined, and this being 95mm ran into a single eyepiece. Not sure it's worth it to ME.

Actually even the 85mm objective has more surface area than both 56mm objectives together : 5670mm^2 vs. 4920mm^2

Also, both eyepieces on the BTX should maintain the much larger exit pupils than any 56mm binocular at similar powers.

The BTX should be the brighter option, but (again) time will tell.
 

Ryan Avery

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f649ee1d87bedd3b31b092b042f772ca.jpg

Facts Sheet below
http://files.constantcontact.com/ab...-4e9d-a795-98b73a4ddc8a.pdf?ver=1488565387000
 

willidru

WKR
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Jan 12, 2017
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California
If the BTX proves to be all of the hype that it should be, doesn't this new set up eliminate the need for having a pair of 15x56? If it does then I makes even more sense as you can lose the weight and cost of the 15's.
 
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brocksw

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Feb 27, 2015
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North Dakota
If the BTX proves to be all of the hype that it should be, doesn't this new set up eliminate the need for having a pair of 15x56? If it does then I makes even more sense as you can lose the weight and cost of the 15's.

This is what I've been wrestling around with as well, especially since I already have an ATX 85 and was looking to get a pair of 15's this year. My initial thought was the same as yours, but now I'm not so sure which to get. The guys I know who have SLC 15's absolutely love them and I'm familiar with them enough to have the opinion that they are one of the best optical experiences out there, bar none. A lot of it depends on how you're going to use your optics and your geography. Will you leave the 15's at home and just carry a BTX system? Will you be wanting to Digiscope with a DSLR? For me, a majority of my glassing is done in the badlands for Mule Deer... weight isn't really an issue but I usually don't need a spotter until I've found something worth investigating. Do I grab 15's for a majority of my glassing (a mile or less in distance) and use a spotter when I wanter greater detail.... or do I grab a BTX and forget the 15's while leaving the ATX at home. I give up digiscoping with my DSLR and a larger magnification range in 2 optics for 1 fixed optic in the BTX..... I'm undecided...
 

fatrascal

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Jul 20, 2013
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Spring Creek, Nevada
Brocksw, years ago I bought a 20x60x80 spotter, the 15x56's and the 10x42's. I absolutely love glassing with bino's on a tripod. But what I found is that the 10x bino's were so close in magnification to the 15x bino's, that I hardly could tell the difference. So I sold the 15's and use my 10x on a tripod or hand held. But with the new 30x BTX it would definitely justify the magnification difference. For me the perfect set up would be 10x bino's, the 30x or 35x BTX and a spotting scope. For close up I would use the 10x hand held first then put them on the tripod. Then I would put the BTX on the spotter and tripod and reach out to 30x or 35x depending on objective lens size, and last I would use the spotter.
You did not mention that you did or did not have a pair of 10x bino's. If I did not have a pair of 10x bino's I would go with the 15's and a spotting scope. Fatrascal.
 

svivian

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Mar 16, 2016
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Colorado






Well I got to spend an hour before dark looking through this today. All I can say is it is unreal. This was on the 95 objective with 35x magnification and the field of view and clarity is insane. I took some pics at 7:30 at some cell towers several miles away but they don't do it justice.
 

Ryan Avery

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Well I got to spend an hour before dark looking through this today. All I can say is it is unreal. This was on the 95 objective with 35x magnification and the field of view and clarity is insane. I took some pics at 7:30 at some cell towers several miles away but they don't do it justice.

Son of a bitch! I keep trying to tell my self I DON'T need these. You're not helping.


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svivian

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Mar 16, 2016
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Colorado
I'm still not sure I could justify packing that sucker around with binos. I don't know if this makes sense but even at only 35 power it felt like everything was a lot closer then even a 60 power. I don't know if it's just because the field of view seems so much bigger?
 

3forks

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Oct 4, 2014
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The BTX is a great concept, but I'm just not sold on it because of its weight and lack of variable power.

Granted, I do a lot of glassing at the low end of my scope's 20-60 magnification and its top end at 60 is marginal optically - but I wonder about not having the variable power.

The comments in the video review about performance of the 65mm objective are encouraging, and you could make the argument for the weight penalty vs performance - but I'd be nervous to commit to the BTX.
 
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