Swarovski tm35+

[Tom8]

Is anybody using the new tm35+ yet, are they worth it??

 

[mealiejimmy]

No, No and No again
Swarovski make fantastic glass scopes, binoculars and telescopes -
What they don't know about glass could be written on a postage stamp
However, their ain't no glass worth speaking about in a thermal imager and there are quite a few companies out there who know a lot more about thermal imagers than Swarovski
The main elements of a thermal imager are:
a. The objective lens - this is not made from glass- it's made from germanium and I'd bet that Swarovski buy it in from an outside source
b. The thermal sensor - again Swarovski don't make thermal sensor, they have to buy it in (possibly from Lynred or HIK)
c. The eye display - again Swarovski don't make eye displays so they have to buy it in (possibly from Sony)
d, The signal processing electronics that converts the signals from the sensor into the signals that supply the eye display - they possibly get that from the sensor manufacturer but tuned to Swaros specification
Buy a Swarovski thermal and more than half of what you pay is for the name on the side of the device and nothing else
There are far better products available for a lot less money
If you really, really must have a thermal front add-on then either of these are a better buy

HIKMICRO Thunder 3.0 TQ50C Thermal Front Clip-On - 50mm

The HIKMICRO THUNDER TQ50C 3.0 Thermal Monocular features a powerful thermal detector, advanced image processing, and a 1920 × 1080 OLED display for superior detail in any condition

www.opticswarehouse.co.uk

Pulsar Krypton 2 FXG50 Thermal Front Add On

The Pulsar Krypton 2 FXG50 is not fitted with a European 12 micron 640 resolution sensor and redesigned magnesium outer shell for increased durability.

www.blackwoodoutdoors.co.uk

Cheers

Bruce

 

[Tom8]

Good feedback

 

[Border]

I wish the premier optics would just stick to what they do best, for reasons stated by Bruce.

 

[mealiejimmy]

Zeiss and Leica are just as guilty as Swaro.
Their collective problem is that glass has pretty much gone as far as it can and you can only keep charging people thousands of pounds for "new" models that don't let you see the target any better than the glass they were selling several years ago
Thermal is becoming more and more popular and they want a piece of that market - and they think that leveraging their well respected brands into thermal products will make people think that their thermal products are better (and therefore can be sold for higher prices) than other brands.
That is simply not true and no-one should be daft enough to buy any thermal kit from companies whose expertise is glass and not electronics

Cheers

Bruce

 

[Deutsch - Drahthaar]

I hear the Hik Stella 3 and possibly Alpex will have new models out soon in early 25 - Is that correct?

 

[Scuffy]

Zeiss and Leica are just as guilty as Swaro.
Their collective problem is that glass has pretty much gone as far as it can and you can only keep charging people thousands of pounds for "new" models that don't let you see the target any better than the glass they were selling several years ago
Thermal is becoming more and more popular and they want a piece of that market - and they think that leveraging their well respected brands into thermal products will make people think that their thermal products are better (and therefore can be sold for higher prices) than other brands.
That is simply not true and no-one should be daft enough to buy any thermal kit from companies whose expertise is glass and not electronics

Cheers

Bruce

Are there any optical thermal binoculars in the pipeline by Swarovski/Leica/Zeiss ? As in top quality lenses with high end thermal

 

[mealiejimmy]

Are there any optical thermal binoculars in the pipeline by Swarovski/Leica/Zeiss ? As in top quality lenses with high end thermal

I'm not aware of any, and given the prices these companies charge for their binoculars I don't think it is a product that would sell particularly well
Also what format would they be?
Binoculars with a third lens for thermal or an optical monocular with a second lens for thermal ?

Cheers

Bruce

 

[mealiejimmy]

I hear the Hik Stella 3 and possibly Alpex will have new models out soon in early 25 - Is that correct?

Stellar is the name HIK use for their tube type thermal scopes
The first generation of Stellar scopes were simply called Stellar, the second generation were Stellar 2.0 and the current generation of stellar thermal scopes are generation 3.0 so it would seem likely that any new model would be the Stellar 4.0
However, since the Stellar 3.0 was only recently released, it seems unlikely that there will be a new model as soon as early 2025
Other than giving it a better eye display and maybe an inline LRF, I'm not sure how much they can do with the Alpex
Edit - may be some image stabilised models will appear

Cheers

Bruce

 

[webley701]

Are there any optical thermal binoculars in the pipeline by Swarovski/Leica/Zeiss ? As in top quality lenses with high end thermal

Combining top quality optics with thermal sensors & related electronics in some form of hybrid binocular (or triocular even!) is a very uneasy match as the optical side could still be providing first class optical performance many years after the thermal/electronic side is made obsolete (assuming it’s still working) by continuing development.

I’d much prefer a standalone thermal unit, plus, as has already been pointed out - what value can the top optical instrument makers really add to what’s essentially a non-optical device?

Horses for courses.

 

[Tom8]

Anyone using a swarovski tm35+? Are they any good

 

[Antonyweeks]

Is anybody using the new tm35+ yet, are they worth it??

I spoke with the chaps from Deercast at the Stalking Show and basically they said that the TM35 looked amazing, felt good in the hand but was crap to use. They'd been sent the up spec'd model by Swaro to review and they simply couldn't get the POI to match the POI with the main scope on the rifle. So much so that they didn't actually field test the TM35 because they were not happy with it and didn't want to risk shooting at live quarry. It does look great but that's irelevant when compared to what you want it for! It's a shame as Swaro make such amazing binos/scopes etc but as other posters have said, they should stick to this and let the others make night vision sstuff. I was looking at night vision scopes vs add-ons and in the end nearly everyone I spoke to suggested a rear mounted add on (assuming you don't want a dedicated scope). I also tried the Alpex 4k thing but sold it on as I couldn't be bothered with the faff, button pressing, menu surfing and the faintly ridiculous zeroing procedure. Final straw was getting on sticks earlier this year with a doe in sight and finding out the bloody battery had died. Anyway, I'm still on the hunt for a decent rear mounted thing.

 

[mealiejimmy]

If you want rear mounted, you can't have thermal since thermal radiation doesn't pass through glass
Only visible light or NV for you

Cheers

Bruce

 

[homer]

I spoke with the chaps from Deercast at the Stalking Show and basically they said that the TM35 looked amazing, felt good in the hand but was crap to use. They'd been sent the up spec'd model by Swaro to review and they simply couldn't get the POI to match the POI with the main scope on the rifle. So much so that they didn't actually field test the TM35 because they were not happy with it and didn't want to risk shooting at live quarry. It does look great but that's irelevant when compared to what you want it for! It's a shame as Swaro make such amazing binos/scopes etc but as other posters have said, they should stick to this and let the others make night vision sstuff. I was looking at night vision scopes vs add-ons and in the end nearly everyone I spoke to suggested a rear mounted add on (assuming you don't want a dedicated scope). I also tried the Alpex 4k thing but sold it on as I couldn't be bothered with the faff, button pressing, menu surfing and the faintly ridiculous zeroing procedure. Final straw was getting on sticks earlier this year with a doe in sight and finding out the bloody battery had died. Anyway, I'm still on the hunt for a decent rear mounted thing.

Have you tried a vulpine mk3?