Zeiss Terra ED material problem? (1 Viewer)

[ariban]

There is a ‘Zeiss Binoculars Users’ group on Facebook. An acquaintance shared a photograph showing how his Terra ED broke in two. (See photo attached).

He says, “Can something that’s supposed to be rugged break so easily ?

This is my terra Ed which is less than 6 months old, taken very good care of and there comes a day in which I drop it just from my hip height - now it’s in two pieces !!

Apparently zeiss doesn’t want to replace it !

The funny thing is this is my second terra Ed unit. This was a replacement unit as my first unit had its eyecups stuck and was later found out the issue to be a wrong screw.”

This is the third such instance that I know of , every time with a Terra ED.

Ours is the tropics and we see a long a fairly hot summer (40 degrees Celsius high). Could it be that the material is insufficiently tropicalized? In each case the bins had broken into two barrels.

Looking for insights on this issue. Has any member here come across such an instance?

 

[james holdsworth]

My wife has the same model, although the older chassis. She whacked hers on volcanic rock with some vigour and only scuffed the rubber so maybe the new chassis isn’t as durable. I would find it completely unacceptable for any binocular in any climate to do that from a waist height drop.

 

[Maljunulo]

Build ‘em strong and people complain that they are heavy.

Build ‘em light and people complain that they are not strong.

 

[ariban]

Build ‘em strong and people complain that they are heavy.

Build ‘em light and people complain that they are not strong.

China, Japan, Europe… no one signs up for this. 😁

 

[Swissboy]

There is a ‘Zeiss Binoculars Users’ group on Facebook. An acquaintance shared a photograph showing how his Terra ED broke in two. (See photo attached).

He says, “Can something that’s supposed to be rugged break so easily ?

This is my terra Ed which is less than 6 months old, taken very good care of and there comes a day in which I drop it just from my hip height - now it’s in two pieces !!

Apparently zeiss doesn’t want to replace it !

The funny thing is this is my second terra Ed unit. This was a replacement unit as my first unit had its eyecups stuck and was later found out the issue to be a wrong screw.”

This is the third such instance that I know of , every time with a Terra ED.

Ours is the tropics and we see a long a fairly hot summer (40 degrees Celsius high). Could it be that the material is insufficiently tropicalized? In each case the bins had broken into two barrels.

Looking for insights on this issue. Has any member here come across such an instance?View attachment 1474599

Looks like pretty thin material in that critical hinge area. A bit thicker would certainly not add much to the total weight.

 

[MunishGowda]

Well that original post on Fb is by me.

I have come Across a few instances where this has happened earlier.
And also later.
Log in to Facebook

 

[MunishGowda]

I had come across another article on a forum which showed another terra Ed in two pieces, but not able to find that thread.

I also have a chat where a representative from zeiss India acknowledges that this has happened earlier once - and he/she has joined only 8months back.

to make it clear, this unit of mine was less than 6months old when the incident happened, the warranty clearly states that material defects are covered. But I have been told by zeiss that the warranty applies only to their other models !!!

also they are complaining that warranty cannot be covered as it’s a drop case, yes it was indeed a drop case - but nothing even close to make it break in two halves. It dropped from between my legs when I was trying to get my harnesses from by bag, and the drop wasnt even on solid ground. And again the impact was at the front of the barrel and not on the hinge.

so material defects comes into light only when such incidents happen, but When such incidents happen and an issue comes up the warranty isn’t covered due to the incident.

 

[gila]

Thanks for the heads up. I was planning on buying my wife this model, Saturday. I assumed zeiss warranty was the same on all models.

 

[dries1]

The time in extended heat could have something to do with it, perhaps they likely don't think of that when making a mid range glass? I thought it would be covered just like any another premium Zeiss.

 

[Gijs van Ginkel]

A few years ago we have investigated a number of 8x25 binoculars from Bynolyt, Swarovski and Zeiss.
One of the best binoculars tested in comparison with the Swarovski and Zeiss ones was the Bynolyt Seagull ED 8x25HD for 300 euros. It can compete with the 8x25 models from Zeiss and Swarovski looking at the specifications and the measured properties certainly for a price of 300 euros versus more than 700 euros for the top brands.
Test results can be found on the WEB-site of House of Outdoor.
Gijs van Ginkel

 

[gila]

Those are hard to find in the US. Unfortunately my wife needs binoculars soon, for a clean. She finds my old twenty plus year old sets bulky.

 

[MunishGowda]

Right now none of the guys from zeiss are replying to mails (including the global team), nor are they picking my calls. The issue is just being dragged, it’s been more than around 120 days now.

 

[MunishGowda]

Thanks for the heads up. I was planning on buying my wife this model, Saturday. I assumed zeiss warranty was the same on all models.

Why not a nikon m5, they are optically slightly better than zeiss. Also the build quality is great on Nikon, I haven’t heard of any case where the binocular broke into two parts atleast!
also many cases are highlighting issues with zeiss warranty.

the best part is that u can get it for about half the price of the zeiss.