SuperDuty
Well-known member
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New Zeiss Victory SF !!!!!! (11 Viewers)
- Thread starter Chosun Juan
- Start date
Vespobuteo
Well-known member
thanks,
seems like then "weight change" of the EL SV is only in the tech specs then,
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binomania
Well-known member
The Swarovski weighs 800 g (the weight declared) if I remove the hood of the eyepieces
Vespobuteo
Well-known member
The Swarovski weighs 800 g (the weight declared) if I remove the hood of the eyepieces
ok,
seems like a better method to weigh...
thought "caps" were both ocular and objektive ones,
and I actually got the impression that the new model were slightly lighter
when trying them, shaving of 38 grams is not bad,
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binomania
Well-known member
ok,
seems like a better method to weigh...
thought "caps" were both ocular and objektive ones,
and I actually got the impression that the new model were slightly lighter
when trying them,
Probably it depends on the new strap attack.
I finally got one of these in-hand and out-of-doors.
The Zeiss 8X42 SF is a superb bin and the wide FOV does make a difference in one's enjoyment of the view. And, it's sharp across most of the field. I was very, very impressed. Not enough to buy one but that may change in time. Oh, and the SF focus is an improvement over other alphas. Fast, smooth and no problems fine focusing. Last, but certainly not least, the eye relief is better than my 8 Swarovisions!
The Zeiss 8X42 SF is a superb bin and the wide FOV does make a difference in one's enjoyment of the view. And, it's sharp across most of the field. I was very, very impressed. Not enough to buy one but that may change in time. Oh, and the SF focus is an improvement over other alphas. Fast, smooth and no problems fine focusing. Last, but certainly not least, the eye relief is better than my 8 Swarovisions!
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Theo98
Eurasian Goldfinch
No it wasn't and I'd have to do a serious comparison before buying. Optically, the SF is superb. Contrary to popular mythology, it's very difficult to seriously compare bins in a store. Last week I walked into an optics store with several brands and was totally ignored by the staff on duty. Go figure.
PS
I looked at the 8X42 SF so the 10X50 SV is not a fair comparison. The 10X50 SV is my favorite for general-purpose birding.
SuperDuty
Well-known member
Zeiss lists the SF with 18mm, Swarovski shows 20mm for the SV, technically shouldn't the SV be more forgiving ?
Those specs rarely pan out in the field. I wear eyeglasses and the view is what it is when I put the bin to my eyes. My 8.5X42 SV (since it's an 8X) is the one I was thinking of when I noticed the eye relief on the 8X42 SF. The 10X50 SV has a bit better eye relief for me so I can only assume it has more effective eye relief than the 8.5X42.
PS
I was once cautioned to not compare 8X and 10X bins for anything other than magnification because the magnification differences skew our perceptions. Obviously, one can compare the two but a great deal of caution appears warranted. I verified this one afternoon when I initially swore the 8.5 was sharper than the 10. It wasn't, but my short term memory (I took short 5 minute breaks between models) told me differently. Careful examination proved otherwise. When people "compare" based on memory I usually run for the hills. Side-by-side under identical conditions seems the only fair measure for comparison.
SuperDuty
Well-known member
Knowing how fond you are of the 10 x 50 SV, I would find a comparison by you of them to the 10 x 42 SF to be extremely interesting. I am not brand loyal, and if they truly are better, I would change . I'm interested in only one thing and that's the best 10 power binoculars available, otherwise I wouldn't be spending over two grand . What difference does a few more hundred make when you're already in the $2500 range to start with ? 3
HighNorth
Well-known member
Knowing how fond you are of the 10 x 50 SV, I would find a comparison by you of them to the 10 x 42 SF to be extremely interesting. I am not brand loyal, and if they truly are better, I would change . I'm interested in only one thing and that's the best 10 power binoculars available, otherwise I wouldn't be spending over two grand . What difference does a few more hundred make when you're already in the $2500 range to start with ? 3
Ahem, a comparison with a future 10x50 SF would be more appropriate!
SuperDuty
Well-known member
Since they are lighter and better balanced, possibly the 10X56 SF. Look, a new rumor. :eek!: :-O
Ahem, a comparison with a future 10x50 SF would be more appropriate!
Chosun Juan
Given to Fly
Well, I had the opportunity to try the new upgrade model (black armour) SF's (8x42, and 10x42) at a retailers over the weekend.
I should point out that in Oz these are a ~ $3500 AU proposition -- ye gods !!! :eek!: Three and a half Thousand !!! ........
Quick impression - reasonably sharp, clearish, somewhat muted colours at the extremities of the spectrum revealing the lacking transmission, wide Fov, but ......... decidedly cheap looking and feeling. The eyecups looked and felt like they were straight off a $300 Chinbin.
I found it difficult to position the eyecups for me, and the much vaunted weight distribution and ergonomics ----- well ........
