I agree with all you have above, Lee. Zeiss needs to work at refining the Terra brand before trying anything lesser - and I think anything lesser would be a very bad idea.
The Terra is really as low as the company should go. At the price point, it is a capable but not outstanding performer. My view would be that Zeiss should massage the Terra to be the definitive $350.00 binocular, not only better made than any competition but optically clearly better as well. Personally, I think a small uptick in price, along with better ED glass and coatings would be the way to go, not down the price / quality scale.
That said, I think Zeiss have been successful in their execution of the Terra. I use mine for really rough bushwhacking, for field surveys and two colleagues have since purchased the Terra after trying mine, discovering the price and realizing they could get a ''Zeiss.''
I'm with PT on this James: I think you have summed it up nicely.
Terra is really a work-in-progress as you hinted with a request for future ED glass and coatings upgrades, and Terra is crying out for 32mm variants not least to attract hikers, back-packers, canoeists and tourists etc with compact dimensions. This is where Zeiss needs to finish the current Terra job and start thinking about the next Terra, delving into lower classes could be a diversion too many.
It appears that for once there has been a rapid consensus on BF :eek!:
Lee
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