Let's take an informal poll. How many Bird Forum members have a binocular knocked out of alignment or damaged during shipping?
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Todays Quality (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter dries1
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BruceH
Avatar: Harris Hawk
Wish I could say the same. You are indeed a lucky guy!
Andy.... Sorry to hear about your problems. I have watched a lot of videos put out by Zeiss and others for various optics showing all the inspections that take place so it does seem unusual that your second unit was put in the box like that. Hopefully Zeiss will follow up when they get it back to figure out if it was a factory failure. For what it is worth, I just looked through both my 10 and 8X SFs and could not find a reflection on any areas of the ring edges. I will keep checking now that I am aware of the issue.
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Have you ever knocked a roof prism binocular out of alignment? The prisms are bonded together because they have to be more precise than a porro so they are very hard to knock out of alignment. You can even drop them on a hard surface and most times they will still be in alignment. I just don't buy a roof prism getting knocked out of alignment when shipped.
BruceH
Avatar: Harris Hawk
No, I have never done that. Knock on wood, I have never had a bad fall with a binocular or dropped one, but I am diligent about immediately putting the neck strap around my neck. It is hard to imagine a binocular at that level not getting a final inspection before boxing but as you pointed out, it would take one heck of a bump to have that kind of damage. The good side is that this is the first report I have heard of this problem so I do not see it as a wide spread issue that would stop me from buying one.
dries1
Member
Everyone here one way or another has dealt with a product with malfunction, or getting something shipped that arrives damaged. Mistakes can be made with any piece of machinery, even our binoculars, which as an instrument I have learned, even with rubber armor, is still delicate.
As Bill stated it is the caring after something happens...
Any company can have a bad run in production, I remember at a Chrysler plant (worked there some in College part time), some of the older K cars that came out for inspection, and saying what seems to be the problem today, same repetitious malfunction, turns out one problem with a piece of machinery and instrumentation.
After it was fixed, no problems.
I really want to like the SF, when I looked through it with that FOV, it was very impressive, since I love a glass with a wide FOV. If for what ever reason I can get one which does not show me the white crescent in either eye while viewing,I will of course get one, if it cannot fit my facial/eyesocket properly without showing the former, there are other Binoculars I will enjoy including the EDG or the MHG.
A.W.
As Bill stated it is the caring after something happens...
Any company can have a bad run in production, I remember at a Chrysler plant (worked there some in College part time), some of the older K cars that came out for inspection, and saying what seems to be the problem today, same repetitious malfunction, turns out one problem with a piece of machinery and instrumentation.
After it was fixed, no problems.
I really want to like the SF, when I looked through it with that FOV, it was very impressive, since I love a glass with a wide FOV. If for what ever reason I can get one which does not show me the white crescent in either eye while viewing,I will of course get one, if it cannot fit my facial/eyesocket properly without showing the former, there are other Binoculars I will enjoy including the EDG or the MHG.
A.W.
If it was just this one incident of the lack of QC it wouldn't stop me either but there's been quite a few reported incidents with problems with Zeiss products. After returning that Zeiss 8x25 Victory I must admit it makes me think twice before ordering another Zeiss.
WJC
Well-known member
"... even our binoculars, which as an instrument I have learned, even with rubber armor, is still delicate."
Or, as that American master of wit and wisdom (also humility) has said, in the second sentence of vignette #9:
"You can rubber coat an egg, but it’s still an egg." :cat:
Bill
Or, as that American master of wit and wisdom (also humility) has said, in the second sentence of vignette #9:
"You can rubber coat an egg, but it’s still an egg." :cat:
Bill
My Zeiss 8x25 is perfectly fine, but keep in mind it’s made in Japan by a subcontractor, not by Zeiss themselves. On the other hand, a screw came loose inside my 8x42 HT, and it took them a long time to repair them, during which time I acquired a 8.5x42 EL SV.
