Zeiss SFL 8x40, A Field Review (4 Viewers)

[Troubador]

Maybe the font depends on the browser settings?
This was Tuesday and is today:
View attachment 1481019

This is close to how it appears in my Firefox browser although the text here (i.e. excluding the heading and title) is a little bit bold compared with what I see.
Certainly it is nothing like the text complained about by Ignatius so I, too, suspect Ignatius's browser is affecting the reproduction of Gijs's report.

Lee

 

[Ignatius]

Ok. Hopefully we can now put this ad acta ... It was my browser settings. Once I unticked 'Allow pages to choose their own fonts, instead of your selections above', Mijnheer van Ginkel's pdf was displayed perfectly legibly.



Carry on.

 

[tenex]

Once I unticked 'Allow pages to choose their own fonts, instead of your selections above', Mijnheer van Ginkel's pdf was displayed perfectly legibly.

Hmm... a workaround, not a solution, as it will force all pages you visit (including BF as you've surely noticed) to use the same font. I've left this box checked for years (the desirable and normal default), and was able to read this PDF in its intended font as others have illustrated.

Until your real problem with Firefox (and/or this website) is identified, a better workaround would be to re-check that box, and download any problematic PDF to read offline in Adobe Reader instead of in a browser tab.

Note: with Firefox down to ~3% market share now, web designers may pay less attention to compatibility and odd glitches can start to occur. Then again, complaints on Reddit seem all to come from Linux users, so this font confusion may be specific to that environment?

 

[torbjornhb]

Glad to read that the SFL 10x40 seems like a safe buy.
My father has been dreaming of a "great binocular" since I was a kid. Exactly one year ago, I started my own company, and for this Christmas I decided to take some of the earnings and make his dream come through🙂. Splurged out on a Zeiss Victory SFL 10x40, and really hope his not going to get a heart attack when he gets it.
I also bought a Swarowski EL 10x42 Swarovision as a backup, and I can't really get the Swarowski NL Pure 10x42 out of my head... But, the main use will be for birding, landscape, some stars... and maybe the most important thing; he is going to carry it with him all the time. The compact body on the SFL, and the crazy light weight should make it a no-brainer.

 

[mbb]

Being really nit-picking, the FL has better chromatic aberration control, but SFL doesn't have a CA problem. The colours seen through these are different but not substantially. But they certainly feel different when hanging around your neck and resting against your chest. Weight isn't an issue as SFL is certainly light enough but there is no escaping that its 40mm tubes feel bulkier than 32mm. The rumoured SFL 30mm would not have this characteristic though.

Lee

Thanks for this interesting post (and the many others on this and other threads!).
Having an FL 8x32 myself, this is a comparison I am very interested about.
Mainly because I love them (shape,size,weight,sharpness,no CA...), except for being sometimes a bit 'dull'/flat regarding colours(*). Enough for me to be curious about other options like the 8x30 or 8x40 SFL.
Do you know what 'age' or version of FL-coating your 8x32's are?
In some posts, including in this thread, it is said there are "v1" and "v2" FL coatings. My 8x32 FL has Locutec and was manufactured in 2008 (dated by Zeiss), but I don't know to which coating version this maps them... (I have never handled other 8x32 FL to compare them with.)

(*) 'flat' in a different way than my 7x42 FL (from 2007), which also don't have the same popping colours as e.g.recent Habichts, but are that clean/bright, that it doesn't bother me. It is strange the difference is their even in decent daylight.

 

[Swissboy]

Thanks for this interesting post (and the many others on this and other threads!).
Having an FL 8x32 myself, this is a comparison I am very interested about.
Mainly because I love them (shape,size,weight,sharpness,no CA...), except for being sometimes a bit 'dull'/flat regarding colours(*). Enough for me to be curious about other options like the 8x30 or 8x40 SFL.
Do you know what 'age' or version of FL-coating your 8x32's are?
In some posts, including in this thread, it is said there are "v1" and "v2" FL coatings. My 8x32 FL has Locutec and was manufactured in 2008 (dated by Zeiss), but I don't know to which coating version this maps them... (I have never handled other 8x32 FL to compare them with.)

