MichelleOhio
Well-known member
That's where I came up with the $300 figure, Frank. I knew it had to come from somewhere!
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Zen-Ray Prime HD scope (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter SEOW
- Start date
That's where I came up with the $300 figure, Frank. I knew it had to come from somewhere!
jragsdale
Member
I ordered my 25-50x eyepiece separately (did not get the WA kit) and mine does not have a serial number on it. Therefore I'm thinking I may have the ED2 eyepiece which would explain part of the barrel distortion I've been experiencing with the Prime scope. Charles, any way I can swap this out with you foe the new Prime eyepiece?
BruceH
Avatar: Harris Hawk
Charles ...... Thanks for replying to my post. I appreciate you taking the time to answer each individual bullet item.
Just to get a better handle on all of the changes, I went through all the posts in this thread and summarized the changes. It may be helpful to others so I am posting it here. Please comment if I missed something or got it wrong.
Pirme HD 82mm Spotting Scope Changes
Changes from the 20-60 ED2 Eyepiece to the 20-60 Prime HD Eyepiece
1) There is now an inscribed serial number.
2) Updated the hydrophobic coating.
Changes from the 25-50 ED2 Eyepiece to the 25-50 Prime HD Eyepiece
1) There is now an inscribed serial number.
2) Updated the hydrophobic coating.
3) Updated the aspheric lens.
4) Reduced the rolling ball effect (but not totally) by slightly increasing pin cushion.
Changes from the ED2 82mm Scope Body to the Prime HD 82mm body
1) Changed from the darker olive color to a lighter green color.
2) Changed to a smoother finish on the body with a velvet/suede feel.
3) Changed the orientation of the tri-pod foot by 90 degrees to align with the Manfrotto 128RC head.
4) Updated to a 2nd generation dielectric prism coating as used in the HD Prime binoculars.
5) Updated the hydrophobic coating.
6) Tightened the specs on how some of the lenses are made, yielding an overall better system.
Every unit is now star tested, but I am not sure if this is unique to the new Prime HD scope.
That is quite a few optical changes. I wonder how noticeable it is?
Just to get a better handle on all of the changes, I went through all the posts in this thread and summarized the changes. It may be helpful to others so I am posting it here. Please comment if I missed something or got it wrong.
Pirme HD 82mm Spotting Scope Changes
Changes from the 20-60 ED2 Eyepiece to the 20-60 Prime HD Eyepiece
1) There is now an inscribed serial number.
2) Updated the hydrophobic coating.
Changes from the 25-50 ED2 Eyepiece to the 25-50 Prime HD Eyepiece
1) There is now an inscribed serial number.
2) Updated the hydrophobic coating.
3) Updated the aspheric lens.
4) Reduced the rolling ball effect (but not totally) by slightly increasing pin cushion.
Changes from the ED2 82mm Scope Body to the Prime HD 82mm body
1) Changed from the darker olive color to a lighter green color.
2) Changed to a smoother finish on the body with a velvet/suede feel.
3) Changed the orientation of the tri-pod foot by 90 degrees to align with the Manfrotto 128RC head.
4) Updated to a 2nd generation dielectric prism coating as used in the HD Prime binoculars.
5) Updated the hydrophobic coating.
6) Tightened the specs on how some of the lenses are made, yielding an overall better system.
Every unit is now star tested, but I am not sure if this is unique to the new Prime HD scope.
That is quite a few optical changes. I wonder how noticeable it is?
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MichelleOhio
Well-known member
I'm pulling the trigger on this one! Now to find an iPhone adapter...
Maximus_XXIV
Member
A long time ago, an astro adapter was promised for the Zen Ray. Did this ever happen? I have not seen anything to indicate that it did. I am looking for a scope for a trip to Yellowstone and already have a few very nice astro EPs.
mayoayo
Well-known member
If You already have astro eyepieces I think the new Celestron Regal M2 can be a scope to look into..OR the older Regal FL now at LOW prices...at telescopes.com the 100mm regal is 699$ and the 80mm 550$..cant beat that really ....There is also a very good Olivon model with premium ED glass that uses Astro eyepieces..http://olivonmanufacturing.com/spotting-scopes/t-84edo-spotting-scope---
The ZEN is very good optically and can use some EXTRAORDINARY Swarovski eyepieces,and besides the new 25-50X WA has a very good 20X-60X , but Is not suited for astronomy eyepieces using standard 1 1/4 barrel
The ZEN is very good optically and can use some EXTRAORDINARY Swarovski eyepieces,and besides the new 25-50X WA has a very good 20X-60X , but Is not suited for astronomy eyepieces using standard 1 1/4 barrel
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Maximus_XXIV
Member
Thanks. I was also looking at the Optolyth 100mm scope. It seems to be pretty obscure and expensive but gets generally good reviews with it being rated just under the premium 3-4 scope brands.
