Perhaps another game changer (7 Viewers)

[exup]

First reports coming in of an 'NL' clone .....

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/908681-new-bino-developed-by-skyrover/

Looks like Sky Rover have produced a new range of roofs, to go with their extensive range of excellent astro gear and bins.

Definitely one to watch.

 

[PYRTLE]

Or perhaps another MIC clone piggybacking off the design and quality of Swarovski. The link is mostly a series of pushy adverts with no real testing results.....just "comparitive" image photos versus an NL.

 

[exup]

Or perhaps another MIC clone piggybacking off the design and quality of Swarovski. The link is mostly a series of pushy adverts with no real testing results.....just "comparitive" image photos versus an NL.

There is a lot of meaning in the small word " perhaps"....

That's why open minded people will watch that space......

 

[PYRTLE]

There is a lot of meaning in the small word " perhaps"....

That's why open minded people will watch that space......

I'll be watching too.

 

[exup]

I'll be watching too.

Perhaps a better description of these could be " a roof bin to rival NLs' :......

That way, the emotive debate about 'copying' someone else's "design " is removed completely.

An SP roof bin is an SP roof bin ......

 

[wllmspd]

Blast, though I’d finally stopped wanting binos. Be interesting to get reviews of actual examples from some of our regular posters. How close the performance is, how the fit and finish is. Given the expertise of the company, one wonders if they could exceed the existing performance, guess it depends what the design requirements are.
The days of my Nikon 8x30E2 may be numbered….

Peter

 

[chill6x6]

Anyone seen Charles lately?

 

[albie...]

There is very little info for the Skyrover . The member who brought it to our attention on CN cannot provide us with any pertinent info . I have an extremely hard time believing that this Skyrover at 1/10 the cost of an NL can provide the same performance of an NL . $350 does not buy you an alpha level binocular although it can get you a nice bin for the money .
The hype attached to this reminds me of when Oberwerk came out with the SE's

 

[Patudo]

Would the Sky Rover mentioned in the Cloudynights post be the same manufacturer as the Sky Rover (United Optics of Kunming, PRC) whose 10x50 individual focus porro - which appears to be a clone of the Fujinon FMT - received a pretty positive review by Holger Merlitz here? Review: Fujinon 10x50 FMT-SX2 vs United Optics 10x50 Sky Rover

 

[exup]

Would the Sky Rover mentioned in the Cloudynights post be the same manufacturer as the Sky Rover (United Optics of Kunming, PRC) whose 10x50 individual focus porro - which appears to be a clone of the Fujinon FMT - received a pretty positive review by Holger Merlitz here? Review: Fujinon 10x50 FMT-SX2 vs United Optics 10x50 Sky Rover

My understanding, which might be wrong, is that they deliver the APM porros too, so your assertion is possibly correct.

They do astro kit too eg superzoom (sold under an APM label too).

 

[Binocollector]

Member "Milos1977" on CN has also posted about it, since he received his. Seems all rather positive. The price would be more like 500€/$ btw, not 350. And if that bino was made in Europe, my guess would be that it would reach 1,000€ easily. So reaching Meopta Meopro territory. I hadn't planned on getting another MiC bino but it seems still rather interesting. I'd love to see some more serious testing (@Gijs van Ginkel ?), once it might become available in Europe, maybe through APM, teleskop-express or other sellers. What would be most interesting would be someone getting one, taking it to a Swarovski facility for them to take apart and analyze to see if it is in any way reverse-engineered.

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/911776-sky-rover-8x42-apo-banner-cloud-91%C2%B0-fov/

 

[dries1]

The Eye relief will be the deal killer for those who wear glasses, get the popcorn sit back and watch.

 

[tenex]

The Eye relief will be the deal killer for those who wear glasses, get the popcorn sit back and watch.

I for one would be very curious to try the view from a wide-angle eyepiece that didn't strain also to get 18mm ER.

 

[albie...]

Member "Milos1977" on CN has also posted about it, since he received his. Seems all rather positive. The price would be more like 500€/$ btw, not 350. And if that bino was made in Europe, my guess would be that it would reach 1,000€ easily. So reaching Meopta Meopro territory. I hadn't planned on getting another MiC bino but it seems still rather interesting. I'd love to see some more serious testing (@Gijs van Ginkel ?), once it might become available in Europe, maybe through APM, teleskop-express or other sellers. What would be most interesting would be someone getting one, taking it to a Swarovski facility for them to take apart and analyze to see if it is in any way reverse-engineered.

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/911776-sky-rover-8x42-apo-banner-cloud-91%C2%B0-fov/

A quote from Milos1977 from CN . The quote was when the buzz on this bin was in it's infancy .


" Swarovski 8x and 10x42 NL pure are $3500. These are $350. The same specs including close focus, eye relief, weight, FOV, diopter correction and adjustment.
TEN TIMES less expensive has to be record in clone binoculars so far. Still, no harm in keeping an eye on these , specially if they become backed by one of the well known brands we mentioned already in this thread. "

 

[Binocollector]

A quote from Milos1977 from CN . The quote was when the buzz on this bin was in it's infancy .


" Swarovski 8x and 10x42 NL pure are $3500. These are $350. The same specs including close focus, eye relief, weight, FOV, diopter correction and adjustment.
TEN TIMES less expensive has to be record in clone binoculars so far. Still, no harm in keeping an eye on these , specially if they become backed by one of the well known brands we mentioned already in this thread. "

He has since received them and written about his first impressions in the thread I linked.

 

[albie...]

He has since received them and written about his first impressions in the thread I linked.

I have been following the Skyrover buzz since it's beginning , it's very entertaining . It would be fantastic if you could buy an "alpha" binocular for a fraction of what an "alpha" bin costs but I myself have a hard time believing it to be so . I would be more inclined to believe that perhaps the Skyrover is more of a class leader than a NL Pure crusher .

 

[Binocollector]

@albie...
I fully agree. I'll believe it as soon as there has been some proper testing done. Not some overly enthusiastic first impressions. Still an interesting instrument for the FoV alone.

 

[gcole]

I have been following the Skyrover buzz since it's beginning , it's very entertaining . It would be fantastic if you could buy an "alpha" binocular for a fraction of what an "alpha" bin costs but I myself have a hard time believing it to be so . I would be more inclined to believe that perhaps the Skyrover is more of a class leader than a NL Pure crusher .

Why is it so hard to believe that a China sourced ? …. could produce a China Alpha binocular so close in Quality to a European brand ? . Just look at the labor/manufacturing cost differences not to mention how competitive China has become in producing nice quality optics this last decade alone. Not to offend any owners of the mentioned clone brand but to be honest, they are grossly overpriced. Take decades of large budgets for sales advertising from a household name for example “ Swarovski “ and we end up where we are now.

 

[Conndomat]

First of all, a lot of Ballihoo and what does APO means on handheld binoculars?

Andreas

 

[Maljunulo]

I’m afraid I got stuck on “has the same specs” and the implication that a $350 glass can therefore be the same as a $3500 glass.

Perhaps I misunderstood.