Zen Ray ED2 7x36 evaluations and review (1 Viewer)

[mayoayo]

In the photo showing the actual binocular,in the Zen ray site,The ring seems to be flushed with the top of the eyecup,or mighty close...I woould hate to push the binos a bit to hard into my glasses and get a scratch( one of my RX lenses costs about the same as the binos!,I wear "Alphas" )

mayoayo

There is no difference in the amount of ocular ring extending above the ocular glass. That ocular ring is made with a bit more gradual bevel, but is no closer to the glass that I can see. The eye cup itself is a different matter. There was a change in the eye cup design sort of at the 12th hour and the with the eye cup collapsed, the upper surface of the eye cup is about 1.5mm or so closer to the glass. This lets eye glass wearers get closer to the ocular lens, but still prevents actual contact of the eye glass with either the ocular ring or the ocular lens.

 

[Alexis Powell]

There was a change in the eye cup design sort of at the 12th hour and the with the eye cup collapsed, the upper surface of the eye cup is about 1.5mm or so closer to the glass. This lets eye glass wearers get closer to the ocular lens, but still prevents actual contact of the eye glass with either the ocular ring or the ocular lens.

Really? I missed discussion of this on Birdforum (if there was one). But indeed, I see the picture on the Zen-Ray site and the rubber does seem to screw down farther than on the 7x36 that I received. Bravo!

Preventing eyeglass scratches is as simple as dialing out the eyecups a weensy bit.

--AP

 

[Steve C]

Well, I don't recall a discussion on the eye cup. Who knows why? BTW it is on the 7x36 the eye cup was changed, the x43 ED 1 & 2 look to be the same.

 

[mayoayo]

Really? I missed discussion of this on Birdforum (if there was one). But indeed, I see the picture on the Zen-Ray site and the rubber does seem to screw down farther than on the 7x36 that I received. Bravo!

Preventing eyeglass scratches is as simple as dialing out the eyecups a weensy bit.

--AP

Yes,thats true..I can always fit a small o-ring,to prevent the eyecup to totally close ,So no accidental scratch would spoil( and It would)my Day..
THANKS

 

[Wolf Beam]

I'm not sure whether I got this right...Does the information above tell that Zen changed the design after the first 7x36s were shipped? And that the eye relief has been improved since the first reviews on Bird Forum?

 

[FrankD]

No. Not to my knowledge. I do not remember reading anything about there be any design changes since the first shipment hit the market.

 

[Steve C]

I'm not sure whether I got this right...Does the information above tell that Zen changed the design after the first 7x36s were shipped? And that the eye relief has been improved since the first reviews on Bird Forum?

The change likely delayed by several days the initial release of the 7x36, but nothing has changed since the release.

 

[mayoayo]

The change likely delayed by several days the initial release of the 7x36, but nothing has changed since the release.

Hi...Could anyone post a picture of the Eyecup assembly in their 7x36 ZEN?..Maybe we can compare fit and finish.

 

[FrankD]

Here you go.

 

[Surveyor]

A couple more to go with Franks.

 

[Steve C]

These are not as good as Frank's or Surveyor's. The eye cup thickness above the ocular ring on the 7x36 is 2mm. It is 4mm on the 10x43. Otherwise the ocular is the same except for slightly different bevel from the glass to the top of the ocular ring.

 

[Alexis Powell]

I'm not sure whether I got this right...Does the information above tell that Zen changed the design after the first 7x36s were shipped? And that the eye relief has been improved since the first reviews on Bird Forum?

It wasn't info, it was photo interpretation/speculation on my part based on the left side ocular of the 7x36 on this Zen Ray web page

www.zen-ray.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=250

The right side of the bino looks like the 7x36 that I received (is it different from the left side, or screwed out slightly?), as do all the pictures in the above posts by FrankD, Surveyor, and Steve C. The left side looks quite different, and it doesn't look like an illusion of lighting/camera angle either, but sorry if I've created some misinformation. Probably someone from Zen Ray should clear up the confusion.

--AP

 

[Steve C]

In my post, the left photo is the 7x36, the right is a 10x43. I perhaps should have been a bit more clear.

 

[FrankD]

Ron,

Is that dog hair or fibers from your microfiber cloth on that lens?

 

[Surveyor]

Frank,
Eyelashes? Who knows! Not been around long enough to get cleaned yet. :brains:

 

[mayoayo]

It wasn't info, it was photo interpretation/speculation on my part based on the left side ocular of the 7x36 on this Zen Ray web page

www.zen-ray.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=250

The right side of the bino looks like the 7x36 that I received (is it different from the left side, or screwed out slightly?), as do all the pictures in the above posts by FrankD, Surveyor, and Steve C. The left side looks quite different, and it doesn't look like an illusion of lighting/camera angle either, but sorry if I've created some misinformation. Probably someone from Zen Ray should clear up the confusion.

