Swarovski ATC vs. ATS vs. Kowa 553…Updated 4/26/23!

[OutdoorsMD]

Excellent review. The wide fov is the first thing that jumped out when looking through mine comparing it to my 65 atx. All excellent scopes for sure. If you are a GoHunt member give them a call. Got a great deal.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

It is because the field of view of the Kowa is so much narrower. They are magnified the same (40x).

I get what you are saying, but the trees in the pic are clearly larger with the Kowa. Thats not just FOV. If the magnification was the same the trees would be the same size, you would just see more of them with the ATC.

 

[Matt Cashell]

I get what you are saying, but the trees in the pic are clearly larger with the Kowa. Thats not just FOV. If the magnification was the same the trees would be the same size, you would just see more of them with the ATC.

No, they are the same size. They just appear larger because they are taking up more of the field of view. Each scope’s digiscoped photos are not to the same scale. I will try to make a diagram explaining what is happening.

 

[Matt Cashell]

This shows what is really going on at 40x. The magnification is the same. The FOV is very different.

Edit: adjusted pics from an estimated scale to the proper scale.

 

[HuntWyld]

Yeah, to put it politely, that review was flawed…

Agreed, seems like there may have been some confirmation bias in that review. Definitely not what I was seeing amongst the mentioned scopes. But @Matt Cashell nailed it on the technical comparison of the spotters, having glassed with all three personally I couldn’t agree with his review more. Solid work.

 

[Fun Guy]

Matt,

Thanks for the scaled photo, definitely helps.

 

[grainhog]

This is the sweet tasty morsel I needed to tide me over until my orange atc backorder gets filled.

 

[papawheelie]

grainhog -

I got my Orange ATC a couple months ago. I am very impressed and can not wait for this hunting season.

 

[Westy35]

Great review. Thanks for putting it together! Very helpful.

 

[handwerk]

Thanks for your time Matt, lots of great info provided.

 

[jmillr1]

Who you got?

By popular demand, this will be a performance and feature comparison.

Swarovski ATC Compact Spotting Scope Review

Post questions on this thread!

I would’ve liked to see a comparison with the smaller Maven spotter just for the hell of it. Great review though

 

[Matt Cashell]

I would’ve liked to see a comparison with the smaller Maven spotter just for the hell of it. Great review though

I have seen the Maven S.2 spotter and remember liking the optics a lot.

It is quite a bit less expensive than even the 553.

It tops out at 27x, though, and would certainly resolve less detail than these other spotters at their higher magnifications.

 

[Team4LongGun]

Very well done. So nice to see a review that isn't afraid of listing shortcomings and or defining a winner. Just about every one on the internet never declares a front runner. Best review for optics I've seen.

 

[Matt Cashell]

Very well done. So nice to see a review that isn't afraid of listing shortcomings and or defining a winner. Just about every one on the internet never declares a front runner. Best review for optics I've seen.

Thanks for the kind words.

I feel like my review actually falls short of identifying an overall “winner” as I mention in the conclusion they are all winners depending on the hunter’s budget and needs:

Kowa 553: Winner for backpack hunters that want a tiny premium ultralight spotter for under $2k. Winner on weight.

Swaro ATS: Winner for hunters that want a spotter for a variety of uses that is still light enough for backpacking. Winner on low light performance and long range detail.

Swaro ATC: winner for backpack hunters that want to maximize optical performance in the 55mm spotter class. Winner on FOV and digiscoping ease.

I think this is more useful than finding out which one is the reviewer’s favorite. I never got much from “beauty contest” reviews where a group puts a bunch side by side and they choose their favorites. Those tell you a lot about preference and very little about performance.

 

[Team4LongGun]

Thanks for the kind words.

I feel like my review actually falls short of identifying an overall “winner” as I mention in the conclusion they are all winners depending on the hunter’s budget and needs:

Kowa 553: Winner for backpack hunters that want a tiny premium ultralight spotter for under $2k. Winner on weight.

Swaro ATS: Winner for hunters that want a spotter for a variety of uses that is still light enough for backpacking. Winner on low light performance and long range detail.

Swaro ATC: winner for backpack hunters that want to maximize optical performance in the 55mm spotter class. Winner on FOV and digiscoping ease.

I think this is more useful than finding out which one is the reviewer’s favorite. I never got much from “beauty contest” reviews where a group puts a bunch side by side and they choose their favorites. Those tell you a lot about preference and very little about performance.

I guess what I should have said was you clearly outlined which spotter shined in what use/capacity over the others, and that is defining a winner for me

 

[Timj]

Great info, thank you.

 

[jenkinsd]

What was the element on the Resolution Chart and the line on the 8x11 eye chart. I would like to compare my spotter with your results.
Thank you

 

[jenkinsd]

I asked this question to Swarovski directly. The answer was that the ATS has remained unchanged in design and coating technology since the last major design.

They have upgraded manufacturing equipment that increased precision and consistency in manufacturing.

Theoretically, this could increase performance, but to what degree or if it could even be observable is unknown.

They also said they get this question a lot since the S&S review.

So when was the last major design?

 

[Matt Cashell]

What was the element on the Resolution Chart and the line on the 8x11 eye chart. I would like to compare my spotter with your results.
Thank you

You need to compare them under identical environmental conditions.

What you can do is borrow another copy (or more) of your spotter, and set up a similar test yourself.

 

[Matt Cashell]

So when was the last major design?

Whenever the HD version was released.

Mid 2000s I think.