I’ve never had any issues with binoculars from any other manufacturer, whether Leica, Swarovski, Canon or Nikon.
I didn't know that the Zeiss Victory 8x25 was made in Japan. Japan normally has good QC. I think Zeiss needs to monitor their subcontractors better. Thanks, for your feedback. Very interesting. Another Zeiss incident?
dries1
Member
Jan....question for you... You would know more about this than any of us would. Any single brand have more returns than any other? You might not be able to say, if not that's okay.
Last year the YODEL delivery driver tossed an expensive ceramic over my 7’ locked gate. Surely he could have taken it back to the depot? If you’ve ordered binoculars then perhaps you should stay in.
I bought my 8x42 are a couple of years ago. My state of thinking at the time was that for at least the next couple of decades the pair I would choose would be my main and probably only pair. Am I just very lucky in having accessible retailers within reach? I did have to drive for an hour or two but then spent trying out several makes and models before settling on the sf s. And before I bought those I went through four units before going for the one that felt best. I chose them for two reasons: superb optics and wonderfully comfortable ergonomics. I read so much criticism of what seem to me to be great binoculars. I have no special optical knowledge so maybe I'm missing something but I've loved these optics from the moment I first looked through them. Point of this mail is maybe about the luxury of not having to have them shipped. That day of trying out all those binoculars was so instructive showing me that even units of the same model have significant variation. Oh, they're also the substandard grey!
jan van daalen
Well-known member
Hi Chuck,
What you sell most, will return most.
Factor number one by far is the behavior to put the optics on the roof of a car, smoke a cigarette, talk with others, forget the bin, get into the car...... you get the picture?
Swarovski is by far the one with the most returns, but it is also by far the best sold brand since 2003. Having said this, every bin gets checked before leaving the building. You can't/may not blame a brand for external abuse from third parties.
In the beginning we had cheap Chin bins of which the inside was made of inferior plastic. Left on the dashboard in full sun this weakened and the glass weight deformed the original inner shape. After cooling down the view was, let's say....different. Who to blame?
Having witnessed the building quality and QC at Zeiss, Leica, Swarovski, Steiner Germany (not China) and Meopta leads me to one conclusion: trust is earned and something the customer pays for.
Jan
They're nice, just not as nice as the SV EL that superseded them (even though I prefer the Zeiss design to the open bridge on the EL SV, SF or Noctuvids). They now live in my car.
No Zeiss binoculars are made in Germany any more, as production is moving to Hungary, just as Leica binoculars are made in Portugal.
I would put Japanese quality at the same level as German as well, but a subcontractor will never be as motivated as someone whose name is on the box.
Before WWII, Czech quality was considered superior to German. Leica had no qualms subcontracting its previous generation of spotting scopes to Meopta.
Neil G.
Well-known member
I work opposite a parcel carrier and have seen how they treat parcels whilst loading them into their vans and it is'nt pretty.......it's disgusting to be honest.We also have many parcel deliveries ourselves and i have never seen a van turn up with neatly stacked parcels........they are all over the place and the boxes are often damaged.
If you had seen what i have seen seen that goes on,you would understand why delicate stuff like binos and cameras often turn up damaged.
If you had seen what i have seen seen that goes on,you would understand why delicate stuff like binos and cameras often turn up damaged.
"No Zeiss binoculars are made in Germany any more, as production is moving to Hungary, just as Leica binoculars are made in Portugal."
Really! Maybe that is why we are seeing a decline in quality. I thought those Zeiss Victory's 8x25 I just returned didn't smell German.
Really! Maybe that is why we are seeing a decline in quality. I thought those Zeiss Victory's 8x25 I just returned didn't smell German.
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I await the evidence proving that "No Zeiss Binoculars are made in Germany anymore,..." :smoke:
And not all Leica Binoculars have been made in Portugal. For that matter Leica has had binoculars and cameras and lenses made there for decades!
Bob
jan van daalen
Well-known member
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