Leica APO Televid 65 vs. Swaro ATS 65

[Jackaroo99]

Hey guys, trying to decide between a Leica APO Televid 65 with the 25-50 eye piece and a Swaro ATS 65. I can get both for roughly the same price (Leica a bit more). Between these I am leaning towards the Leica and I don't think I wanna spend the extra $$$ to go with the ATX as I will not need the modularity. Any opinions or thoughts on this from people who have spent time behind both? As always appreciate everyone's input and experience.

 

[Wapiti1]

From a glass standpoint, they are pretty much the same. Slight differences, but IMO, they are pretty equal. I'd make the decision based on features.

I don't like the Swaro body focus wheel in the middle of the scope. I prefer the two wheel focus on the top of the Leica scopes. It's more useful for me in various situations like when I don't want to drag out my tripod and just lay the scope over a pack.

Jeremy

 

[madcalfe]

I use the Leica and don't have any complaints!

 

[homebru.trout]

Have used both and currently own the Leica. A couple years back, S&S archery did a head to head review with a bunch of 65mm spotters and declared the Leica the finest glass available in that size category and I would concur. I too prefer the separate coarse and fine focus over the focus ring. I seem to have Leica eyeballs too...every time I look through my binos or that APO spotter it's like an IMAX movie and I never stop being surprised by the resolving power. I've used Swaro in the past and while I think peoples' love of it is indeed justified, my eyes and my brain always push me to the Leica.

The one thing I will say I wish I had thought more about is availability of cases and covers. If you like a stay on case or other protective cover while in the field, Swaro is the clear winner. Leica never seemed to grasp marketing to hunters and outdoorsmen all that well and so the market for covers and accessories is non-existent. I've never found a stay on case made for the Televid (although a Gen 1 vortex cover can be made to work with a little elbow grease and creativity/cutting). With the televid you'll always be making something work as a case...I go back and forth between sticking it in a maven bag and force fitting an old vortex gen 1 cover. With the swaro you have their own stay on cases plus some other offerings from marsupial gear, outdoor vision, etc as padded options and there are probably others.

 

[Jackaroo99]

Thanks for the input guys - Think I will be pulling the trigger on the Leica

 

[fatbacks]

I have the Leica 65 and it’s amazing. The only time I wish I had the bigger objective is when I am using the doubler in low light situations


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[madcalfe]

Have used both and currently own the Leica. A couple years back, S&S archery did a head to head review with a bunch of 65mm spotters and declared the Leica the finest glass available in that size category and I would concur. I too prefer the separate coarse and fine focus over the focus ring. I seem to have Leica eyeballs too...every time I look through my binos or that APO spotter it's like an IMAX movie and I never stop being surprised by the resolving power. I've used Swaro in the past and while I think peoples' love of it is indeed justified, my eyes and my brain always push me to the Leica.

The one thing I will say I wish I had thought more about is availability of cases and covers. If you like a stay on case or other protective cover while in the field, Swaro is the clear winner. Leica never seemed to grasp marketing to hunters and outdoorsmen all that well and so the market for covers and accessories is non-existent. I've never found a stay on case made for the Televid (although a Gen 1 vortex cover can be made to work with a little elbow grease and creativity/cutting). With the televid you'll always be making something work as a case...I go back and forth between sticking it in a maven bag and force fitting an old vortex gen 1 cover. With the swaro you have their own stay on cases plus some other offerings from marsupial gear, outdoor vision, etc as padded options and there are probably others.

I have a stay on case from Leica on my sporter

 

[Q child]

As has been said, the focus on the Leica is better. It’s a lot better in my opinion.
Plus they don’t make those televid 65s anymore, so if you have the opportunity to buy one then I would not hesitate.

 

[E Butler]

I have had both the Swarovski stm and now the Leica apo 65. Leica optics just look amazing to me compared to the tint that I noticed with the Swaros. I have same opinion on the focus adjustments. Swarovski is top notch but Leica just really works great with my eyes.

 

[Broomd]

Agreed with all here, I've had many examples of the Swaro 65mm and several of the APO 65 Leicas. Color rendition is truer in the latter, and the edge to edge clarity is simply the best.

Swaro shines with their customer service and warranty, and the large barrel focus wheel can be convenient with large gloves. Swaro is bit lighter and they also tend to be far more available and less expensive.

Tough to beat either, but if one wants the best 65mm glass out there (including the ATX) the Leica is where it's at. I really like the armoring on the Leica.

 

[alaska_bou]

You might wait a bit for Kowa's new 65 or 66mm spotter with a pure flourite lens. I too have owned both the leica 65 and the swaro. I would agree that the focus system is better on the leica. Resolution, edge clarity, CA, etc are very close but as another noted there is a different tint to each optic. I prefer the lighter weight of the swaro with the 20-60x eyepiece over the 25-50 due to the more forgiving, less finicky eye relief. I also value the extra magnification on the high end over the 20% wider FOX on the low end, personally.

 

[Bowhunter50]

You might wait a bit for Kowa's new 65 or 66mm spotter with a pure flourite lens. I too have owned both the leica 65 and the swaro. I would agree that the focus system is better on the leica. Resolution, edge clarity, CA, etc are very close but as another noted there is a different tint to each optic. I prefer the lighter weight of the swaro with the 20-60x eyepiece over the 25-50 due to the more forgiving, less finicky eye relief. I also value the extra magnification on the high end over the 20% wider FOX on the low end, personally.

Where did you hear Kowa’s coming out with a new 66 fluorite spotter? Couldn’t turn anything up on a quick google search

 

[alaska_bou]

A Kowa rep told me about a new pure flourite 99mm spotter that was supposed to come out last year in 2020 (must have been delayed due to covid) and I have since heard from a few people that a new 66mm pure flourite is in the pipeline too. I have been patiently waiting for over a year to grab one of these new ones but Kowa hasn't released any details that I have seen.

 

[fatrascal]

I'd say the glass on both spotters is excellent. Its true that swarovski has a tint and sometimes it looks better in certain conditions and sometimes the Leica looks better in different conditions. It comes down to personal preference on which view you like better.
The other thing you want to look at is who honors their warranty better. Over the years Swaro had better feedback on these hunting forums but in the last 5 years I have not heard anything bad about Leica so they may be fine nowadays.
As stated above there are plenty of accessories available for the swarovski by both swarovski and after market where Leica could step it up a bit.
Both have great resale value so no comparison differences there.
You cannot go wrong with either one as far as quality goes. Ive owned both and love both. Fatrascal