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

There Can Be Only One! (1 Viewer)

Sancho said:
I've never seen one, and a part of me never wants to...;)
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I recall seeing one being used like a small telescope at Cape May Point. Held more or less vertically with both hands and looking through the top barrel with one eye. I don't know if the lady using it had only one good eye. It looked like a new creative way to use it though!

Bob
 
henry link said:
Well, Grasshopper, here's some advice from the guru. Don't be so quick to dump your spurned favorites. I recommend keeping them around for awhile as references, at least until the clouded judgement of New Binocular Fever subsides. Remember when the wide immersive field of the 8x30 EII or, a little later, when the enhanced detail retrieval of the Canon 10x42 IS were the most important virtues a binocular could have? Maybe they still are and it's only the al sequence of your purchases that causes the Zeiss to be your favorite now.
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No. Henry you have shown me the light. Zeiss 8x56 FL it is until you say there is something better. No more frivolous review reading I will just take your advice. I always compare my old love to my new love before I spurn her and discard her into the vast junkyard of binoculars called E-bay. I am surprised I have been married as long as I have. I guess it is more expensive to change wives than binoculars. I think I like the excitement of the chase and then I grow bored once I posess my object of desire and then I move on to my next optical nirvana. Well at least it gives me something to do. Let me know when you find something better than the big Zeiss.
 
[email protected] said:
No. Henry you have shown me the light. Zeiss 8x56 FL it is until you say there is something better. No more frivolous review reading I will just take your advice. I always compare my old love to my new love before I spurn her and discard her into the vast junkyard of binoculars called E-bay. I am surprised I have been married as long as I have. I guess it is more expensive to change wives than binoculars. I think I like the excitement of the chase and then I grow bored once I posess my object of desire and then I move on to my next optical nirvana. Well at least it gives me something to do. Let me know when you find something better than the big Zeiss.
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"If I were starting from scratch today I would probably go for the Swaro SV..."
Henry Link
http://birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=2098931&postcount=45

Get your CC out, Dennis, it's time to go shopping.
 
henry link said:
Well, Grasshopper, here's some advice from the guru. Don't be so quick to dump your spurned favorites. I recommend keeping them around for awhile as references, at least until the clouded judgement of New Binocular Fever subsides. Remember when the wide immersive field of the 8x30 EII or, a little later, when the enhanced detail retrieval of the Canon 10x42 IS were the most important virtues a binocular could have? Maybe they still are and it's only the accidental sequence of your purchases that causes the Zeiss to be your favorite now.
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Wise council, Henry. I might also say "vive la différence," something we can say with binoculars that Henry VIII could not with six wives. ;)

It's also worth quoting Holger Merlitz' last wisdom, particularly, since self-reflecton is always wise:
http://www.holgermerlitz.de/wisdoms.html
... Wisdom No. 11:
Make sure to figure out what you really need - and save money
In recent years I observe a development among the premium range binoculars that somehow resembles that of digital cameras: There is an increasing number of questionable features showing up that are not always required for serious observation work. And obviously not everything that is new and costly is necessarily superior. Do we really need 'flat' transmission curves, i.e. maximum transmission even of the shortest wavelengths, to achieve a fully neutral image tone, and then having to wear sun glasses when observing on bright sunny days? If yes, why not at least adding filter threads to dampen/tune the light whenever necessary? Do we need a super fast and low tension focuser, perhaps at the cost of precision? Do we really want to pay a fortune just to have the circle of maximum image sharpness extended all the way to the edge of field, rather than moving the object of interest a little bit toward the center? Many people are using binoculars in order to observe distant objects. Should these people have to pay extra, or compromise performance, because there are some who would like to watch butterflies at 1.5m distance? And is a binocular incomplete if it is not waterproof? Top binoculars of the 1980s like the Zeiss Dialyt and the Leica Trinovid have not been waterproof either, and did a great job nonetheless. Should not those users who are willing to take good care of their gear have the chance to purchase high-end optics without paying extra for water sealing and shock resistance? Let us hope that the manufacturers will find the right answers to these questions and a proper balance between useful improvements and an overload of features that yield little more than a further increase of costs. But I doubt that this will happen, the race is on, and everybody wants to take the lead with his feature-overloaded and overpriced premium line. The consumer may contribute to stop that price hike, by carefully selecting products that exactly do what he needs them to do, thereby saving his own money, instead of blindly following the trend set by the manufacturers and buying their most expensive gear including their unnecessary bells and whistles.
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Ring, ring ... toot, toot!:brains:
 
