Reviews

The Image Stabilising Swarovski ST Balance 14-35×50 Spotting Scope

February 25, 2026 by Dragan No Comments

I tested the new SwarovskiOptik ST Balance 14-35×50, a spotting scope using an integrated gyroscope that measure movement over a thousand times per second to instantly adjust the lens position and counteract hand movements. For the last 7 weeks, I birded mostly once per week and the air temperatures were often around 5oC, warring from 5 to 10 degrees.

To start from the end, the thing that worried me the most was the battery. How reliable it may be and how much will it last at low(ish) winter temperatures? The scope is powered by an RB-S rechargeable battery that, in typical temperature range, is supposed to ensure 12 hours of work. Ok, saving it, I would turn it on when I want to use it, and turn it off afterwards, but to my utter surprise, it lasted the whole 7 weeks without recharging!

Apart from the battery, you get a charger with two sockets, a USB charging cable, a strap, an objective lens cover, an eyepiece cover, an optics cleaning cloth, and a mounting adapter plate – not that you need one!


I held it by hand only, and with ease. The ST Balance is a lightweight (1,300 g), compact, straight-viewing, image-stabilised spotting scope that allows for shake-free handheld observation, without needing a tripod. Yes, leave the tripod, the bulkiest, clumsiest and the heftiest piece of equipment – at home. You do not need it.

The final test was a late-winter check of several White-tailed Eagles’ nests along my favourite stretch of the River Danube. The distances warried from 200 m / 650 ft to 700 m / 2300 ft. Ninety per cent of the time I used the lower magnification, about 20x, zooming effortlessly up to 35x when needed. At the nearest nest I took a quick peak, sensed the eagle’s eyes on me and hurried to move away, to lower the disturbance.

Up to mid-February, I confirmed the ongoing incubation on three nests, but the fourth and the most distant one was a bit of a puzzle. There was no laying on the old nest, but a new one appeared in the same poplar stand, yet partially obscured. I could not see any bird on the nest, but the two adult birds were standing together on a branch nearby – they held the territory, but there were no eggs yet.


ST Balance offers close (3.4 metres, I observed and read vine bottles on café shelves) and, expectedly, razor-sharp and very bright views. It works smoothly, and represents a true game-changer. Absolutely highest recommendation!


Specifications
Specification ST Balance (Straight)
Magnification 14-35x
Effective Objective Lens Dia. 50 mm
Approx. Weight 1,300 g (45.9 oz)
Field of View 70-39 m at 1000m (210–117 ft at 1,000 yds)
Light Transmission 88%
Shortest Focusing Distance 3.4 m (11.2 ft)
Battery Life Up to 12 hours

Written by Dragan
Dragan Simic is obsessively passionate about two things – birding and travelling in search of birds, and that has taken him from his native Balkans to the far shores of Europe and the Mediterranean, southern Africa, India, Central and South America. His 10,000 Birds blog posts were Highly Commended in the International Category of the 2015 BBC Wildlife Blogger Awards. Birder by passion and environmental scientist by education, he is an ecotourism consultant, a field researcher and a bird blogger who always thinks that birding must be better behind that next bend in the road, and that the best bird ever is – the next lifer. Nowadays Dragan is looking for a book publisher, to choose from 10+ years of writing and 250+ posts.