mcseal2
WKR
- Joined
- May 8, 2014
- Messages
- 2,679
I finally got my Swaro STC spotter in and tried out. I have been using a Kowa TSN-554 for several years. A few nights back my buddy I hunt with and I got a chance to compare them off my tripod.
This is no scientific review with charts, just sharing our opinions after trying them out at the same time. We were looking at a brick upright silo I've ranged at 750 yards and some cow/calf pairs grazing at 1.13 miles according to OnX. The tripod we used was my Slik 634 with the Outdoorsman's micro pan head.
The first thing that jumps out about the Swaro is the increased field of view. Between that and the eye relief being less finicky, the Swaro was just easier to use to find the cows, and easier to track them in as they grazed on higher power. This is a spotter I can see using to locate game, not just to evaluate it more than I ever did with the Kowa.
The Kowa's only real optical advantage I think after this test is the micro adjust focus. It's a little easier to get the perfect picture than the Swaro's barrel focus. Both are very clear once properly focused.
We both saw slightly more mirage with the Kowa too for some reason. I'm not sure why that would be different, but it seemed the waves from the atmosphere were more noticeable in the Kowa especially on higher power. This may be nothing, but it's something we noticed.
With the Swaro and Kowa both I could tell if a cow had a tight bag at that distance from not being nursed in a while. That's pretty good detail from a small spotter at that distance. I know my old ED50 wouldn't have shown me that.
I definitely like the Swaro better and will be selling my Kowa sometime this summer. I want to look through both a few more times and will update this if I find out anything new.
To me these are both great spotters. I've typically stayed with a compact spotter for the weight savings to help convince myself to take my 15x Swaro binos when hunting deer.
The Kowa is a little lighter and still very good optically. I've been very happy with it. I typically glass with binos off my tripod (Leica Geovid 10x42 HD-B or Swaro 15's) to locate game. If I want more detail I then switch to the spotter. For that type of use the Kowa has served me very well.
My decision to go to the Swaro was primarily wanting the extra field of view for when I want to save the weight of the 15's but still want more than just my 10's finding game. I also got a heck of a deal on my STC and couldn't pass it up. It does not give up anything to the Kowa except a few ounces of weight. I can stay on the Swaro scope longer without needing to take a break than the Kowa due to the eyepiece. The Ollin phone attachment I got for my Swaro is excellent too.
For anyone choosing between these two, my advice is decide if you locate game with the spotter enough to justify the cost of the Swaro. It is a more comfortable viewing experience with the less finicky eyepiece, and field of view advantage. If you just need the spotter to evaluate game already spotted, the Kowa does just as well for significantly less money.
Hope this helps anyone still on the fence.
This is no scientific review with charts, just sharing our opinions after trying them out at the same time. We were looking at a brick upright silo I've ranged at 750 yards and some cow/calf pairs grazing at 1.13 miles according to OnX. The tripod we used was my Slik 634 with the Outdoorsman's micro pan head.
The first thing that jumps out about the Swaro is the increased field of view. Between that and the eye relief being less finicky, the Swaro was just easier to use to find the cows, and easier to track them in as they grazed on higher power. This is a spotter I can see using to locate game, not just to evaluate it more than I ever did with the Kowa.
The Kowa's only real optical advantage I think after this test is the micro adjust focus. It's a little easier to get the perfect picture than the Swaro's barrel focus. Both are very clear once properly focused.
We both saw slightly more mirage with the Kowa too for some reason. I'm not sure why that would be different, but it seemed the waves from the atmosphere were more noticeable in the Kowa especially on higher power. This may be nothing, but it's something we noticed.
With the Swaro and Kowa both I could tell if a cow had a tight bag at that distance from not being nursed in a while. That's pretty good detail from a small spotter at that distance. I know my old ED50 wouldn't have shown me that.
I definitely like the Swaro better and will be selling my Kowa sometime this summer. I want to look through both a few more times and will update this if I find out anything new.
To me these are both great spotters. I've typically stayed with a compact spotter for the weight savings to help convince myself to take my 15x Swaro binos when hunting deer.
The Kowa is a little lighter and still very good optically. I've been very happy with it. I typically glass with binos off my tripod (Leica Geovid 10x42 HD-B or Swaro 15's) to locate game. If I want more detail I then switch to the spotter. For that type of use the Kowa has served me very well.
My decision to go to the Swaro was primarily wanting the extra field of view for when I want to save the weight of the 15's but still want more than just my 10's finding game. I also got a heck of a deal on my STC and couldn't pass it up. It does not give up anything to the Kowa except a few ounces of weight. I can stay on the Swaro scope longer without needing to take a break than the Kowa due to the eyepiece. The Ollin phone attachment I got for my Swaro is excellent too.
For anyone choosing between these two, my advice is decide if you locate game with the spotter enough to justify the cost of the Swaro. It is a more comfortable viewing experience with the less finicky eyepiece, and field of view advantage. If you just need the spotter to evaluate game already spotted, the Kowa does just as well for significantly less money.
Hope this helps anyone still on the fence.
