Bit of stray light around the eyepiece edges.
Before buying the Frontier 10x32 I had been pondering these 9x36 but they come in 7.5 I think also. Probably very similar to the Frontier.
http://www.bristolcameras.co.uk/pro...=visionary-inara-9x36-binocular#Specification
Wow! I thought the Leicas were small for their size, but the Hawke is even smaller, practically a compact.
I went back to the store last week and tried the 8x36 Frontier ED. It appears to have the same body as the ZR ED3. Very comfortable, smooth focuser wheel (in both directions!), comfortable eyecups and wide field of view.
Images are crisp and clean, but there is noticeable pincushion across the field. Next time I will take my 8x EII with me and compare the level of pincushion.
The fall off at the edges is pretty far out, man. I don't find it disturbing, but it was a sunny day, so I'm less likely to notice field curvature than if it were overcast. So I will go back on a cloudy day and do the A/B.
The price is $299, which seems pretty good. I don't have the 7x36 ED2 to compare, though from memory, the ZR appeared brighter and perhaps sharper at the center, but worse off axis with aberrations.
I'm spoiled rotten with my Nikons (SE and EII). Hard to please me with a roof until you get to the second tier, at least. But if the focuser keeps on rollin in the cold when my porro focusers freeze up, it might be worth it. Haven't seen anything better for the price except perhaps the Vortex 8x42 Fury, which was brighter, though not as wide FOV.
As much as I like the 8.1* FOV in the 8x36 ED, I wish they would have pulled back to 7.5 so they could have reduced the pincushion. I know from the 8x32 EL, you can do 8* without excessive pincushion, but considering the VAST difference in price, perhaps it's not so easy to achieve that balance at the $300 price point. A 60* AFOV might be the limit @ $300.
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