(*) 'flat' in a different way than my 7x42 FL (from 2007), which also don't have the same popping colours as e.g.recent Habichts, but are that clean/bright, that it doesn't bother me. It is strange the difference is their even in decent daylight.

I switched from a latest version FL 8x32 to the SFL 8x30 and could not be happier. SFL is so much brighter.

 

[mbb]

I switched from a latest version FL 8x32 to the SFL 8x30 and could not be happier. SFL is so much brighter.

Interesting!
What about ease of viewing (eye comfort/alignment...) and chromatic abberations?
(I consider CA-control one of the biggest strengths of the FL, also when comparing to an UV HD (non +). Especially beneficial for birds in flight or high in the trees.)
(And posts about viewing comfort, saying the SFL 8x30 is more 'difficult/picky/...' than the 8x40 are one of the reasons why I'm doubting between trying the SFL 8x30 or 8x40. The FL 8x32 is certainly OK on that front, but e.g. the FL 7x42 is on a different level to that regard.)

 

[HenRun]

Interesting!
What about ease of viewing (eye comfort/alignment...) and chromatic abberations?
(I consider CA-control one of the biggest strengths of the FL, also when comparing to an UV HD (non +). Especially beneficial for birds in flight or high in the trees.)
(And posts about viewing comfort, saying the SFL 8x30 is more 'difficult/picky/...' than the 8x40 are one of the reasons why I'm doubting between trying the SFL 8x30 or 8x40. The FL 8x32 is certainly OK on that front, but e.g. the FL 7x42 is on a different level to that regard.)

I was on the same path as Swissboy. For me the replacement for the FL 8x32 was the SFL 8x40 - since the SFL 8x30 did not suit me with regards to viewing comfort.

 

[Swissboy]

I was on the same path as Swissboy. For me the replacement for the FL 8x32 was the SFL 8x40 - since the SFL 8x30 did not suit me with regards to viewing comfort.

Due to priorities on compactness and weight -yet still having a full size glass - we selected the x30 versions. (We are both over 80.) But I agree that the x40 are somewhat more comfortable thanks to the larger exit pupil and longer front tube. We both have smallish hands, so the tube length is no real problem. My wife hase the 10x30 whereas I have the 8x30 model.
I can still switch the my three FL x42 models if the need arises. So far, I have no plans to let any of those go, particularly since I like to have a model close to each major window of the house.

 

[MiddleRiver]

I switched from a latest version FL 8x32 to the SFL 8x30 and could not be happier. SFL is so much brighter.

I have both and they are different but I'll have to go back and review...
xmission graphs don't seem to support it tho. maybe contrast etc. affect our perceptions?
Gijs' data overlays done by me (check me...)

 

[Swedpat]

I was on the same path as Swissboy. For me the replacement for the FL 8x32 was the SFL 8x40 - since the SFL 8x30 did not suit me with regards to viewing comfort.

Everything has its price. I understand 8x40 provides better viewing comfort than 8x30.
In the same way 8x30 provides better viewing comfort than 8x20-25.
And if you go down to 6x you can get the viewing comfort of 8x40 in 30-32mm size.
But my experience of SFL 8x40 makes me very interested to try 8x30. So sharp and brilliant image. Opticron Traveller 8x32 BGA ED is also an interesting model. Of course not in the same optical class of SFL 8x30. But at a fraction of the price. The question is how well it works with eyeglasses.
Sometimes I would like to live in or close to large city area with well assorted optical dealers. Yes I have the possibility to order binoculars on open buy. But it feels so complicated...