MichelleOhio
Well-known member
If the ZR can use Swaro EP's, is it safe to assume it also accepts a digiscoping adapter made for Swarovski?
mayoayo
Well-known member
The Swarovski Digiscoping adapters are made to fit over Swarovski eyepieces...they might or might not fit other brands eyepieces,.I think that, is very probably ,they will slip over ZR zoom eyepieces(not the 30XWA)..The SWAROVSKI DSLR adapter, on the other hands, couples a reflex camera with the Swarovski BAYONET,and it would be safe to say that IT WILL fit the ZR scope
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MichelleOhio
Well-known member
Thanks. I am specifically looking at their iphone adapter.
mayoayo
Well-known member
I wasnt aware of any Swarovski Iphone adapter in the market...The Zen 20-60x exposes some threads ,when the eyecup assembly is removed,and I am sure it will be possible to fit such ,or a similar adapter (Kowa,Meopta),somehow..I dont know if the ZR 25-50X has the same threads ,probably so..
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BruceH
Avatar: Harris Hawk
Zen-Ray Promotion at Wayfair
The Binocular Bargain thread in the Binocular forum mentioned a 15% off promotion at Wayfair on Zen-Ray binoculars. The promotion also applies to the new Prime HD spotting scope.
http://www.wayfair.com/Zen-Ray-Optics-Prime-HD-Angled-Spotting-Scope-ZRR1026.html
The page starts at a default listing of the 20-60x version, but there is a drop down box on the page where you can select the 25-50 wide angle package.
The code at checkout is ZEN15 for the 15% discount.
20-60X $1,150 - 15% = $977.50
25-50X $1,300 - 15% = $1,105.00
There is free shipping on this item. I have bought Zen-Ray products from Wayfair and all was good. I think they drop ship direct from Zen-Ray.
As a side note, I noticed yesterday that the scope(s) were on sale at 10% off and then there was the additional 15% code. I ordered one and then went back to the page so I could post the link here. When I went back the 10% off sale was gone! Sorry I did not see it sooner so I could have reported it. It could go back on sale during the Black Friday/Christmas period, but who knows. The ZEN15 code says limited time so it may expire before any more 10% off sales. Maybe a call to Wayfair can get you some more detail.
Has anyone bought the new Prime version of the scope? If so, how is it? I do not recall seeing any discussion after the initial speculation in this thread. I have seen a few review comments on vendor sites and they were very good. I am surprised there has not been more buzz about this newest generation.
The Binocular Bargain thread in the Binocular forum mentioned a 15% off promotion at Wayfair on Zen-Ray binoculars. The promotion also applies to the new Prime HD spotting scope.
http://www.wayfair.com/Zen-Ray-Optics-Prime-HD-Angled-Spotting-Scope-ZRR1026.html
The page starts at a default listing of the 20-60x version, but there is a drop down box on the page where you can select the 25-50 wide angle package.
The code at checkout is ZEN15 for the 15% discount.
20-60X $1,150 - 15% = $977.50
25-50X $1,300 - 15% = $1,105.00
There is free shipping on this item. I have bought Zen-Ray products from Wayfair and all was good. I think they drop ship direct from Zen-Ray.
As a side note, I noticed yesterday that the scope(s) were on sale at 10% off and then there was the additional 15% code. I ordered one and then went back to the page so I could post the link here. When I went back the 10% off sale was gone! Sorry I did not see it sooner so I could have reported it. It could go back on sale during the Black Friday/Christmas period, but who knows. The ZEN15 code says limited time so it may expire before any more 10% off sales. Maybe a call to Wayfair can get you some more detail.
Has anyone bought the new Prime version of the scope? If so, how is it? I do not recall seeing any discussion after the initial speculation in this thread. I have seen a few review comments on vendor sites and they were very good. I am surprised there has not been more buzz about this newest generation.
BruceH
Avatar: Harris Hawk
I noticed tonight that the Zen-Ray Prime HD Angled spotting scopes are back on sale at Wayfair but I have no idea how long.