There is some minor inkling of the better weight distribution, but as for the ergonomics ---- sorry Zeiss fanboi's ---- smoke and mirrors :smoke:
Your hands are forced so far forward that the weight of your arms hangs unsupported from your shoulders with an increased moment load ...... pretty much the drawback I predicted way back when ..... o
In comparison to my similarly sized Zens, when you line up the collapsed eye cup baseline, and look at the position of the focus wheels relative to that, the SF'S focus wheel pretty much doesn't even start until the end of my Zen's larger wheel - the SF's wheel is t-h-a-t far forward . :cat:
Also, the relatively dinky rubbery focus wheel is not to my liking.
I can confidently say that the ergonomics of my Zen ED3'S (for me, and I suspect a lot of others too) are the best out of the many many bins I have handled :t:
Chosun :gh:
I should point out that in Oz these are a ~ $3500 AU proposition -- ye gods !!! :eek!: Three and a half Thousand !!! ........
Quick impression - reasonably sharp, clearish, somewhat muted colours at the extremities of the spectrum revealing the lacking transmission, wide Fov, but ......... decidedly cheap looking and feeling. The eyecups looked and felt like they were straight off a $300 Chinbin.
I found it difficult to position the eyecups for me, and the much vaunted weight distribution and ergonomics ----- well ........
There is some minor inkling of the better weight distribution, but as for the ergonomics ---- sorry Zeiss fanboi's ---- smoke and mirrors :smoke:
Your hands are forced so far forward that the weight of your arms hangs unsupported from your shoulders with an increased moment load ...... pretty much the drawback I predicted way back when ..... o
In comparison to my similarly sized Zens, when you line up the collapsed eye cup baseline, and look at the position of the focus wheels relative to that, the SF'S focus wheel pretty much doesn't even start until the end of my Zen's larger wheel - the SF's wheel is t-h-a-t far forward . :cat:
Also, the relatively dinky rubbery focus wheel is not to my liking.
I can confidently say that the ergonomics of my Zen ED3'S (for me, and I suspect a lot of others too) are the best out of the many many bins I have handled :t:
Chosun :gh:
I always appreciate other people's impressions of a binocular. Wow, those SF's are expensive down under! Just goes to show you not even the alpha binoculars are perfect and work well for everybody. Nice mini-review. Curious if you have ever tried the Vortex Viper HD or the Vanguard Endeavor HD? They scored a little higher than your Zen ED3'S in this review. I do like the Zen ED3'S 426 foot FOV better. Have you ever tried the Zen ED4'S?
https://www.birdwatching.com/optics/2011midpricebins/chart_2011.html
https://www.birdwatching.com/optics/2011midpricebins/chart_2011.html
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Chosun Juan
Given to Fly
Pileatus, I agree they have some very fine qualities. My overall quality impression though is in relation to our price here (or even yours there), and the feel of Swarovski's EL SV range - the eyecups on those feel befitting of the price, the one's on the SF of a couple of hundred dollar Chinbin. With my glasses I need an intermediate position before the first click stop - this would need some sort of more positive securing - 'O' rings, etc on a $3500 binocular?? In terms of ER, I am backing the eyecups out by pretty much the exact same smidge as the SV's and HT's. .... both of which stay there by themselves. The 50mm SV's and my Zen ED3's feel so much better in the hand too.
This made it difficult for me to enjoy the wide Fov, because I was shuttling between blackouts and not seeing the edges (at least they had no thick blue rings as previously!
. The ergonomics are less successful for me perhaps because of an old shoulder injury, but I definitely notice the unsteadiness it causes by having your elbows swinging out in the breeze .....Also for this price, I would expect HT glass and retuned coatings to give more vibrancy to the blues and reds, and a more neutral colour rendition, and attendant extra brightness and other benefits. An extra 1.5% transmission is an extra 1.5% transmission after all. A flagship should be a flagship - not nobbled by some arbitrary (blinkered/deluded) market segmentation.
At the BirdFair I was at over the weekend there weren't even any HT's present ...... I was told in no uncertain terms that this was because they were HunTing binoculars and not for birders! :eek!: I was also told that the marketing material imagery of HunTers etc (thankfully no dead animals as far as I could gather) was not appropriate for birders. Zeiss has gone mad - quite mad ! :bounce:
Chosun :gh:
Egrets Ivadafew
Well-known member
"I was told in no uncertain terms that this was because they were HunTing binoculars and not for birders! I was also told that the marketing material imagery of HunTers etc (thankfully no dead animals as far as I could gather) was not appropriate for birders."
How to screw company profits-
Take an exclusive product and then exclude a whole wedge of potential customers from buying it. Brilliant!!!
How to screw company profits-
Take an exclusive product and then exclude a whole wedge of potential customers from buying it. Brilliant!!!
I took a quick peek through an old model 10X42 yesterday, and I must say that they have a tremendous "Wow!" factor.
Having said that, I will stick with my EL SV which still blows my mind, and continues to amaze me with what I can see with it, even after three years.
ETA: However, having said that, if the Victory SF had been around when I bought my EL SV ........ I might not have.
But I fully realize that it may just have been the enthusiasm of the moment, and the novelty.
Having said that, I will stick with my EL SV which still blows my mind, and continues to amaze me with what I can see with it, even after three years.
ETA: However, having said that, if the Victory SF had been around when I bought my EL SV ........ I might not have.
But I fully realize that it may just have been the enthusiasm of the moment, and the novelty.
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