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

New kid on the block ... Theron Questa (1 Viewer)

Clive,

I will check on the issues you mentioned when I get home and report back.

As for it having some fault that hasn't been mentioned.....I haven't found it yet. Other than the weight being in the upper tiers for a mid-priced binocular I can't really find anything wrong with it.

Birder jack,

Thank you.
 
FrankD said:
Clive,

I will check on the issues you mentioned when I get home and report back.

As for it having some fault that hasn't been mentioned.....I haven't found it yet. Other than the weight being in the upper tiers for a mid-priced binocular I can't really find anything wrong with it.

Birder jack,

Thank you.
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Does it give you an addictive impression like when you put it down you get this sort of urge to keep picking it up to look again even though you have other bins around and you want to take it out often to try it in all sorts of different lights and places etc because your other very good bins are just missing that extra something in comparison?

That's what I'm getting at and getting with this Sapphire. I bought two very good small 30/32mm bins this summer and now I'm just wanting to lug this 43mm around.
 
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I would say, yes, to your question Clive. The big, wide field of view, huge sweet spot and excellent overall image representation make the viewing experience quite unique.
 
FrankD said:
I would say, yes, to your question Clive. The big, wide field of view, huge sweet spot and excellent overall image representation make the viewing experience quite unique.
Click to expand...

Thanks Frank. I hope I can calm down with mine after a while and be able to get back to also bringing my smaller bins on occasion without missing having the Sapphire along. The big view with the Sapphire 8x43 has always appealed to me from my original, then there was a collimation problem with the first replacement and I could no longer get that big view which was obviously something crucial to have missing but glad to say this latest pair is back to big view normality and with this model it is the combination of the other strengths I mentioned that are the stand out aspects. The Questa seems to be something different again and really does sound like an all conqueror especially in the price range.

I like smaller bins but I've always liked to have at least one larger 8x and my Sapphire is that, but maybe I will need to acquire something like a Questa down the line also although for now I'm really hooked on these new Sapphire.

EnjoyTheView said:
That sounds like an undersized prism maybe, or as was mention a bad internal reflection (non blackened lens edge maybe) ?
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Could be some kind of reflection. It doesn't seem to happen outdoors but more when trying them out indoors looking out of the window and with certain eye closeness to the ocular, normally to close. I think outdoors there is more even light surrounding the whole binocular and that seems to cancel out whatever it is but apparently comma is most prevalent around the periphery according to the Nikon link. It doesn't really bother me, I just mentioned it for completeness as something I have found and I think small issues are bearable providing the rest is impressive enough. Overall I love this binocular. Might be something to do with eye relief as the two new versions I received seemed to have a bit more than my original but as a non glasses wearer it never was a problem for me but perhaps these latest versions will be better for those with glasses.
 
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Enjoy, Clive,

I think I know what you mean about that "flash" but then again maybe not. I experienced a flashing, circular light around the outside of the field stop on two binoculars....the original Hawke Frontier ED, Mark I and my Bushnell Excursion 8x28s. I always attributed it to insufficient baffling.

Bryce,

If you do order one I look forward to hearing your comments and comparisons as I know you have high end glass on hand. Speaking of which, I had a chance to compare the Questa to the Swarovski SV 8x32 today on an Audubon bird walk. The view was surprisingly similar. Two differences were notable. One, the Swarovski felt more immersive due to its specific combination of eye relief and eyecup diameter. Second, the color representation difference or bias was readily apparent. The Swarovski appeared more blue-green while the Questa was more red. Looking at each individually it isn't that significant but comparing them side by side it was obvious. Whether that is the result of focusing on different wavelengths in the visible spectrum or a matter of light transmission I cannot say. It was full sunshine so any differences in apparent brightness were hard to discern.

In all other aspects (contrast, CA control, sweet spot size, edge performance) I thought the two were entirely comparable. No issues with glare, stray light, etc....
 
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If the circular "flashing" is in the black area just outside the field stop that means it's coming from reflections within the eyepiece, possibly lens edges but more likely shiny metal between the lens elements.
 
henry link said:
If the circular "flashing" is in the black area just outside the field stop that means it's coming from reflections within the eyepiece, possibly lens edges but more likely shiny metal between the lens elements.
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Thanks guys. I think that probably is it Henry. Sorry for butting in my issue on the Questa thread.

Had the Sapphire out tonight though and was approached by a guy who wanted to enquire about them just from seeing them around my neck. It was like he was just drawn to them. Well he had a go and was mightily impressed in fact he said he has a pair of Swaro roofs of some kind (he didn't know) but that they were better than any other Swaro he had compared them to so he had not seen better until now with the Sapphire and wanted to know what they cost and where to get them.

I also told him about the Questa as another option and told him to look here for info.

Couple of other folks tried the Sapphire and everybody was saying they were really good but I have already said that I expected such a reaction and straight away it started to happen. I'm still loving them also as they performed superbly today. I'm even more convinced now of their ability. The first guy who tried them had glasses and said he got the whole view no problem. No issue with the silver ring thing either. Doesn't seem to be an issue outdoors and that's were it matters.

Ok promise I'm finished extoling my Sapphire (fingers crossed) and looking forward to more Questa verdicts but it seems a pretty safe bet. I'm sure Frank is only being rightly cautious as we are a picky bunch but we get there in the end.
 
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Just an FYI, I should have the opportunity to try the 10x42 version of the Questa shortly. If any you have any questions/concerns about the 10x version then let me know and I will check when I handle the binocular.
 