20-60X
Normal price $1,150
Sale price is $1,035 less 15% = $879.75
25 - 50X Wide Angle
Normal price $1,300
Sale price is $1,185.00 less 15% = $1,007.25
Free shipping and you earn 3% in Wayfair dollars after the item ships to apply to your next purchase. They can be applied against a Zen-Ray binocular on sale!
http://www.wayfair.com/Zen-Ray-Optics-Prime-HD-Angled-Spotting-Scope-ZRR1026.html
20-60X
Normal price $1,150
Sale price is $1,035 less 15% = $879.75
25 - 50X Wide Angle
Normal price $1,300
Sale price is $1,185.00 less 15% = $1,007.25
Free shipping and you earn 3% in Wayfair dollars after the item ships to apply to your next purchase. They can be applied against a Zen-Ray binocular on sale!
http://www.wayfair.com/Zen-Ray-Optics-Prime-HD-Angled-Spotting-Scope-ZRR1026.html
BruceH
Avatar: Harris Hawk
Inital Impressions of the Prime HD Wide Angle
The Zen-Ray Prime HD 25-50X Spotting arrived today so I thought I would post some initial information on it while the 15% coupon code is still good at Wayfair. (I noticed the sale price is off right now, but it may pop back up.)
I need to note that I have not had a lot of scope experience. 99% of my viewing over the years has been with binoculars. I find scopes to be somewhat of a pain to use, but there are times when it would be nice to have one. My previous scope (which I still have) is an older B & L 60mm Elite which was ok for the shooting range but I never used it for wildlife viewing. It was a difficult decision in choosing a new scope for field use but I concluded that if I made too many compromises in quality to save a buck, it would sit on the shelf and not get used. Hopefully the ZR will be a good balance between a 3K+ alpha and something on the low end.
Keeping in mind my limited scope experience, I was very pleased with the Prime HD view. I have looked though some top end scopes during the last year, but the time was limited and I do not feel comfortable relying on my memory to say as to what the degree the ZR compares. With that in mind, I suspect the ZR will compare well.
The view was nice and sharp and contrast looked good at 25X. The view was somewhat less sharp at 50X, but at least some of that was due to the viewing conditions. I could see the heat waves coming off the ground. The edges held up well at both power ranges. I expected things to get noticeably darker at 50X but it did not. There was a small amount of barrel distortion at 25X out about the last 10 - 15% of the view, but I would say horizontal lines at the edge were straight at 50X. I picked up what appeared to be slight rolling ball at 25X, but nothing that would bother me like it does in a 8.5X42 Sarovision. CA was minimal. It was very difficult to detect in the center area and was not much more near the edges. I an one of those that only notices CA when I look for it.
Because of my limited memory of past views and less than extensive scope experience, I will not know how good the ZR Prime HD really is until I get a chance to do some side by side comparisons with other scopes. I hope to do that in a few weeks with a Kowa 884 using the new Prominar Kowa eye piece. That should be a good benchmark! I have looked through the Kowa this last summer and I am thinking the ZR will come a lot closer than the price difference would indicate.
The eye cup has five positions. It worked best for me extended out 3 clicks when viewing without glasses. All of the eye cups on my ZR binoculars are slightly on the short side so this is a nice change not running out of eye cup length. I did view briefly with my glasses on and found that with the eye cup in the full down position, I did have to noticeably press my glasses against the eye cup in order to get the full field of view. That could be an issue for some eye glass wearers. The eye relief seemed to be slightly better at 50X than 25X. I found eye positioning very friendly at 25X and somewhat touchy at 50X, but quite workable.
The zoom on the eye piece has a nice feel to it, not to loose and not to tight. I was able to easily change the zoom without moving the scope. Rotation is even and smooth through the whole range.
The ZR Prime HD has two focus knobs, one for course and one for fine adjustments. I could hear some slight rubbing noises when rotating the course knob, but all worked great. The fine adjustment knob has a light touch so it was easy to get a sharp focus without vibrating the scope. There is very little free play in the fine adjustment. I only noticed it when I went to look for it. Rotation pressure was equal in both directions and there was no sticking. I have no complaints on the focus mechanism.
The only problem I noticed is with the foot pad. It has a rubber insert that is held in place by two small strips of double stick tape. The tape is not adequate and the insert comes out easily. I am using a basic Manfrotto tri-pod and the redesign of the foot pad is made for the Manfrotto. This should be a good match but the failure of the insert is compromising the security of the mount to some degree. I think I may go to a body shop supply store and pick up some high quality 3M double sided tape for mounting trim on the sides of cars and that should solve the problem. I will also let Charles know about the issue because I think the current approach is weak and could result in the scope coming off the mount. I currently have the scope mounted without the insert and it is more secure. One of the attached photos shows the mount with the insert. I believe the mount is rotated 90 degrees from the older ED2 model.
I still want to compare to some other scopes, but my initial impression is this is very nice scope with an excellent view. I have no regrets getting the wide angle over the standard eye piece. I would not want a more narrow field of field and I like it that the view remains sharp and bright out toward the edges. I think this was a good purchase, especially considering the price.
