ZRS HD 8x32 (1 Viewer)

How does the ZRS HD 8x32 compare to others in its price range of around $200
Celestron Trailseeker
Sightron S2
Theron Wapiti
etc?

At only 15 oz its one of the lightest 8x32's Ive seen..but hows the view, eye cups and focus?

Zen Ray is a three-person company; while Charles is a kind person and a good professional, the other two seem to be different, to say the least. Several people, myself included, have had problems with them (return&refund problems, warranty issues, unanswered emails, never answer phone calls etc). Personally I will not buy from them again, but you might want to try your luck.....

Hi, after looking into a compact 8 X 32's for a bit I decided I had to temper my budget a little, and ordered a pair of ZRS 8 X 32's from Lanius books, the only European agent As far as I know. I know, buying unseen, amateur hour :/
I was coming from a pair of large, bulky and slow focussing Hawke frontier ED 8 X 42's.
My quick assessment so far:
Pro's:
Bright for objective size
Limited CA
Overall solid build

But,

Cons:
Just lacking in sharpness & or resolution?!
Focus wheel has a loose, annoying stopper that moved around as not captive? So I put an elastic band in as a washer/shim

On the first point, I wasn't expecting razor sharp, and I was cautiously aware that my Hawke's not only were quite sharp but also had a wide FOV AND depth of field/focus. But despite that, and fiddling a lot, even the centre image never gets truly 'tack sharp', even with the limited depth of focus. So I have to sadly admit I'm rather disappointed.
On the second point (albeit the first point encountered) the elastic band Fixed it, but I wasn't impressed by the QC.

I will swallow the hit as a stupid buy unseen, and can't justify more expensive bins at the moment, but have to say In honesty I wish I'd spent say £80 more on something presumably sharper?! And above all see them in the flesh.

Maybe I got a lemon.

Why don't you return it to the dealer while you can? If you wait for too long you might have to deal with ZenRay instead, which IMO you should avoid if possible at all.

Lanius Books provides Demo binoculars to try. I am certain he would accept a return if the Zen-Rays aren't correct.

Thanks folks. I do believe there may be a fault or some issue, as they really seem below par. I've had over a fortnight but had no chance to check until the last week. I'll therefore contact Lanius books to send back under warranty as the loose focus wheel part makes me suspicious that something is not right, hence the poor image.

To update all on this, I returned the 'dodgy' pair to Lanius optics and after discussing with them agreed to receive a replacement pair that had been checked over by staff. These arrived this week, and thankfully are considerably better-much sharper, less CA and a lot more depth of field too, whilst still clearly reaching a point of focus- In short, the optics I was expecting. The focus wheel buffer was still a little loose though not as bad, the elastic band trick fixed that so can live with. So in the long run, I've got what I hoped for within my budget, and credit to Lanius books for sorting the issue efficiently and with excellent communication.
In future though, I've relearned the lesson-buy and check in person.