Focusing trouble with Zeiss FL?

[denco@comcast.n]

Has anybody had trouble with the focusing knob popping out when focusing on Zeiss FL binoculars and you inadvertantly change the diopter setting. I looked at two pair at Sportsmans Warehouse because I was going to buy an 8x42 FL and on both pair the focusing knob did not stay in but instead popped out and I was changing the diopter setting instead of the focus. Could both of these have been defective or is there a problem with this focus?

[KCFoggin]

I have just that pair with no problems at all. I might add that I think they are a great pair of bins.

[henry link]

There is a long thread on the subject here: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=28453

I've used two pairs, one for about 3 weeks and the other for almost a year and never experienced the problem.

[Bill Atwood]

Has anyone had Zeiss fix this problem???

[Andrew Rowlands]

Have the bino's you've tried been used as demo's for long? - it may be down to abuse??

Mine are fine :t:!!!

Andy.

[KCFoggin]

Another thought. Zeiss, I am sure, would not be thrilled with the vendor displaying these bins as they are and I am sure would expect the vendor to send them in for a look and fix. I'm inclined to agree with Andy here as far as abuse of the demos.

[denco@comcast.n]

I have just that pair with no problems at all. I might add that I think they are a great pair of bins.


Optically I think they are great also I just wondered if it was something I wasn't doing correctly. I am sure I pushed the focusing knob down hard enough to lock it. Maybe it was due to the fact they were overused demos. If nobody else appears to have this problem that must surely be it.

[Curtis Croulet]

In answer to the OP's question: yes, it happens to me occasionally. I've never had the knob spontaneously pop out while the bins were in my hands, but I've had situations where I tossed the bins into the backseat of the car, and when I picked them up the focus knob had come out.

[Larry Lade]

I have had no problem with the focus wheel popping out into the diopter position. It has only come into this position when I have manually moved it.

[Jonathan B.]

Maybe it was due to the fact they were overused demos. If nobody else appears to have this problem that must surely be it.

Since several people have made the comment in this thread, can any of you explain what an overused or abused demo is? I have never seen a demo that has been used nearly as much as my binoculars, and if an FL cannot withstand a little handling in a store I question its durability. There have been several complaints about this problem in new FLs. There was also recently a description of a new 8x32 FL whose diopter and focus mechanism came apart in the field, exposing "plastic" gears.

[Curtis Croulet]

The "plastic gear" issue is much ado about nothing, IMHO. I'm not a plastics expert, but there are many kinds of plastic, and some are very, very tough. If you open up the winding mechanism of a modern film camera, you're almost certain to find some plastic, some of it in places that receive more stress than the diopter mechanism of a binocular.

As for the over-used demo, I'm with Jonathan B. If a $1500 bin can't survive some manhandling at the counter, then I don't want it! When the store decides to sell the demo (clearly offered as such, of course), they should not have to do more than clean the lenses and wipe off the exterior.

[Jonathan B.]

The gears, according to a new post on another thread, are not plastic but metal. That's a good thing. The facts that the focusing wheel on some FLs slips out of position when in use, and that a new FL came apart in the field are not so good. Zeiss has been making binoculars for a LONG time, so a problem like this seem uncharacteristic and unnecessary.

[Swissboy]

In answer to the OP's question: yes, it happens to me occasionally. I've never had the knob spontaneously pop out while the bins were in my hands, but I've had situations where I tossed the bins into the backseat of the car, and when I picked them up the focus knob had come out.

These reports sound like they could be from the old Victory. (We have one of the old ones, and it's exactly like what Curtis says.) Apparently, Zeiss has not done their homework on this one! At least, I have never heard of such problems with Leica binoculars, and my own ones certainly have never done it.

But there is another annoying thing: the fact that one cannot instantly check the diopter position in the Zeiss models. Leicas have a smart little window that lets one check without even having to touch the binoculars. That sure gives a VERY reassuring feeling.

[jrhudgins]

Though I don't have it in my hand anymore, I used a 7X42 FL last month on trial purchase, and had the diopter adjustment pop out on me while I was using it. At the time, I thought that it had to do with the angle against the wheel of the finger I was using.

JR

[jrhudgins]

And, yes, the finger was being used to focus the binocular...

JR

[devon.birder]

As I started the original thread earlier this year I would like to say that I rarely get this problem now. I use two fingers to focus, my middle finger to turn the focus barrel and the finger to the left held against the end of the barrel. It is now automatic for me to do this and I did not therefore take up the Zeiss offer for them to have a look at my bins. I do not believe they could have cured the problem anyway from what I heard from another Birder with the same problem.
My bins had certainly not been used as "demos", I saw the sales assistant remove them from the packaging when I bought them.
After using these bins for nearly seven months now in my opinion they are brilliant and I have no regrets about buying them. If you are considering buying them though I would suggest you check the barrel first just in case it seems loose. Roger

[helenol]

I have just that pair with no problems at all. I might add that I think they are a great pair of bins.
Same here, never had that problem either. I'd still recommend them!

[Curtis Croulet]

After using these bins for nearly seven months now in my opinion they are brilliant and I have no regrets about buying them.

Neither do I. I received my 8x42 FL a year ago tomorrow (received 6 Aug 2004), and I've loved using them. They are a joy to look through every time I pick them up. They fit my hands, for me they are perfectly balanced, and the focus knob falls under my finger right where I want it to be.

[Bill Atwood]

Well I like my FL too, but I sure wish the dopter adjustment wasn't as loose as a street corner hooker.

[Curtis Croulet]

Well I like my FL too, but I sure wish the dopter adjustment wasn't as loose as a street corner hooker.

Uh, I've never tested a street corner hooker :-)

[Bill Atwood]

Uhhh...that's just what someone told me...REALLY...HONEST!...I swear!

[iporali]

Uhhh...that's just what someone told me...REALLY...HONEST!...I swear!
Oh please, Bill - Don't say that "someone told you" how the Nikon HGs feel like Salma Hayek.:'D

Ilkka

[Curtis Croulet]

Oh please, Bill - Don't say that "someone told you" how the Nikon HGs feel like Salma Hayek.:'D

Ilkka

Somebody here needs some serious therapy.

[Bill Atwood]

Oh please, Bill - Don't say that "someone told you" how the Nikon HGs feel like Salma Hayek.:'D

Ilkka


Of course not!

Salma would be extremely upset with me if I did.

[jurek]

Back to the thread.

My Zeiss had several times this problem with falling correction cup. I considered a bit of adhesive tape but decided not. My old prevoius bins were covered with adhesive tape for the same reason!

My Zeiss was also demo specimen - I chosen it because it seemed to have marginally better image quality than others. It was however a stupid decision. Its right eyecup fell off and already needed repair. Repair was done nicely & free by Zeiss, but still I was without good bins for a few weeks.

Overall, however, great bins.

[denco@comcast.n]

Back to the thread.

My Zeiss had several times this problem with falling correction cup. I considered a bit of adhesive tape but decided not. My old prevoius bins were covered with adhesive tape for the same reason!

My Zeiss was also demo specimen - I chosen it because it seemed to have marginally better image quality than others. It was however a stupid decision. Its right eyecup fell off and already needed repair. Repair was done nicely & free by Zeiss, but still I was without good bins for a few weeks.

Overall, however, great bins.


Are you talking about the eyecups or the focusing mechanism? I am a bit confused here. The thread was discussing the focusing knob popping out. It sounds like you talking about the eyecups falling off.