Note: After taking the photos I found that the eye piece has a small locking pin hole that lines up with the body lock pin when the eye piece is rotated in a different position than my initial attempt. Also a power indicator mark will then line up at the top center of the scope. In other words, I did not mount the eye piece in the preferred position for the photos.
The Zen-Ray Prime HD 25-50X Spotting arrived today so I thought I would post some initial information on it while the 15% coupon code is still good at Wayfair. (I noticed the sale price is off right now, but it may pop back up.)
I need to note that I have not had a lot of scope experience. 99% of my viewing over the years has been with binoculars. I find scopes to be somewhat of a pain to use, but there are times when it would be nice to have one. My previous scope (which I still have) is an older B & L 60mm Elite which was ok for the shooting range but I never used it for wildlife viewing. It was a difficult decision in choosing a new scope for field use but I concluded that if I made too many compromises in quality to save a buck, it would sit on the shelf and not get used. Hopefully the ZR will be a good balance between a 3K+ alpha and something on the low end.
Keeping in mind my limited scope experience, I was very pleased with the Prime HD view. I have looked though some top end scopes during the last year, but the time was limited and I do not feel comfortable relying on my memory to say as to what the degree the ZR compares. With that in mind, I suspect the ZR will compare well.
The view was nice and sharp and contrast looked good at 25X. The view was somewhat less sharp at 50X, but at least some of that was due to the viewing conditions. I could see the heat waves coming off the ground. The edges held up well at both power ranges. I expected things to get noticeably darker at 50X but it did not. There was a small amount of barrel distortion at 25X out about the last 10 - 15% of the view, but I would say horizontal lines at the edge were straight at 50X. I picked up what appeared to be slight rolling ball at 25X, but nothing that would bother me like it does in a 8.5X42 Sarovision. CA was minimal. It was very difficult to detect in the center area and was not much more near the edges. I an one of those that only notices CA when I look for it.
Because of my limited memory of past views and less than extensive scope experience, I will not know how good the ZR Prime HD really is until I get a chance to do some side by side comparisons with other scopes. I hope to do that in a few weeks with a Kowa 884 using the new Prominar Kowa eye piece. That should be a good benchmark! I have looked through the Kowa this last summer and I am thinking the ZR will come a lot closer than the price difference would indicate.
The eye cup has five positions. It worked best for me extended out 3 clicks when viewing without glasses. All of the eye cups on my ZR binoculars are slightly on the short side so this is a nice change not running out of eye cup length. I did view briefly with my glasses on and found that with the eye cup in the full down position, I did have to noticeably press my glasses against the eye cup in order to get the full field of view. That could be an issue for some eye glass wearers. The eye relief seemed to be slightly better at 50X than 25X. I found eye positioning very friendly at 25X and somewhat touchy at 50X, but quite workable.
The zoom on the eye piece has a nice feel to it, not to loose and not to tight. I was able to easily change the zoom without moving the scope. Rotation is even and smooth through the whole range.
The ZR Prime HD has two focus knobs, one for course and one for fine adjustments. I could hear some slight rubbing noises when rotating the course knob, but all worked great. The fine adjustment knob has a light touch so it was easy to get a sharp focus without vibrating the scope. There is very little free play in the fine adjustment. I only noticed it when I went to look for it. Rotation pressure was equal in both directions and there was no sticking. I have no complaints on the focus mechanism.
The only problem I noticed is with the foot pad. It has a rubber insert that is held in place by two small strips of double stick tape. The tape is not adequate and the insert comes out easily. I am using a basic Manfrotto tri-pod and the redesign of the foot pad is made for the Manfrotto. This should be a good match but the failure of the insert is compromising the security of the mount to some degree. I think I may go to a body shop supply store and pick up some high quality 3M double sided tape for mounting trim on the sides of cars and that should solve the problem. I will also let Charles know about the issue because I think the current approach is weak and could result in the scope coming off the mount. I currently have the scope mounted without the insert and it is more secure. One of the attached photos shows the mount with the insert. I believe the mount is rotated 90 degrees from the older ED2 model.
I still want to compare to some other scopes, but my initial impression is this is very nice scope with an excellent view. I have no regrets getting the wide angle over the standard eye piece. I would not want a more narrow field of field and I like it that the view remains sharp and bright out toward the edges. I think this was a good purchase, especially considering the price.
Note: After taking the photos I found that the eye piece has a small locking pin hole that lines up with the body lock pin when the eye piece is rotated in a different position than my initial attempt. Also a power indicator mark will then line up at the top center of the scope. In other words, I did not mount the eye piece in the preferred position for the photos.
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