Last edited:
Now then, gentlemen, enough of this ribaldry. Dennis is just imparting the benefit of his considerable experience of opulent optics, upon which Bird Forum thrives. Dennis has the good fortune to be able to sample a variety of exotic stuff for us, truly the spice of life. But how can this be? For he IS the Kwisatz Haderach ! Keep up the good work, Dennis...
 
James Bean said:
Now then, gentlemen, enough of this ribaldry. Dennis is just imparting the benefit of his considerable experience of opulent optics, upon which Bird Forum thrives. Dennis has the good fortune to be able to sample a variety of exotic stuff for us, truly the spice of life. But how can this be? For he IS the Kwisatz Haderach ! Keep up the good work, Dennis...
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Nice Dune reference :t:
 
[email protected] said:
All around use would have to be the Zeiss 8x32 FL.

If somebody asked me what is the best all around binocular for birding for THEM I would recommend the Swarovision 8.5x42 1st and the Zeiss 8x32 FL if you want something a little lighter and more compact. I wouldn't recommend the Zeiss 8x56 FL even though I find it the best optically because most people would not carry the weight.
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Well, there it is, Dennis. We agree. Since the original post was "There can only be one," then here we go.

Which is why I never sold the 32mm Zeiss.

Which is probably why I would never buy the 56mm Zeiss.

Which is why I'm willing to say the 8.5 SV is best all-around.

Which is why I'll say the 32mm Zeiss IS NOT as good as the 42mm SV. But it is a sweet little view, and I won't give it up anytime soon. On airplanes, in taxis, in backpacks, for travel, for dayhikes, for Central Park--nothing better.

And as I originally said: if there could only be one, give me the 8x32 FL.

Or the 8.5 SV if I'm feeling especially butch. I forget which I said.

Mark
 
Kammerdiner said:
Well, there it is, Dennis. We agree. Since the original post was "There can only be one," then here we go.

Which is why I never sold the 32mm Zeiss.

Which is probably why I would never buy the 56mm Zeiss.

Which is why I'm willing to say the 8.5 SV is best all-around.

Which is why I'll say the 32mm Zeiss IS NOT as good as the 42mm SV. But it is a sweet little view, and I won't give it up anytime soon. On airplanes, in taxis, in backpacks, for travel, for dayhikes, for Central Park--nothing better.

And as I originally said: if there could only be one, give me the 8x32 FL.

Or the 8.5 SV if I'm feeling especially butch. I forget which I said.

Mark
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If you have the Swarovision and the baby Zeiss you have perhaps the ultimate combo. The Swarovision just doesn't fit me, as well as, the Zeiss so to get the view of the Swarovsion I have to have the Papa Zeiss. Did I say that right? I may pick up another baby Zeiss for travel,etc. but this time I want Lotutec and I don't want a green one I don't think. Are the green ones really more slippery than the black ones? I think now that I would be dissapointed in the optics of the baby Zeiss after using Papa. What do you think?
 
elkcub said:
Wise council, Henry. I might also say "vive la différence," something we can say with binoculars that Henry VIII could not with six wives. ;)

It's also worth quoting Holger Merlitz' last wisdom, particularly, since self-reflecton is always wise:
http://www.holgermerlitz.de/wisdoms.html


Ring, ring ... toot, toot!:brains:
Click to expand...

Elk:

Now the Holger wisdom, does seem to bring things to a very nice summary.