 

[Ratal]

Everything has its price. I understand 8x40 provides better viewing comfort than 8x30.
In the same way 8x30 provides better viewing comfort than 8x20-25.
And if you go down to 6x you can get the viewing comfort of 8x40 in 30-32mm size.
But my experience of SFL 8x40 makes me very interested to try 8x30. So sharp and brilliant image. Opticron Traveller 8x32 BGA ED is also an interesting model. Of course not in the same optical class of SFL 8x30. But at a fraction of the price. The question is how well it works with eyeglasses.
Sometimes I would like to live in or close to large city area with well assorted optical dealers. Yes I have the possibility to order binoculars on open buy. But it feels so complicated...

Opticron Traveller 8x32 works awesome with glasses / sun glasses. Top tier eye relief and a cracker of a view.

 

[mbb]

I have both and they are different but I'll have to go back and review...
xmission graphs don't seem to support it tho. maybe contrast etc. affect our perceptions?
Gijs' data overlays done by me (check me...)

View attachment 1550238

Nice to see the charts stacked together. His measurements are always interesting.
Having both at hands, do you get the same impression as Swissboy that the SFL 8x30 appear brighter than the FL 8x32?
And/or do they compare differently in sunny versus cloudy light?
I've also read on Binomania that the SFL 8x40 appeared brighter than the FL 7x42, which would be much more surprising. :-| (Though I think that was only tested in daylight, where exit pupil doesn't isn't at play to differentiate them.)

 

[MiddleRiver]

Nice to see the charts stacked together. His measurements are always interesting.
Having both at hands, do you get the same impression as Swissboy that the SFL 8x30 appear brighter than the FL 8x32?
And/or do they compare differently in sunny versus cloudy light?
I've also read on Binomania that the SFL 8x40 appeared brighter than the FL 7x42, which would be much more surprising. :-| (Though I think that was only tested in daylight, where exit pupil doesn't isn't at play to differentiate them.)

I find brightness comparisons very difficult and if my understanding of EP is correct, I would not really expect to see diff until the lighting conditions get very dim. I might try the 'hunter's test' and see how they compare at near-dark... In daylight, I see no difference. For me the 30 and 40 are different primarily in terms of handling - size of course, but also the often mentioned 'fiddliness' of the 30 is real. I can sloppily put the 40's to my eyes. The 30's occasionally give me blackouts and often it's a question of the IP having been tweaked in my pack, or just the need for me to get my eyes aligned correctly. I do wear specs...

They are both superb bins imho and don't get the credit they deserve.

 

[Maljunulo]

I have both and they are different but I'll have to go back and review...
xmission graphs don't seem to support it tho. maybe contrast etc. affect our perceptions?
Gijs' data overlays done by me (check me...)

View attachment 1550238

Do we assume that the bell curve is the response (sensitivity) of the human eye in daylight?

 

[wllmspd]

Yes, peak eye sensitivity in the green.

Peter

 

[b-lilja]

All the fanboys (including me) are out in full force! SFLs forever!

Interesting experience yesterday - Had my hands literally full with a heavy tripod/scope, camera with big tele around neck, and I stuffed the x30SFLs in the pocket while my wife used the x40s. Fell in love with the x30s again - MiddleRiver's description is spot on, a bit fussy but the view in full light is pretty much the x40s...

At Point Wilson yesterday at the pivot of Puget Sound and the Straight of Juan de Fuca...rare ocean swells making their way all the way in, even had surfers out with the break!

 

[HenRun]

QUOTE:
I've also read on Binomania that the SFL 8x40 appeared brighter than the FL 7x42, which would be much more surprising. :-| (Though I think that was only tested in daylight, where exit pupil doesn't isn't at play to differentiate them.)

Not the same comparison but I have compared the SFL 8x40 to the Leica 7x42 HD Plus and was surprised to find the SFL brighter and easier to focus when light levels are low. This was what convinced me to not get the Leica which I will always find excuses to try out - and get.

SFL 8x40 still does a great job and the weather has been pretty poor over here with drizzling rain, freezing temperatures and washed out contrast. The SFL takes on the harsh weather as a champ. Focus wheel is pretty much perfect with gloves on. Unfortunately most wildlife and birds hunker down - same as we do - so most viewing is aimed at the birdfeeders, where there is a feeding frenzy every morning.