Today is a good day
I look forward to reading your review Tantien, that`ll be a very nice line up you`ll have when the ZR slots in.
Got them today! :king:
And I must say that they are indeed nice. Built like a tank and hefty, with really clear optics. Nice case included as well. And as others have noted, have a distinct "new binocular smell" (OK: they smell like rubber) that I don't recall on the others. I really like the grippy armoring and am hoping that their added weight stabilizes these in actual use. But I already can see me getting a harness for these.
I've taken them out and compared them briefly and I noticed that these are super-crisp with a 3D quality that I did not expect.
Compared to their nearest cousins, the Altas Optics Intrepid EDs 10x42 (Silver-coated prisms) (which are practically identical to the Zen-Ray ED2s) the field flattener effect is definitely better, with a very large sweet spot.
Here's something I did notice when adjusting them: the right diopter ring does not lock (like the Vipers) but is nicely marked and has enough resistance that it probably not move much in practice.
I also liked one thing in particular, the Primes have a really excellent smooth focus wheel (a fact that maddened me about the Intrepids was that the focus was sloppy and had too much play)
Over the next few weeks, I'm going to compare them to a pretty good field. Nikon 8x32 SE, the Vortex Viper HD 8x32, and the Altas Optics Intrepid EDs.
They are lined up here to compare:
The Intrepids are slightly lighter (1 lb 11 oz) to the Primes (just under 1 lb 14 oz). And the Intrepids are 3/4" longer as well. The eye-cups on the Primes are indeed large, but so far with my glasses, I've not had any issues.
The line-up is the SEs at the top (note: eye-cups are inverted)
Then the Vipers then the Primes and finally the Intrepids
Side-view:
One thing I have noted already is that the SEs have a much deeper field of field than any of these (and I'm not sure why--maybe because they are the only Porros?).
Let me obsess more later and compare each of these. But I will take the Primes on a cruise in a week and try them out in the real world.