Swarovski ATC 17-40x56mm Review, By Court Gordon

[Justin Crossley]

Court Gordon cut his teeth as a young boy hunting backcountry wilderness areas utilizing horses. The lifestyle he was born into ignited his passion for wild places and it's now a major part of his life. He's a fireman by trade and runs a guiding and outfitting business in southern Oregon called Live Wild Outfitters. That allows him to spend about 100 days per year in the field across the West. Court is a husband, father, and a God-fearing man who is inspired by helping people enjoy wild places. You may have seen him posting in the forums as @HuntWyld

Please give him a warm Rokslide welcome and check out his first Rokslide review.

Swarovski ATC 17-40x56mm Spotting Scope Review

 

[ljalberta]

Nice review. I was going to order one of these, but the S&S review made me take a pause. I’d love to see some more direct comparisons between the ATC and a newer 65 ATS with the wide angled piece.

I’m primarily using a Nikon ED50 and a Kowa 553, but would love a wider more forgiving fov.

 

[SummitsCalling]

Nice review. I was going to order one of these, but the S&S review made me take a pause. I’d love to see some more direct comparisons between the ATC and a newer 65 ATS with the wide angled piece.

I’m primarily using a Nikon ED50 and a Kowa 553, but would love a wider more forgiving fov.

The newer 65 ATS seems to be getting good reviews while the ATC has been a miss. I definitely want to see the newer 65 ATS vs the 95 ATX I have.

 

[robby denning]

Nice review. I was going to order one of these, but the S&S review made me take a pause. I’d love to see some more direct comparisons between the ATC and a newer 65 ATS with the wide angled piece.

I’m primarily using a Nikon ED50 and a Kowa 553, but would love a wider more forgiving fov.

If @Matt Cashell ever gets the the ATC we ordered, we might be able to pull off the ATC vs ATS

 

[Matt Cashell]

If @Matt Cashell ever gets the the ATC we ordered, we might be able to pull off the ATC vs ATS

Well, I do have a ATS 65, ATX 65, and ATX 85 available for comparison…

 

[robby denning]

Nice review. I was going to order one of these, but the S&S review made me take a pause. I’d love to see some more direct comparisons between the ATC and a newer 65 ATS with the wide angled piece.

I’m primarily using a Nikon ED50 and a Kowa 553, but would love a wider more forgiving fov.

Whoa wait a minute I want to make sure I understand, the author did compare the 65 ATS, but you’re asking for a comparison with the wide angle 25 to 50 X?

 

[ljalberta]

Whoa wait a minute I want to make sure I understand, the author did compare the 65 ATS, but you’re asking for a comparison with the wide angle 25 to 50 X?

That’s what I’d personally love to see. I like the wide and forgiving fov generally, and the 25-50 seems to get no shortage of rave reviews.

 

[HuntWyld]

Nice review. I was going to order one of these, but the S&S review made me take a pause. I’d love to see some more direct comparisons between the ATC and a newer 65 ATS with the wide angled piece.

I’m primarily using a Nikon ED50 and a Kowa 553, but would love a wider more forgiving fov.

I saw that review as well and im not totally sure what to think of it because I’ve been nothing but impressed with the optical performance of the ATC even against other alpha 65mm scopes.

That’s what I’d personally love to see. I like the wide and forgiving fov generally, and the 25-50 seems to get no shortage of rave reviews.

I agree the 25-50 eye piece tends to be favored, but I would bet that the ATS with 25-50 is almost identical to the Leica APO 25-50x65mm scope that I mentioned in the review. Both are top quality alpha glass with wide angle eye piece, and like I stated in the review the only thing that the wide angle 25-50x65mm seems to have on the ATC is a slightly better ability to gather light. Edge to edge clarity, sharp image, and viewing experience I would argue there is no difference which is why I think if weight/size is of any concern the ATC is a no brainer.

 

[BigVick04]

Thanks for the review, still on the fence between the kowa 554 and STC. I like the dual focus wheels and lighter weight of the kowa but the smaller slicker profile of the STC, better eye relief, and field of view is probably worth the couple extra oz’s? Wish I could find a kowa to look through and compare them side by side.

 

[HuntWyld]

Thanks for the review, still on the fence between the kowa 554 and STC. I like the dual focus wheels and lighter weight of the kowa but the smaller slicker profile of the STC, better eye relief, and field of view is probably worth the couple extra oz’s? Wish I could find a kowa to look through and compare them side by side.

Happy to help, and I think the ATC/STC is well worth the extra weight, in my experience it performs better in every aspect.

 

[robby denning]

That’s what I’d personally love to see. I like the wide and forgiving fov generally, and the 25-50 seems to get no shortage of rave reviews.

gotcha, and author did mention that in the review that that comparison needs to be made.

@Matt Cashell if you don't have a 25-50X for the ATS/STS 65, I can send mine.

 

[Footshooter]

Great review, figures I just got my new 20x50x65 ATS after a long backorder wait…. Wasn’t interested in the ATC at all but now I want to check one out.

 

[robby denning]

Great review, figures I just got my new 20x50x65 ATS after a long backorder wait…. Wasn’t interested in the ATC at all but now I want to check one out.

Rokslide, where good paychecks go to die

 

[wyosteve]

I don’t have a 65mm to compare, but I second what has been stated in terms of aesthetics, field of view, eye relief and smoothness of the ATC.

 

[Josh Boyd]

@HuntWyld great review and awesome comparisons. On a nasty backpack hunt this fall Steve Drake and I were comparing our scopes (his an STC 25-50 x 65 and mine a Leica apo 25-50 x 65) and both came to the same conclusion; We need to look through the new compact Swaro scope to see if the image quality is worth the ounces. Now I may need to do a little inventory shuffling.

 

[HuntWyld]

@HuntWyld great review and awesome comparisons. On a nasty backpack hunt this fall Steve Drake and I were comparing our scopes (his an STC 25-50 x 65 and mine a Leica apo 25-50 x 65) and both came to the same conclusion; We need to look through the new compact Swaro scope to see if the image quality is worth the ounces. Now I may need to do a little inventory shuffling.

Thanks for the compliment, and yeah that’s exactly what led me down this road in the first place.

 

[Steve O]

Nice review. I was going to order one of these, but the S&S review made me take a pause. I’d love to see some more direct comparisons between the ATC and a newer 65 ATS with the wide angled piece.

I’m primarily using a Nikon ED50 and a Kowa 553, but would love a wider more forgiving fov.

I’m picking up an ATC at the sheep show. That S&S review was horrible, way too many “buts” in it. They should have waited and compared like spotters that were all in good working condition…not compared 55mm spotters to 85mm plus.

Great review Court!

 

[ljalberta]

I’m picking up an ATC at the sheep show. That S&S review was horrible, way too many “buts” in it. They should have waited and compared like spotters that were all in good working condition…not compared 55mm spotters to 85mm plus.

Great review Court!

They did compare to the Kowa 55 in there. I appreciated their comparison to a bunch of bigger objectives as well, as it’s gives you an idea of what your trading off for the lighter weight. What stood out was how impressed they were by the ATS 65. Whether that’s due to the updated coating, or just having them all in a line, they were loving the “image per ounce”, if you will.

They did mention they were all excellent optics. But this is Rokslide after all, and we like to compare and and really get into the weeds with the small details.

 

[Droppndrakes]

Anybody know the hinged eye piece cover he is using in that review? Also a tripod attachment for the ATC?

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Anybody know the hinged eye piece cover he is using in that review? Also a tripod attachment for the ATC?

The outdoorsmans standard adapter works great. Used my ATC on a lightweight tripod on a coues hunt. Great setup.