--AP[/QUOTE

Thanks for the photos..Most of the images that people sent show the lens(and ring)recessed enough ,So that not would be likely to get the eye glasses scratched..yet the Photo in the Zen web site shows one ocular lens slightly recessed in the eyecup and the other pretty much flushed(along with metal ring)with the top of the eyecup.

 

[ZEN-RAY]

7x36 eyecup design

I just saw the discussion on the 7x36 eyecup design after one of our customers pointed me back to this thread. I'd like to provide a little insight on how we came to the current 7x36 eyecup design.

First, I want to clarify that there is no design change since launch. The picture on our website is the original picture when we launched the product. I do realize that the rubber eyecup rim looks flushed with metal ring of the eyepiece in that picture. However, it is indeed the result of combination of shooting angle and lighting when taking that picture. There is still some clearance (by design) between eyecup and glasses.

As SteveC has observed, the eyecup design of 7x36 is completely different from its 43mm counterparts. After extensive testing and consulting with end user focus group, we decided to reduce the clearance between eyecup rim and ocular lens surface by 2mm so to increase the usable ER for 7x36. We do recognize there is more space (another 1 or 2mm) available. However, we have to accomodate people with prescription glasses with larger curvature so they won't get in contact with ocular lens (just like mayoayo has said).

Thanks.

 

[Alexis Powell]

Just an illusion then...too bad, but thanks for setting the record straight!

We do recognize there is more space (another 1 or 2mm) available. However, we have to accomodate people with prescription glasses with larger curvature so they won't get in contact with ocular lens

Oh baloney, it's a suboptimal design. Accommodating folks with glasses is best done the same as as for everyone else--with an adjustable eyecup. An eyecup that retracts to flush with the ocular can always be twisted out a tad (and its position held with a click-stop, or an "accessory" o-ring if need be). Designs that use up eye-relief, such as that of the 7x36 ED2, needlessly limit adjustability (The only way to get more eye-relief is by inelegantly removing the eyecup).

--AP

 

[mayoayo]

I desagree with this opinion..I much prefer to make sure that the Eyecup will protect my Eye glasses at all the possible settings that to have to make sure that ,EVERY time I lift the binoculars ,the thing is slightly twisted a tad,(unless the design allows for small increments and locking action,to prevent accidental changes)
It may very well be true that the design is suboptimal,But perfect designs are EXPENSIVE.
It is hard to believe that the photo in the Zen-Ray site is the result of light and perspective to create that effect..If it is ,it was an unfortunate choice to illustrate the model(FWIW ,THE PICTURE IS NOW NO LONGER IN USE IN THE ZEN RAY SITE),and proves how much attention and professionality is needed to market a product and show it to the public,because the actual impression is that of a binocular with a different fit in each eyecup,due to ,perhaps,not the best of tolerances.

Just an illusion then...too bad, but thanks for setting the record straight!



Oh baloney, it's a suboptimal design. Accommodating folks with glasses is best done the same as as for everyone else--with an adjustable eyecup. An eyecup that retracts to flush with the ocular can always be twisted out a tad (and its position held with a click-stop, or an "accessory" o-ring if need be). Designs that use up eye-relief, such as that of the 7x36 ED2, needlessly limit adjustability (The only way to get more eye-relief is by inelegantly removing the eyecup).

--AP

 

[Wolf Beam]

I desagree with this opinion..I much prefer to make sure that the Eyecup will protect my Eye glasses at all the possible settings that to have to make sure that ,EVERY time I lift the binoculars ,the thing is slightly twisted a tad,(unless the design allows for small increments and locking action,to prevent accidental changes)
It may very well be true that the design is suboptimal,But perfect designs are EXPENSIVE.

And I don’t agree with Mayoayo. The distance from the ocular lens to the eyecup is indeed greater in the 7x36s than in many other binos (the 8x32 Alphas for example). I don’t think that there really is a risk of scratching eye glasses in any of the binos that we are discussing. Is it?

I use a Leica 8x32 BN (with eyecups very close to the ocular lenses) and I also use “Alpha” eye glasses (Zeiss). I never scratched my eye glasses.

One of the advantages of a 7x bino is that it is possible to achieve a greater eye relief than in 8x32s, an eye relief that makes the bino a lot more pleasant to use for eye glass wearer. I think it’s too bad that Zen did not maximise the ER in the 7x36s.