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

Buying Chinese products (binoculars) yes or no (3 Viewers)

A friend of mine who is hanging around various other hobby forums reports that they have similar threads like this, however I dare to say that they have not reached the teabag discussion, yet ;)
 
I still maintain that pyramid shaped tea bags have better edge sharpness than round ones.
Ron

Yes, they have the edge over conventional tea bags, but the improved performance comes at an increased risk of physical injury, especially when PTBs (pyramidal tea bags) are handled very early in the morning in an semi-somnolent state, or by inexperienced users.
Bleeding into the tea-cup at 7 am is not considered a perfect start into the day by most users.

It would therefore be great if all tea drinkers on BF could sign a petition to introduce appropriate legislation to make it mandatory for tea makers to enclose all extra-sharp PTBs into carbon-fibre reinforced high tensile strength polymer housings to render their use safe even for unskilled teenagers preparing tea for their beloved parents.

Rumours have it that an alternative housing made from an ISS-proven high-tech light-metal sapce-age alloy is in the pipeline. The release of it is hampered, though, by a patent battle between NASA and the Shanghai-based company MRRSTE (Mao Red Revolution Space Tech Enterprises).

In the meantime I'll have a cup of:
 

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I still maintain that pyramid shaped tea bags have better edge sharpness than round ones.

Ron

I don't know anyone who makes the tea through the sides of their tea bag. The large pores in the center of the teabag work fine.

Then again there are folks like Sancho who believe that loose tea is less expensive and makes better tea without needing a silly bag and all it's special coatings but I think he ignores the ergonomics of the tea bags that has made them so popular.

Will Tetley and Typhoo keep making loose tea? Or will the whole market switch to bags?

Tea bag size? Is bigger better? What about early morning tea drinking?

How strong should your tea be? Can a weak tea be as satisfying as a good strong cuppa? Does it depend on your tea drinking experience?

What about Chinese tea? Can it be as good as the top European teas?
 
....even for unskilled teenagers preparing tea for their beloved parents.
Do teenagers really do that? That´s heartening to know, ´cos I´ll have one in the house in about two years.

Meanwhile, I´ve discovered that the way to make a perfect cup of Oolong is to loosely pack about a teaspoonful through the focussing-bridge hole of a pair of 8.5x42 EL´s, then add boiling water. Allow to infuse, while using the binos if you wish (best wear a pair of oven-gloves), then simply tip the bins upside-down and allow the refreshing Oriental beverage to dribble out into your waiting mouth.

I hope the "EL-neu" incorporate an even bigger tea-hole.
 
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Meanwhile, I´ve discovered that the way to make a perfect cup of Oolong is to loosely pack about a teaspoonful through the focussing-bridge hole of a pair of 8.5x42 EL´s, then add boiling water. Allow to infuse, while using the binos if you wish (best wear a pair of oven-gloves), then simply tip the bins upside-down and allow the refreshing Oriental beverage to dribble out into your waiting mouth.
I hope the "EL-neu" incorporate an even bigger tea-hole.

So you mean that the EL is the hottest bin around!? ;)
 
3:)Thanks so much guys. ThoLa, Sancho, Ron, Kris, Kevin, you are really making me laugh. I'm stuck in, immobilised following two knee operations.:-C You're cheering me up. I don't like tea bags; I'm with Sancho, whatever shape, it's dust and dregs. I like that delicate Assam tea.
 
Since we implicit talk about Zen Ray and we established that their RD is in the USA just like tons of other brands the talk about how Chinese RD operates is somewhat obsolete. Zens RD probably works just like every other Western RD department.
 
Chinese optics are very good value for the money. But one big drawback is the lacking quality control. It's quite like playing on a lottery; you can get a good example, but the risk to get a faulty is big. I will not by chinese optics without the possibility to send it back, OR try it before purchase and make my own careful quality control.

Regards, Patric
 
Mrs. Sancho is Chinese. Interestingly, she doesn´t buy my excuse for ordering ZR´s...that I´m merely supporting her Motherland´s economy. In this respect she has become far too Westernised....saying "What do you need another pair of binoculars for?". I´ve been meaning to have a word with her about this Capitalist Roadster attitude. As the Chinese used to say - "Ni Taidu You Wenti"....;)
 
Chinese optics are very good value for the money. But one big drawback is the lacking quality control. It's quite like playing on a lottery; you can get a good example, but the risk to get a faulty is big. I will not by chinese optics without the possibility to send it back, OR try it before purchase and make my own careful quality control.

Regards, Patric

Thats quite the blanket statement. QC is a factor of cost for a company. Theres no law in China forbidding high QC. Apple's iPhones/iPods/Macs are all made in China and I would say the QC is pretty high on those "made in china" products.
 
Since we implicit talk about Zen Ray and we established that their RD is in the USA just like tons of other brands the talk about how Chinese RD operates is somewhat obsolete. Zens RD probably works just like every other Western RD department.

I don't believe this statement to be even remotely close to the truth! I highly doubt ZR has a team of engineers in a optical lab doing research and development for them..... This is why I said that they knew going in the market the trends (IE market demand for a particular bin with particular specs) but the challenge for them will be three to five years down the road when they have make hard decisions on whether they stay at a certain optical level or push for R&D..... Right now I'm quite sure ZR has no R&D at all! They mearly go to their Chinese optics firm that they are doing business with and hand them some established specs that they would like to duplicate....
 
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They mearly go to their ______ optics firm that they are doing business with and hand them some established specs that they would like to duplicate....

