John M Robinson
Well-known member
I had my Zeiss 7x42 Classics out the other day and had the same reaction that I always do--wow! They're so easy to look through, and fit my hands and face better than any other. I've bought a lot of bins in an effort to find something that surpasses their performance, including the 8x32 FL that Dennis thinks is so superior, but I'm not sure any are as satisfying as those 7x42. Other bins may surpass them in one respect or another, but w/respect to their overall performance, for me, these are competitive with all the latest and greatest. I don't feel the same way about any other roof prism bins of their era.
--AP
I think Alexis hit the nail right on the head. I own and use a bunch of bins but my two favorites are my 8x42 Ultravid and 8x32 Nikon SE. That said I am a bino nut, maybe not to the level of most here, but I try as many high end ones as I can find, in stores, outside, taken home for a weekend, borrowed from friends, ect. I have tried all of the latest Zeiss, Swaro, Nikon and Leica, and find things about each that I like, but for my eyes (this is very individualistic), I have never been "wowed" by the Zeiss FLs, they are great but always come in 3rd or 4th place against the other alphas.
Then one day out at a birdwatching refuge I came across a group of bird watchers and noticed this one lady was holding a 7x42 Zeiss Classic. I asked if I could look through them. I know that technically the newer Zeiss FLs are brighter, have better coatings on lenses and prisms, are more streamlined and lighter with better water proofing, but one look through those gave me that "wow" that I had been missing. And it's not just a seven power thing as I tried a 7x42 Ultravid against my 8x42 BRs and didn't really notice that much difference. I can't say that I would trade my Ultravids for them, but I think you would be very happy with them, and $800.00 is in the ballpark, I have seen mint 7x42 Classics go as low as $750.00, but that was last year.
John
edit: I just saw the $700.00 price. Now I want to buy them!
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