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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Sf 8x42 (1 Viewer)

dries1

dries1

Member
This is a great glass,exceptional handling, premium view, great FOV, everything perfect....well almost. I see a bit of CA (thin ring in lower left quadrant) on the lower edge, and my IPD is set correctly, I have never seen edge CA and it probably linked to how it fits my facial features. It is not there always, so I have to adjust the occulars on my eye sockets. Anyone else observed this with any of their glass, it comes and goes.

A.W.
 
Yes the very lower quadrant edge very slight ring, it does come and go, but the glass provides a tremendous view, and I do appreciate the wide FOV. I am also able to hold it without being fatigued as compared to my other binos of the same weight, great glass for scanning wide areas, I thought it might be too long a bin for me, but after getting used to the Bushnell Legend Ms long stature, it is really relaxing. The focus is very well balanced and well dampened. Could be a keeper.

A.W.
 
I haven't seen CA in mine and can't perform my standard test because the town I live in now has all lines underground. Since the town was established n 1981 and is in a hurricane area they just eliminated a big storm problem but it makes it much harder to check for CA. My Kowa Genesis have 0 under any conditions so I'm sensitive to it but haven't seen any in my SF's.
Steve
 
dries1 said:
This is a great glass,exceptional handling, premium view, great FOV, everything perfect....well almost. I see a bit of CA (thin ring in lower left quadrant) on the lower edge, and my IPD is set correctly, I have never seen edge CA and it probably linked to how it fits my facial features. It is not there always, so I have to adjust the occulars on my eye sockets. Anyone else observed this with any of their glass, it comes and goes.

A.W.
Click to expand...
" I see a bit of CA (thin ring in lower left quadrant) on the lower edge" That could be a defect. I would definitely try another pair or exchange your pair to be certain.
 
Dennis,

Yes I do suspect it is a defect, where light is entering the left barrel and light forms a thin line of reflected light at the viewing edge (peripheral glare?), it is not always there but it is very distracting and only in the left barrel. I even reversed the view of my eyes and it still shows there, so definitively a defect.
They are going back for a replacement.

A.W.
 
dries1 said:
Dennis,

Yes I do suspect it is a defect, where light is entering the left barrel and light forms a thin line of reflected light at the viewing edge (peripheral glare?), it is not always there but it is very distracting and only in the left barrel. I even reversed the view of my eyes and it still shows there, so definitively a defect.
They are going back for a replacement.

A.W.
Click to expand...
I would have to agree if it is only in one barrel it is probably a defect. It doesn't make sense. Let us know how the new ones perform.
 
In my case it was only in the left objective tube, it was fine at night looking at a street light, or when dark looking at bright lights 100 to 200 feet away. I noticed this in the day and it must be something on perhaps the end of the barrel which causes light to reflect light and show a thin white ring around approximately 1/2 to 3/4 of the edge of view, or there was a defective objective lens. It went back today for a replacement, hope it is gone with the next sample. I have other good quality glass and not one time have I ever had that issue, so it must be a lone bad sample.

A.W.
 
It is unsettling, but I shipped them back, a bit of a hassle. I am anxious to see another one, I am optimistic...and curious how many high end glass get sent back for defects, Brand wide of course, I don't want to single out Zeiss.

A.W.
 
Well, I bought a brand new pair of SF 8x42 some months ago (latest version, September 2017) and YES I can find a tiny amount of CA if I search for it.

Also YES there is some noticeable decrease of sharpness towards the very edge region of the stunning wide view.

I directly compared these bins with the Swaro SV, Zeiss FT and HT, Nikon EDG and Leica Noctivid and the SF fits my needs best in both optical and handling aspects when handheld. Mounted on a tripod I prefer the Swaro SV, its pin sharp edges invite your eyes walking through the view.

Cheers
 
dries1 said:
Dennis,

Yes I do suspect it is a defect, where light is entering the left barrel and light forms a thin line of reflected light at the viewing edge (peripheral glare?), it is not always there but it is very distracting and only in the left barrel. I even reversed the view of my eyes and it still shows there, so definitively a defect.
They are going back for a replacement.

A.W.
Click to expand...

Do you mean that the FOV edge have a colored arc? What color? In that case it's not CA it's something else.

I sometimes saw a faint blueish shadow at the edge on early SF samples (grey MK I) when bins where held a bit off the horisontal plane. But I can't recall that I've seen it in later units. The explanation was that it had something to do with the special design of the focusing lens.

Bug or feature is hard to say, maybe it's been fixed in later units, or it's an occasional phenomenon that most people don't notice.

A clear and constant colored edge of the FOV circle I have only seen in the EDG spotting scopes.
 
Vespobuteo,
Imagine a silverish/with a trace shade of blue color at the outer edge of view(a ring with this color) at the peripheral edge. I do not see this in any of my other bins, and while may not bother others , I found it very distracting, I need down the road to look through several samples to see if it is something else.

A.W.
 
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