I am glad you posted it. It is that simple, if we would just listen. ;)

Jerry
 
For me, the best of the current generation of bins is the 8.5 Swaro, though being a sometime astronomer as well, the new 50mm's might be even better-can't wait to have a play and see how good they are.
However my all time favourite is the Zeiss 7x42 Bgat Classic, which I have used for the past 20 years. The way they feel and perform is so right.
 
[email protected] said:
I may pick up another baby Zeiss for travel,etc. but this time I want Lotutec and I don't want a green one I don't think. Are the green ones really more slippery than the black ones? I think now that I would be dissapointed in the optics of the baby Zeiss after using Papa. What do you think?
Click to expand...

I've never seen a green one so I can't help you there. I'll say this: the SV has the sexiest skin I've seen on a binocular. Feels great in the hand. (Geez, what am I saying! :-O). The baby Zeiss feels great too, but the skin is a little slick compared to the Swaro. Best overall feel? For me it's a toss up between the Zeiss and the 8x32 SE.

The SV feels great, too, but whose thumbs actually line up with those indents? Not mine. They always seem a bit lost. Everything else is sweet though. Hint: if you buy a double bridge, make sure your fingers actually fit between the barrels. Otherwise, there's little advantage. The Zen full-size has room for two fingers, leaving the pinky with nowhere to go; the SV has room for all three. It makes a difference in how they feel.

And yes, the baby Zeiss probably can't quite compete with full-size (or plus size for that matter). But if you don't feel like lugging a big binocular around, what good is it?

Lotutec is a marvel. Seems to work better than other coatings. Even the eyepieces just stay cleaner somehow. I haven't had the SV long enough to say much about Swaroclean, but Lotutec seems to be better than Zen's Crystalview--which doesn't seem to do much at all. Leica's Aquadura I don't know: the 8x20 is so little it's hard to get dirt on it. The eyepieces don't seem to stay as clean as the Lotutec, but I don't think I've had them in the rain. I generally don't bird much in the rain anyway, so mostly I'm commenting on the clean part.

Maybe somone with more experience can weigh in on which coatings work best. My guess is there are some substantial differences.

Mark
 
Kammerdiner said:
I've never seen a green one so I can't help you there. I'll say this: the SV has the sexiest skin I've seen on a binocular. Feels great in the hand. (Geez, what am I saying! :-O). The baby Zeiss feels great too, but the skin is a little slick compared to the Swaro. Best overall feel? For me it's a toss up between the Zeiss and the 8x32 SE.

The SV feels great, too, but whose thumbs actually line up with those indents? Not mine. They always seem a bit lost. Everything else is sweet though. Hint: if you buy a double bridge, make sure your fingers actually fit between the barrels. Otherwise, there's little advantage. The Zen full-size has room for two fingers, leaving the pinky with nowhere to go; the SV has room for all three. It makes a difference in how they feel.

And yes, the baby Zeiss probably can't quite compete with full-size (or plus size for that matter). But if you don't feel like lugging a big binocular around, what good is it?

Lotutec is a marvel. Seems to work better than other coatings. Even the eyepieces just stay cleaner somehow. I haven't had the SV long enough to say much about Swaroclean, but Lotutec seems to be better than Zen's Crystalview--which doesn't seem to do much at all. Leica's Aquadura I don't know: the 8x20 is so little it's hard to get dirt on it. The eyepieces don't seem to stay as clean as the Lotutec, but I don't think I've had them in the rain. I generally don't bird much in the rain anyway, so mostly I'm commenting on the clean part.

Maybe somone with more experience can weigh in on which coatings work best. My guess is there are some substantial differences.

Mark
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I thought Lotutec was just kind of a gimmick but these new Zeiss 8x56 FL's have it and I amazed how much it helps with those little smudges you always seem to be getting. When I got them they had some smudges on the objectives and eyepieces and I used my Lenspen and they just came off so easy. I couldn't figure it out and then I realized they had Lotutec. Those little details like feel do make a difference when you are carrying the binoculars all day.
 
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