FrankD

Would you be able to measure the eye relief and the distance, with the eyecups in the closed position to the ocular, so that the effective eye relief could be known?

thanks,
 
Having just got hold of a pair of Questa 10x42 I thought I'd post some first impressions. I took them birding at our local wetlands and also did side by side comparisons with my old ZenRay ED2 9x36 and a borrowed pair of Zeiss FL T* 10x42. Really liked the Therons from the start; the large flat field expanse of focussed view was an immediate difference from the ED 2s, and not hugely different from the Zeiss view. The focus was very quick but precise, agin very different from the Zens; there is a tiny hesitation when I overshoot and back-focus to get the sharpest image and this takes a bit of getting used to. I see what Frank means about a warm bias when viewing side by side with the Zeiss, which is cooler (more 'natural') and slightly brighter and more contrasty. In fact the contrast might be my only minor issue with the Questas, which are certainly plenty sharp but sometimes seem to lack the hard-edged 'snap' of both the others. Without a direct comparison I doubt I'd be aware of this and I'm happy to have a decent pair of 10s at last. I particularly like their fast and precise close-focussing, which gives wonderful views of plumage detail. Highly recommended from here.
 
ABCY1,

Thank you for sharing your experiences. I do sincerely appreciate you having the opportunity to compare the Questa specifically with the Zeiss FL's. Other than the contrast comments would you care to elaborate further on the comparison?
 
Your welcome bj.

Just to add a bit more to the review, I had the opportunity to spend 6.5 hours up at the local hawk watch yesterday with the Questa 8x42. They did not disappoint. As ABCy put it the wide, in-focus field of view made them a true pleasure to use. As I mentioned earlier it was almost as if you could take a round, wide, slice of the sky and magnify it..with very low CA levels, good color and brightness. I had no issues picking out the "specks" that turn into Bald Eagles, Ospreys, Broad-winged Hawks, etc... They were a pure pleasure to use in one of the most optically demanding environments that I have found to test binoculars (CA in particular).

Just as a point of reference to the conditions/environment, here are some pics of the hawkwatch and some phonescoped pics of the birds (pardon the latter as I have yet to master distant or fast moving phonescoped birds).
 

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Hi Frank. Happy to follow up on my comparison of Zeiss FL and Theron Questa, especially since it was your write-up of the Questa got me interested in this model initially. And just repeating, in the field I find the Questa an excellent binocular and a pleasure to use. Some further thoughts from side by side comparison:

Apparent FOV: Zeiss is wider, with more of a walk-in feel to the view (even wearing glasses, which I do)

Eye relief: on the Zeiss is listed as 16mm, 18.5 mm on the Questa: both seem to reflect real useable eye relief and work well for me. I even have to extend the eyecups a couple of mm on the Questa to prevent blackouts. Note that the oculars on the 10x Questa are recessed in comparison with the 8x (recessing on the 10x oculars resembles that on Kowa BD XD 10x42 Prominar), but eye relief is still good.

Brightness/colour: to my eyes, Zeiss give a cooler-biased view which seems brighter in a direct comparison

Sharpness/contrast: again Zeiss appears sharper which I think is due to better contrast, though this is subtle

(one thought here: Looking at the oculars, there are much more conspicuous internal reflections apparent around the exit pupil on the Questa compared to the Zeiss; presumably this results in lower brightness/contrast)

“rolling ball”: I’m not especially sensitive to this, but there is a hint of it in the Questa and none in the Zeiss

CA: to me, apparent at the extreme edge of the field in the Questa, not in the Zeiss

Flatness of image: very much alike to my eyes, both give a wide, in-focus, relaxed view (and both with similar good apparent depth of field). I don’t notice the ring of slight defocus you describe (also in Prime HD and BX4 McKinley).

Ergos: prefer the Questa – more compact, well-balanced, quicker focus (though both Questa and Zeiss have a slight hesitation (is this ‘sticktion’?) when reversing focus direction which is not ideal.

Hope this is useful, happy to discuss. Cheers, Peter
 
ABCY 1 said:
Hi Frank. Happy to follow up on my comparison of Zeiss FL and Theron Questa, especially since it was your write-up of the Questa got me interested in this model initially. And just repeating, in the field I find the Questa an excellent binocular and a pleasure to use. Some further thoughts from side by side comparison:

Apparent FOV: Zeiss is wider, with more of a walk-in feel to the view (even wearing glasses, which I do)

Eye relief: on the Zeiss is listed as 16mm, 18.5 mm on the Questa: both seem to reflect real useable eye relief and work well for me. I even have to extend the eyecups a couple of mm on the Questa to prevent blackouts. Note that the oculars on the 10x Questa are recessed in comparison with the 8x (recessing on the 10x oculars resembles that on Kowa BD XD 10x42 Prominar), but eye relief is still good.

Brightness/colour: to my eyes, Zeiss give a cooler-biased view which seems brighter in a direct comparison

Sharpness/contrast: again Zeiss appears sharper which I think is due to better contrast, though this is subtle

(one thought here: Looking at the oculars, there are much more conspicuous internal reflections apparent around the exit pupil on the Questa compared to the Zeiss; presumably this results in lower brightness/contrast)

“rolling ball”: I’m not especially sensitive to this, but there is a hint of it in the Questa and none in the Zeiss

CA: to me, apparent at the extreme edge of the field in the Questa, not in the Zeiss

Flatness of image: very much alike to my eyes, both give a wide, in-focus, relaxed view (and both with similar good apparent depth of field). I don’t notice the ring of slight defocus you describe (also in Prime HD and BX4 McKinley).

Ergos: prefer the Questa – more compact, well-balanced, quicker focus (though both Questa and Zeiss have a slight hesitation (is this ‘sticktion’?) when reversing focus direction which is not ideal.

Hope this is useful, happy to discuss. Cheers, Peter
Click to expand...

A very good post. Lots of great info. :t:
 
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