[spacepilot]

I use the 8x42 Leupold Cascades porros when it's wet out, and leave my Nikon SE's home. Besides the narrow FOV, the biggest downside of the Cascades is that it doesn't have the water-repellent coating. Since I enjoy going out in the rain a lot, I've been trying to justify an upgrade of my rainy-day bins. The Zen ED2 (haven't decided on 7x or 8x) seems a very good candidate. Wide FOV, and water-repellent coating. I just wonder how does the water-repellent coating actually works in the field. Does it shed raindrops as well as the coatings on the more expensive bins? If it doesn't work well, I may try the Meostar or Nikon LX instead, as their flat field and edge sharpness may be closer to the views of the Nikon SE's than the ED2's. Thanks.

Ning

[kristoffer]

I am probably quite capable answering your question. I have soaked my ED2 three times last weeks, it rains so much here at the moment. However I have never used any other bin with water-fobic coatings so I have nothing to compare with. They work well in the rain but I never get water on the objective, only oculars. I bring some soft paper with me to wipe them off. I could never have a non-waterproof bin, the rain always surprises me.

Originally Posted by spacepilot

I use the 8x42 Leupold Cascades porros when it's wet out, and leave my Nikon SE's home. Besides the narrow FOV, the biggest downside of the Cascades is that it doesn't have the water-repellent coating. Since I enjoy going out in the rain a lot, I've been trying to justify an upgrade of my rainy-day bins. The Zen ED2 (haven't decided on 7x or 8x) seems a very good candidate. Wide FOV, and water-repellent coating. I just wonder how does the water-repellent coating actually works in the field. Does it shed raindrops as well as the coatings on the more expensive bins? If it doesn't work well, I may try the Meostar or Nikon LX instead, as their flat field and edge sharpness may be closer to the views of the Nikon SE's than the ED2's. Thanks.

Ning

[spacepilot]

Originally Posted by kristoffer

I am probably quite capable answering your question. I have soaked my ED2 three times last weeks, it rains so much here at the moment. However I have never used any other bin with water-fobic coatings so I have nothing to compare with. They work well in the rain but I never get water on the objective, only oculars. I bring some soft paper with me to wipe them off. I could never have a non-waterproof bin, the rain always surprises me.

Thanks, kristoffer. I usually get rain on both the ocular and objective lenses . So you still need to wipe the lenses with tissue to soak up the water. Hmm, that's what I do now and what I had hoped to be able to avoid with the water-repellent coating.

Ning

[kristoffer]

Yes, the ocular, that you look through, do need to be wiped of. Is the anti-water coatings on the more expensive bins that effective? As in no need to wipe them of. Would be a great feature then, i often get soaked.

Originally Posted by spacepilot

Thanks, kristoffer. I usually get rain on both the ocular and objective lenses . So you still need to wipe the lenses with tissue to soak up the water. Hmm, that's what I do now and what I had hoped to be able to avoid with the water-repellent coating.

Ning

[spacepilot]

Originally Posted by kristoffer

Yes, the ocular, that you look through, do need to be wiped of. Is the anti-water coatings on the more expensive bins that effective? As in no need to wipe them of. Would be a great feature then, i often get soaked.

I have no idea how well LotuTec or AquaDura or whatever works. But come to think about it, I probably wouldn't expect that either. I apply RainX on the windshield of my car. Big raindrops bead up and roll right off, but small drops stays on and I have to use windshield wiper. I suspect all the water-repellent coatings on bins probably don't work much better than that. I probably got caught up on the notion and had my expectation too high.

Ning

[falcondude]

When I browsed through the Bushnell brochure. Their explanation for water replellant is to break large water running on the surface into smaller droplets. I doubt there is anything available to keep lens dry all the time. I could be wrong though. I used my ED2 in light drizzles a couple of times. They worked fine.

[Alexis Powell]

I've used my Swarovski 8x32 EL (with "Swaroclean") in the rain a few times. I just flick my wrist and the water is ejected fairly effectively, with no need for wiping to allow a usable view. Maybe fine mist wouldn't accumulate enough to generate the critical mass/volume of water that is necessary for that technique to work? I don't have enough experience yet to say more.

--AP

[Steve C]

The repellent coated Promaster ELX ED and the ZEN ED 2 both repel water better than the original ZEN ED. I can't say I see much difference in the Promaster and the ED 2. Both tend to break the droplets up into much finer particles, which seem to move to the outer edges of the lens, and seem to give the effect of there being much less water on the lens. I suppose Alexis's technique of flinging the water off the lens might work with the ZEN, but I did not get into much rain yet with mine and have yet to see enough water to try that. Additionally, I nearly always use the ocular covers anyway and try to minimize water on the lens in the first place. But we all know that when there is enough water to foul up the image, it will be at the worst possible time.

[dalat]

Can't say anything about Zen, only about the water repellent coating in my Leica Ultravid. I can see some difference in rain compared to bins without that coating, eg. drops can be blown off more easily. But to me the coating does not solve the problem completely, eg. blowing off works, but then the lense is condensed for a while. So I still use rainguard and try to avoid drops getting on the ocular at the first place. To me, the main advantage of water repellent coating is the much more easy cleaning of the lenses, and not really a better behaviour in rain.

[spacepilot]

Thanks everyone for your input. I read a little more about the water-repellent coatings from various manufacturers. Like you said, it seems that their main advertised benefit is easy cleaning. Clearer viewing in the rain is mostly a side-effect.

Ning