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Nightowl (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Hoferwill
- Start date
james holdsworth
Consulting Biologist
If your bins are all black, with flat eye-cups, it is likely that you have a pair of Victory's, which were the 2nd generation of the Design Selection line.
henry link
Well-known member
A photo will clinch the ID, but based on what Hoferwill has said about the eyecups I agree with James that his binocular is probably a Victory 10x56. The seller might not have known the difference. The bottom binocular in the cutaway that Lee provided is one of the 56mm Victories, most likely the 8x.
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If that's the case it should look like the one here.
http://www.allbinos.com/lornetki_image/243_zeiss_vict10x56.jpg
Bob
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Ya James did some research and they are indeed the 2 nd gen of this design. So would anyone have any experience with these? Just wondering What quality the optic are compared to high end never models. These are the only good ones I've ever looked through and to me they are just fantastic but I guess I'll need to compare to the newer victory to really see how much better it gets. Or to Leica or Swarovski just to know where the optical performance is I might have to upgrade yet if it gets a lot better
Here is the one that replaced it. It will probably be hard to find one to compare yours to it. Same for Swarovski's and Leica's versions, if they have 10x56 versions. You should be able to find 10x50s though. Note the picture of it is a cutaway view. Click on it to get a better look at it's in'nards.
http://www.allbinos.com/708-Carl_Zeiss_Victory_10x56_T*_FL-binoculars_specifications.html
Meanwhile enjoy your new (to you) one!:t:
Bob
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Hi
As an ex employee of Zeiss, hopefully I can shed some light (excuse the pun).
The Night Owls (Design Selection) contained in the objective lensan element, we termed as "flint glass", high in lead, this particular element was the reason behind the increase in weight. The glass used did enhance the blue light spectrum, something the human eye struggles with in low light. The transmission of this model is in excess of 90% (some modern day binoculars do not achieve 90%). Zeiss moved to using more environmentally friendly glass, hence the introduction of the Victory, Victory FL, etc. Some users of the Night Owl state that in low light conditions, the NO in their opinion out performs the current models, this is a point of view for that particular user and in many ways valid, however this can differ from the information given by calibrated optical testing machines, but at the end of the day it is the individual that matters. This particular model was great for European high seat hunters who tend to rest their elbows on the bars of the high seat, when observing their area, however for birders the weight was a problem (the 7x42 NO was friendly enough and again contained this glass type), but in the end the numbers did not add up and lighter competitor offerings changed the focus of supply and demand. In fact the 10x56 weighed less than the 8x56, with the smaller 7x45 proving to be the most popular of the three models (certainly in the UK).
Re the last sentence in Mak's comment in thread #28 above about the popularity of the 7x45 Night Owl: It is interesting to note that Jerry Liquori, the author of HAWKS At A Distance stated at page 8 in his book that he used that binocular for identifying hawks from 1994 when it was introduced until 2008 when he switched to a 7x42 Victory FL.
Bob
Bob
I think that the NightOwl series is the best bang for the buck on the current used high-end binoculars market. There are newer models which cost in the low to upper 2000's -or more- but the visual improvement is minor IMHO. I am of the mind that at this point, new binoculars models are reaching diminishing returns with a lot more money buying slight improvements in performance.
I like the night owls for a couple reasons: clarity and color in the sweet spot of the image are outstanding. Resolution falls off slightly towards the edges, but you kind of need to look for it. There can be slight color fringing off the sweet spot as well but in the center of the image I think color is excellent. Sharpness is exemplary as one of the advantages of zeiss glass. Unlike the current SF and HT versions, you get aspects of both - AbbeKonig prisms for light transmission, and APO correction, and all the fun lens coatings plus rockin lead glass. The polycarbonate design has proved to be fairly stable and tough over time and looks well. Once broken in, barrel tubes move easily as does focus, without being loose. The one drawback that everyone mentions is the weight. They are heavy but it's not that bad, and you can definitely build up to it, especially when the binos are only lifted to the eyes occasionally, as on a hunt. If anyone has An unused pair in the box they want to sell, just let me know so I can get a pair for my grandmother.
In truth, the 10x56 night owls are amazing. They are very stable and bright compared to most 10x binocs. I think the weight adds to the stability. The 8x56 night owls are also very good, especially in terms of brightness and resolution, but are the heaviest. I know little about the 7x45's.
For the price, I think these are best buys. You can probably get quality used ones for between $1000 and $1200 right now, which is about half the price of the newer models from the big three but with 90+% of performance. They've pretty much held their value since the 90's and it seems demand is at least stable, if not slowly increasing so maybe their value will continue to hold or slowly rise in more time as they get harder to find. If you are in the market for high end bins, I recommend checking one of these out if you get a chance, especially so you can decide if paying a lot more is worth a little better performance than the already excellent optics in the night owl series.
