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Zen Ray website "photos" (1 Viewer)

justabirdwatcher

Well-known member
Why can't Zen-Ray put actual images of their products on the website? I find the drawings to be not only annoying, but it causes me to lose confidence in that company. As if they are just prototypes and not actually available or something. Does anyone else find this odd?
 
Just more of the "2 guys in a garage" aura that seems to surround Zen Ray. The website is one of the poorest I've seen done be an international vendor.
 
I want to believe Zen is as good as some folks say. Really.

But it's hard to believe when a company's website doesn't even feature REAL images of their own product. :(
 
I want to believe Zen is as good as some folks say. Really.

But it's hard to believe when a company's website doesn't even feature REAL images of their own product. :(

The Prime HD is an impressive binocular.

Small company, very limited number of employees would be my guess. They probably manage their own website.
 
Looks like a mix of illustrations and photos to me. The ED3, ZRS and Vista for example look like photos.

The Zen-Ray business model seems to be a low cost approach (keep exenses down) in order to sell a good product at a much lower price than an equivalent product from the competition. For example, the 10X ED3 beats out a Vortex Viper optically and sells for almost $200 less. Vortex spends much more on marketing (and great photos) so I assume that has to be passed along in the price of the product.

Personally, I have no problem with the website. It is well orgranized, quick, easy to find and access the desired products, and the info appears accurate (as compared to Leupold, Sightron, etc). It may not be flashy but it gets right to the point which I like.

http://www.zen-ray.com/shop/
 
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I hope you're right Bruce. I have a very bad experience with my first pair of Zen's (10x42 ED2's) but am hoping to get my hands on a pair of ED3's someday to wipe that memory out of my head.

I know if it were my website, I'd take some decent photos and replaces those drawings. I can't understand how a company can manufacture or even distribute $700+ binoculars, but still have drawings of their binoculars instead of real images.
 
BTW, is that ED3 the same binocular as the Eagle Optics? I met a birder the other day that had a pair of open hinge 10x42 EO's that looked absolutely identical to those.
 
I hope you're right Bruce. I have a very bad experience with my first pair of Zen's (10x42 ED2's) but am hoping to get my hands on a pair of ED3's someday to wipe that memory out of my head.

I know if it were my website, I'd take some decent photos and replaces those drawings. I can't understand how a company can manufacture or even distribute $700+ binoculars, but still have drawings of their binoculars instead of real images.


They dont manufacture anything, like Bushnell, Vortex and Leupold they market a binocular made by some un-named company. They may be a company of hundreds of people, or they could be a 3 or 4 person shop. If they are achieving their sales goals then why change.
 
I don't have a problem with the website pictures either; seems fine to me.

I read somewhere that Zen Ray is a company started by birders in Oregon who wanted to make good binoculars, comparable to the alphas, at an affordable price so ordinary not rich birders could afford them. I think they have succeeded in doing this. I was, admittedly, lucky enough to win a pair on Birdforum, which is how I came to own a pair. While I wouldn't want to say anything bad about a giveaway, I genuinely think the HD Prime 8x42 are excellent binoculars.

It just so happens that I have family living in Portland, Oregon where Zen Ray is based. While visiting one of the Audubon reserves (Forest Park) on one of my trips there, I also went to the shop. I was amazed that in the very short time I was there, they sold two pairs of Zen Ray bins. They seem to be a genuine start-up company who is doing very well at what they set out to do and that includes not spending too much money on advertising. Good luck to them! :t:
 
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Seems to me that most sites do NOT use actual photos of their optics. I just opened some of my bookmarked sites, found none with real pictures, decided that I'd wasted enough time on this and quit.

Zen Ray has their own assembly facility. It is in China and while the housing is the same as the EO binocular, Vortex Talon too, they are assembled elsewhere from those. It was some bad QC with the ED 2 series binoculars that they did that.
 
I don't have a problem with the website pictures either; seems fine to me.

I read somewhere that Zen Ray is a company started by birders in Oregon who wanted to make good binoculars, comparable to the alphas, at an affordable price so ordinary not rich birders could afford them. I think they have succeeded in doing this. I was, admittedly, lucky enough to win a pair on Birdforum, which is how I came to own a pair. While I wouldn't want to say anything bad about a giveaway, I genuinely think the HD Prime 8x42 are excellent binoculars.

It just so happens that I have family living in Portland, Oregon where Zen Ray is based. While visiting one of the Audubon reserves (Forest Park) on one of my trips there, I also went to the shop. I was amazed that in the very short time I was there, they sold two pairs of Zen Ray bins. They seem to be a genuine start-up company who is doing very well at what they set out to do and that includes not spending too much money on advertising. Good luck to them! :t:

This is quite interesting. I never knew that ZR had their own brick-and-mortar store. As for the website, I suppose that Charles wasn't inspired by the photos that the forum members submitted for his contest thread last November 8-P
 

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This is quite interesting. I never knew that ZR had their own brick-and-mortar store. As for the website, I suppose that Charles wasn't inspired by the photos that the forum members submitted for his contest thread last November 8-P

Sorry, I should have made myself clearer. The shop was the Audubon shop on their reserve which sells optics among other things. But I think there may be a shop in Beaverton.
 
Sorry, I should have made myself clearer. The shop was the Audubon shop on their reserve which sells optics among other things. But I think there may be a shop in Beaverton.

I've been to that store, and plan to go back next month. It's an awesome place. I wouldn't mind visiting the Zen Ray HQ while I'm up there. Might have to figure out where they are located.
 
I have been in that place too, many times..Its a wonderful hike up there in Forest Park,and the bird sanctuary is beautiful..Just the perfect place to test binoculars before buying.....actually birding!
 
I have been in that place too, many times..Its a wonderful hike up there in Forest Park,and the bird sanctuary is beautiful..Just the perfect place to test binoculars before buying.....actually birding!

Yeah, it's really good. Saw Pilleated Woody there.
 
I have been in that place too, many times..Its a wonderful hike up there in Forest Park,and the bird sanctuary is beautiful..Just the perfect place to test binoculars before buying.....actually birding!

Agreed. Being able to test quality binocs in a real birding situation - priceless.
 
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