You can fill in the blank with whatever you want but isn't this how most companies do business? A competitor comes out with something new, and everyone tries to duplicate/replicate it.
 
My Nikon ED50 too (did I mention this earlier? Sorry if so). Made in China, absolute top-notch quality.


I didn't know ED50 is made in China. For a long time, I thought Nikon Monarch was made in Japan because of the large font logo on the focuser " Nikon Vision Japan". It turns out it was churned out by chinese companies too.

Swedpat said:
Chinese optics are very good value for the money. But one big drawback is the lacking quality control. It's quite like playing on a lottery; you can get a good example, but the risk to get a faulty is big. I will not by chinese optics without the possibility to send it back, OR try it before purchase and make my own careful quality control.

Regards, Patric

ultimately, it is those companies behind the labels responsible for the Q/C and product reputation of their products. If my ipod broke, I will take it to Apple store, not to foxconn to have it fixed. We should expect the same for the optics too.
 
My Nikon ED50 too (did I mention this earlier? Sorry if so). Made in China, absolute top-notch quality.

It turns out it was churned out by chinese companies too.

You mean designed and made by a Japanese company with their own factories in China.

Nikon, Pentax (and I bet plenty of others) have their own optical component and assembly factories in Japan. They use the same process as they used in Japan but with a cheaper workforce.

Like you I didn't realize a pair of Pentax HS was Chinese for two days until I saw the metal label embedded in the armor that said "Pentax Made in China". Unlike a lot of other firms it isn't a plastic transparent stick on label hidden on the bin. It's on the base of the bin with company brand and location together. Pentax are happy with their manufacturing location because they've realized it doesn't make a difference to quality.

So assuming "Made in China" == Poor Quality is just not true any more. I

t may be true some of the time (isn't everything ... I can point you in the direction of crappy US products too.
 
You can fill in the blank with whatever you want but isn't this how most companies do business? A competitor comes out with something new, and everyone tries to duplicate/replicate it.
Yup your exactly right and back up my point completely..... ZR does not have a R&D budget!
ultimately, it is those companies behind the labels responsible for the Q/C and product reputation of their products. If my ipod broke, I will take it to Apple store, not to foxconn to have it fixed. We should expect the same for the optics too.
Correct again! and as I said this is the challenge for ZR in the next three to five years..... They are such a new company who knows if they will be around in 5, 10, 15, 30 years to properly warranty their bins??? And there has already been enough evidence on forums here with small things going wrong that they are not of the quality of a European made bin.... Not even a mid priced one like a Docter Optic or a Meopta!

You mean designed and made by a Japanese company with their own factories in China. So assuming "Made in China" == Poor Quality is just not true any more.
Exactly! Engineered by a Japanese company who does have a R&D team and $'s, then made with the low cost labor pool! And no one said that "Made in China" = Poor quality..... They (I) said "Made in China" = Cheap! as in "No Resale" or "lasting" value!!!!! What do you think a used set of ZR ed's will sell for on ebay in ten years??? One just sold for $315 several days ago. So its safe to assume that in ten they will be a throw-a-way bin with no value! Where as a ten year old Swarovski SLC that sold for $1000 still brings $1000!
 
So its safe to assume that in ten they will be a throw-a-way bin with no value! Where as a ten year old Swarovski SLC that sold for $1000 still brings $1000!

Depends on if you're a collector or a user. A 10 year old Zen/Swaro/Zeiss from 2009 will still perform like a 10 year old Zen/Swaro/Zeiss from 2009. So what if its resale value goes down? Its not like the Zen's will decompose into dust.

Look at this the other way. I can buy ~3-4 Zens for the price of an alpha. That means that if the lifespan of your alpha is ~10 years, I can replace my Zens every 2.5 years while getting new tech each time and an extra set to boot. At the end of 10 years, I'll have 4 "Zens" or whatever brand is filling Zen's spot with the last one of those having the absolute bleeding edge tech or I could still have the one 10 year old alpha. For a "user", it makes more sense to replace frequently but thats not to say the Zens will break down, just that something better will make it obsolete.
 
Depends on if you're a collector or a user. A 10 year old Zen/Swaro/Zeiss from 2009 will still perform like a 10 year old Zen/Swaro/Zeiss from 2009. So what if its resale value goes down? Its not like the Zen's will decompose into dust.

Look at this the other way. I can buy ~3-4 Zens for the price of an alpha. That means that if the lifespan of your alpha is ~10 years, I can replace my Zens every 2.5 years while getting new tech each time and an extra set to boot. At the end of 10 years, I'll have 4 "Zens" or whatever brand is filling Zen's spot with the last one of those having the absolute bleeding edge tech or I could still have the one 10 year old alpha.
True you could do that.... But seeing as how a new SLC can be had for $1400 you could just sell your ten year old SLC's and buy up for $400 and a savings because the next ten years will be had at the $400:t: This is how I choose to but optics and always have the best and something of value.... You know there is something to be said for owning something of value!
 
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True you could do that.... But seeing as how a new SLC can be had for $1400 you could just sell your ten year old SLC's and buy up for $400 and a savings because the next ten years will be had at the $400:t: This is how I choose to but optics and always have the best and something of value.... You know there is something to be said for owning something of value!

well, I don't know if the alphas is really holding the value. When Swaroski lowered their EL price by around $200 early this year, the equity in my EL automatically dropped by that amount. It is the same thing when Leica offers $350 rebate. People who bought Leica before rebate is available automatically overpaid $350 (that is about what you pay for ZEN ED). Just saw a post that is selling his brand new Ultravid for less than half of the original price.
 
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