I like the night owls for a couple reasons: clarity and color in the sweet spot of the image are outstanding. Resolution falls off slightly towards the edges, but you kind of need to look for it. There can be slight color fringing off the sweet spot as well but in the center of the image I think color is excellent. Sharpness is exemplary as one of the advantages of zeiss glass. Unlike the current SF and HT versions, you get aspects of both - AbbeKonig prisms for light transmission, and APO correction, and all the fun lens coatings plus rockin lead glass. The polycarbonate design has proved to be fairly stable and tough over time and looks well. Once broken in, barrel tubes move easily as does focus, without being loose. The one drawback that everyone mentions is the weight. They are heavy but it's not that bad, and you can definitely build up to it, especially when the binos are only lifted to the eyes occasionally, as on a hunt. If anyone has An unused pair in the box they want to sell, just let me know so I can get a pair for my grandmother.
In truth, the 10x56 night owls are amazing. They are very stable and bright compared to most 10x binocs. I think the weight adds to the stability. The 8x56 night owls are also very good, especially in terms of brightness and resolution, but are the heaviest. I know little about the 7x45's.
For the price, I think these are best buys. You can probably get quality used ones for between $1000 and $1200 right now, which is about half the price of the newer models from the big three but with 90+% of performance. They've pretty much held their value since the 90's and it seems demand is at least stable, if not slowly increasing so maybe their value will continue to hold or slowly rise in more time as they get harder to find. If you are in the market for high end bins, I recommend checking one of these out if you get a chance, especially so you can decide if paying a lot more is worth a little better performance than the already excellent optics in the night owl series.
james holdsworth
Consulting Biologist
I have stayed out of this thread because I felt it unfair to rain on a new user / owners parade but [with several other user opinions now posted] I will add my own experience.
I own the 10x56 Design Selection and have tried two samples of the 8x56, so I think I have a very good handle on the optics of the model.
In a nutshell, when compared to my HT or FL, the 10X56 suffer quite badly. Very small sweetspot with troubling edge astigmatism, some of the worst CA I have seen in modern binoculars, relatively low / weak contrast and muted colours. Resolution on all three samples was OK but clearly less than modern glass like the HT's or FL's. I bought them as a collector piece and they sit pretty much unused and unloved due to their deficiencies - with no mention of their god-awful ergonomics.
I have read, and continue to read, the platitudes afforded this binocular series on-line and can only conclude the reviewers do not have access to something better to compare or that most of it is wistful nostalgia, not based on any actual comparisons or data.
If you collect Zeiss binoculars, as I do, then a set of NO's is desirable. If you want to go birding, try a Conquest HD - cheaper and better in every category. All IMO.....
I should add, I have never tried the Victory version of this binocular, that employed the thinner [non-lead] lenses I think, so there could have been optical improvements.
I own the 10x56 Design Selection and have tried two samples of the 8x56, so I think I have a very good handle on the optics of the model.
In a nutshell, when compared to my HT or FL, the 10X56 suffer quite badly. Very small sweetspot with troubling edge astigmatism, some of the worst CA I have seen in modern binoculars, relatively low / weak contrast and muted colours. Resolution on all three samples was OK but clearly less than modern glass like the HT's or FL's. I bought them as a collector piece and they sit pretty much unused and unloved due to their deficiencies - with no mention of their god-awful ergonomics.
I have read, and continue to read, the platitudes afforded this binocular series on-line and can only conclude the reviewers do not have access to something better to compare or that most of it is wistful nostalgia, not based on any actual comparisons or data.
If you collect Zeiss binoculars, as I do, then a set of NO's is desirable. If you want to go birding, try a Conquest HD - cheaper and better in every category. All IMO.....
I should add, I have never tried the Victory version of this binocular, that employed the thinner [non-lead] lenses I think, so there could have been optical improvements.
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That's the reason I started this thread is to get experienced users opinion of what I actually bought. There's not a whole lot of information out there on the first of the victory series that came right after the night owls but in the same design. Haven't compared myself to the newer fl or ht's or other high ends. So if the glass if that far off then they're GOIN for newer glass
I would think that they are much better than your $50.00 binoculars were. That really goes without saying!
Their ergonomics were always the problem, not their optics.
Use them for a while and find out what you personally think of them. They have big, friendly 5.6mm exit pupils.
Raptor migration season is starting.
Bob
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If you are not sure about keeping the 1st gen Victorys but want to stay in a similar price range, my opinion is still to check out the older Nightowls. I have both the 8x and the 10x and have compared them with my newer models - but that is not a fair battle in the pricing department. I am not a Zeiss fanclub member, in fact, I actually prefer Leica the most. But I hope to keep my nightowls forever, if just for the fact that I use them and don't think twice about getting them dirty or scratched up or whatever like I would be if I spent 2x the price or more. IMO, the view is fine at the pricepoint. I might also be the only person in the world that actually likes the slanted eyecups, but again that's just my opinion. Hope you get a lot of good use out of your new Zeiss!
