Swaro ATC vs ATS

[TimberHunter]

ATC 55 vs ATS 65mm, common sense would say the ATS would be brighter and better optically.

I’ve watched the s and s archery review. Wanted to see if anyone else has had experience with them side by side?


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[TimberHunter]

Maybe not much of a comparison?


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[MTNMT]

I just went through this debate and ended up choosing the ATC. I purchased an ATC and an ATS 65 with the 25-50x eyepiece so that I could compare them side-by-side at home and return the one I didn't want.

Main things I noticed were:
-clear weight and size savings with the ATC.
-even though the ATC had less zoom, I thought its image was sharper. I felt that this made up for only going out to 40x on zoom.
-There was a difference in low light performance. Doing some long range spotting, I maybe got an extra 10-minutes out of the ATS at dusk.

I watched that S&S Archery review as well, and I thought I was going to end up choosing the ATS. I am not an optics expert in any way shape or form, but my experience was different from theirs for sure.

 

[TimberHunter]

Spent about 40 minutes comparing the razor gen 1 85mm, swaro ATS 65 with 25-50 eye piece
and the swaro ATC.

I thought the 65 was good but the ATC was right on par with it. The razor was the brightest of the bunch simply due to being an 85mm

But I was very impressed with how the ATC stacked up against the 85mm razor. Until about 20 min after sunset the two were neck and neck but in the end the much lager objective lense won out

The size and weights savings would be much appreciated while losing essentially little to no optical quality.

I would say during the times where there was a lot of light, the ATCs resolution might have been a touch better than the razor 85mm when glassing at approx 1.7 miles


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[bow_dozer]

I've had all these scopes + Kowa 77.
Optically the Kowa is brighter + better resolution out of my eyes. Being a 77 vs 65, that would be expected.
I did end up selling the kowa and keeping the 65. I just could never learn to enjoy the kowa eye piece.

 

[nphunter]

You really can’t compare a 56mm scope to a larger scope. The STC/ATC is an awesome scope for what it is, I have one and my Meostar S2 blows it out of the water all the way around, better resolution, better edge to edge, brighter, more magnification and easier to rotate with the angle scope without a an aftermarket solution. The only place the ATC wins is size and weight.

I’ll still be taking the ATC on a week long backpacking trip in a couple weeks. After that I will know for sure if it’s worth keeping or trading for some NL12’s. I’ve packed around full size spotters for years and they cannot be beat.

As far as clarity and resolution the ATC is pretty much on par with my Meostar 15’s although the 15’s are much better to sit behind for an extended period.

In the end I have a feeling I might end up with a pair of NL12’s and the S2. Currently I have 10’s, 15’s, ATC and S2 spotter and it’s always a struggle to decide what to take on each hunt. I still don’t know what binos I’ll be taking on my backpacking deer hunt. 10’s are nice for a quick look but the 15’s are awesome for breaking apart country finding bedded bucks. Right now I’m thinking I’ll do 10’s on a tripod and the ATC for picking country apart and getting a close up look.

 

[TimberHunter]

You really can’t compare a 56mm scope to a larger scope. The STC/ATC is an awesome scope for what it is, I have one and my Meostar S2 blows it out of the water all the way around, better resolution, better edge to edge, brighter, more magnification and easier to rotate with the angle scope without a an aftermarket solution. The only place the ATC wins is size and weight.

I’ll still be taking the ATC on a week long backpacking trip in a couple weeks. After that I will know for sure if it’s worth keeping or trading for some NL12’s. I’ve packed around full size spotters for years and they cannot be beat.

As far as clarity and resolution the ATC is pretty much on par with my Meostar 15’s although the 15’s are much better to sit behind for an extended period.

In the end I have a feeling I might end up with a pair of NL12’s and the S2. Currently I have 10’s, 15’s, ATC and S2 spotter and it’s always a struggle to decide what to take on each hunt. I still don’t know what binos I’ll be taking on my backpacking deer hunt. 10’s are nice for a quick look but the 15’s are awesome for breaking apart country finding bedded bucks. Right now I’m thinking I’ll do 10’s on a tripod and the ATC for picking country apart and getting a close up look.

I am learning that the large spotters can be an essential piece of gear, even when worried about weight

I bought and sold SLCs 15s within a year because I hardly used them. I use my chest binos on a tripod and when I can’t turn up bucks with it, I go to the spotter. And when I go to that spotter, I want a bright, clear image.

I hate the spotter on the way up the mountian but when I sit down I know it was worth the sacrifice

As for right now, I just don’t know the saved 2lbs and smaller profile compared to my razor 85 is enough to spend $2600+ for the ATC. If I backpacked for days/weeks I’d likely have a different opinion. Most of my hunting is day death hikes. 1-5 miles, 600-2000’ of elevation to get away from people but not so far into the areas that backpackers hunt


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[Fedster]

I had the 65mm, now I own the 80mm and the STC. They are different for different uses. In terms of use the 65 is far closer to the 80 than the STC (which is miles more portable, and you can get away with leaning against a tree to use at 40x, and you should be able to use it at 17x in your hand -- neither thing is true for the 65 or the 80).

For a whole glassing day I still prefer to borrow a 15x bino though.

Optics being what they are, 80 > 65 > 56, especially comparing glass from the same manufacturer, with the caveat that 56 is easier to manufacture and correct than 65, which in turn is easier to manufacture and correct than an 80.

If you *always* run a tripod the 65 is famously a great compromise. I like the fact I can run the STC tripod free if I choose.

Finally, unless you get the exact scope people review, a review based of ONE scope is really not that informative. They are industrially produced products, and even if alpha glass should be produced on tight specs, you get what you get, and you are better off learning how to judge optics than to base your decision on single item reviews.