From the testimonials here on Birdforum, the answer seems to be yes.
I'm not worried about those brands. They're just labels, and not really the drivers of new innovation in binos. They've got plenty of name recognition and distribution. By the time the rest of the world (outside us optics enthusiasts) learns about the "Chinese EDs" they'll have Bushnell, Minox and Leupold labels on them, or perhaps it's more accurate to say they won't hear about them until these brands have added these binos to their product lines.
Right now, everyone is making apologies for the slow focus and the stiff focus in the cold. I agree that these are problems that might be easy to fix, but until they are, these binos are not 99% as good overall birding binos, at least to me. The slow focus on the original Swarovski EL was really irritating (I know, I own one), no matter how many rationalizations/excuses (same as those repeated for the Zen ED) were floated. And if you bird in the cold a lot, stiff focus due to cold is unacceptable.
I've spent quite a bit in the past on binoculars (on a progression of alphas) in search of the "perfect" birding (and butterflying) binocular. For the few of us who are this committed to having a no-compromise birding binocular, even the $360 versus $2000 price difference is ultimately trivial (After all, a Zeiss 7x42 Classic is 99% as good or better than a Swaro 8.5x42 EL, and if you already own the former, you save about $1600 by deciding not to buy the latter!). The appeal of top-end binos has always been more about the whole package than optical superiority. That's why I've always preferred optically inferior top-end roofs to say, the Swift Audubon 804ED or the Nikon 8x32 SE despite their (in the past, when they were first released) substantially lower costs. I am very excited about what the Chinese EDs offer for first-time "serious" bino buyers. However, I must say that I don't understand the thrill that some of my Birdforum colleagues, who have well established track records of spending (as I have) ridiculous amounts of money on binos in the quest for 1% increases in perfection, seem to be experiencing in now (after all that past spending) "saving" $1600 on a bino that's no better than many of the binos that they already own, or have owned but sold in favor of binos that were little better and no cheaper (actually, usually more expensive). My guess is that they just like to buy binoculars, good binos especially, and that they're thrilled that this purchase only required $400. Will they (these binocuholics), after a few months or years have gone by since their Zen ED purchase, be able to resist the next generation of Swarovski, Zeiss, or Leica bins (if they ever exist), even though they will cost $2500+? My guess is no.
--AP
