New Swarovski BTX Ocular Module
Review

by Michael and Diane Porter

Swarovski's BTX Ocular Module

Swarovski's BTX Ocular Modulen is an option that dramatically expands the usefulness and pleasure of using the superlative Swarovski ATX spotting scopes. It makes for a visual experience that goes beyond anything we've seen before. Imagine looking through a superb spotting scope, but using both eyes!

A view that feels right to your brain

When you first look through the BTX eyepiece module, you feel as if a door has opened wide. It's really hard to convey the expansive sense of immersion and presence.

Your brain is designed to compare images coming from two eyes and use the information coming from both to construct what you see. With two channels coming into your visual processing center, you perceive more detail. Using two eyes makes the image more real, richer, and more natural.

A more comfortable view

It's simply more comfortable to view with two eyes. You can gaze for a long time. Any sense of squinting through one eye or sense of eye fatigue is gone. This is wonderful for extended observation of the behavior of birds or other animals.

This BTX extension of the scope modality was made possible when Swarovski created their innovative ATX scope design, which groups the prism system and the eyepiece together as one part, and the objective front lens as another. This allows Swarovski to make the system more modular.

And it means you can use the same eyepiece with a 65, 85, 95mm, or 115mm objective.

Making the connection

In this ATX system, the two parts of the scope have a large point of connection, a rock-solid bayonet mount, like the lens on an SLR camera. This makes a very sturdy, solid scope and allows the strongest, most stable way to connect an SLR camera for digiscoping. (And they make a special APO connector for most of the common SLR cameras.)

It also allows you to replace the eyepiece module on any of the ATX models with something like the BTX module as easy as changing lenses on an SLR camera.

Other features of the BTX

Forehead rest
Swarovski has also designed in a forehead rest. You can turn a dial and adjust its position. This even further increases the comfort of long-term viewing. The forehead mount is removable.

Sight
Swarovski has thoughtfully addressed the ability to quickly point your scope at a bird by adding a sighting device. It lets you quickly point the scope so that, when you look through the scope, the bird is going to be in your field of view.

Interpupillary distance adjustment
You can move the two eyepieces closer together or farther apart, to fit your eyes precisely.

Eyecups adjustment
The eyecups twist in and out to accommodate your eyeglasses status.

Optics
The BTX features Swarovision Field Flattener and high definition lenses, which give great edge-to-edge clarity, eliminate distortion, and bring out high color contrast.

Magnification Extender

The BTX does not zoom: its magnification is fixed. However, in case you want more magnification, Swarovski also makes a 1.7x Magnification Extender.

95 mm Objective Module + BTX = 35x
85 mm Objective Module + BTX = 30x
65 mm Objective Module + BTX = 30x

The Swarovski ME 1.7x Magnification Extender ups the magnification by 1.7 times.