Here are my (what are likely to be poorly organized) thoughts on the Zen-Ray 7x36 ED2 after a day's testing under a variety of lighting conditions and in side-by-side comparison with several other binoculars. Although I'd have liked to have tested them further and given myself some time to digest my thoughts and feelings before rendering a "verdict" of sorts, I've already found that I'm going to have to return the unit that I currently have because its vertical alignment is not good. I haven't decided yet whether the return will be for exchange or refund. In the past, during the height of my binocular collecting, the thought to give these (or rather, a replacement unit of the same model) up would never have entered my mind because they are wonderful and interesting binoculars, but these days I've pledged to not buy any more binos unless they are so good that I am confident that they will displace (in use) one of the members of the set that I regularly choose for birding and/or butterflying (And my finances, for now and the foreseeable future, help bolster this resolve).
The first thing I'd like to point out is that in one very important respect (that I already knew from reading the specs on the Zen-Ray website) these are not the 7x~35 binocular that I've been hoping (and still hope) to see someone produce some day. That bino would be the size of a Leica 8x32 Ultravid (or Zeiss 8x32 FL, or Nikon 8x36 Monarch) but with an "easier" view as a consequence of having a ~5mm exit pupil, greater depth of field, and ideally, a wider field of view than a typical 8x32. The Zen-Ray 7x36 is a full-sized bino. At 24oz it's a little lighter (by 2-5oz) than my usual full-sized choices, but it is overall just as large (e.g. it is about the same size, and actually longer, than the Leica 8x42 Ultravid). Still, I was intrigued by the idea of a modern 7x roof with a truly wide FOV, so for the first time ever in my history of bino buying, I ordered them before testing them myself or waiting for detailed reviews from others.
Optically, these Zen-Ray 7x36 ED2 are stunning, irrespective of price. I'll certainly be recommending them to a lot of folks. They're the first of the new so-called "Chinese ED" binos that I've actually laid hands on, and I can see what all the excitement is about--I've never seen this level of optical quality at this price before (though I must say, my ~$200 Browning 8x32 continue to amaze me--they are darn good). The 7x36 ED2 have that transparent view that I don't expect from any but the very best roofs and good porros. Read Surveyor's superb test report (attached as PDFs to one of his posts in this thread) for an awesomely well-presented summary of some objective measures of these binos' optical properties. Here's a summary of my reactions/impressions after using them. The true FOV is generous, the apparent FOV is as large as I like (I don't like less than about 60 degrees), the sweet spot is comfortably large (to the extent that I don't think about it in use, which is more than I can say for some of the Zeiss FL models), the apparent sharpness (resolution and contrast) is superb, and the color is nothing less than luscious. Most of the fall-off in sharpness toward the edges seems to be due to field curvature rather than astigmatism, so when looking at objects on or near the ground in the distance the (already substantial) DOF seems even greater since the curvature brings the foreground into sharper focus than it would be otherwise. There is pin cushion distortion, and there is no "rolling ball" effect when panning. I do note, despite the seemingly apparently superb contrast, that I can't see detail in shadows of otherwise brightly lit scenes as well as I can with some others, but maybe that's due to the 7x magnification--everything I compared it to in this regard was 8x (e.g. Zeiss 8x32 FL, Swarovski 8x32 EL). Please note that the difference in shadow detail visibility is not an issue of veiling glare, it's that shadowed areas go to black before they do through the alphas with which I compared the ED2. Actually, blacks/shadows seemed darker/richer in the 7x36 ED2 than in my Zeiss 8x32 FL, although that unit is currently a bit dirty with some big greasy smudges and a thin film over the objectives after a couple weeks of recent camping/travel. I don't mean to resurrect the discussion of contrast in the FL, but for those who know what I'm referring to, I'd say the rendering of the Zen-Ray 7x36 ED2 has more in common with Nikon LX and SE binos than with the (sometimes, in my opinion, comparatively blue-hazed) Zeiss FL.
OK, so how about those crescents or doughnuts of veiling glare? Yep, they're there and are conspicuous enough under enough lighting conditions that I think it's fair to say that they are a prominent/distinctive attribute of these bin's optical "personality" (And no, I don't buy the argument that they are a standard attribute of all wide-angle binos). Happily, they are not, as I already described above, an indicator of overall inferior contrast, or poor performance in patchy light, strong backlight, or when viewing objects with the sun just outside the field of view (and/or with direct sunlight falling on the objectives). Sure, they obscure some of the field, but there is plenty of view left where color and contrast are rendered as well as in any bino I've seen. For me, the crescents and doughnuts were most visible when using the binos during the last 3 hours of the day when I had an overcast sky but otherwise beautifully low but warmly toned and even illumination of the landscape. Under those conditions, crescents/rings were almost always present and conspicuous, regardless of the direction I was looking or the distance at which I was focused. I found that I could, by moving my eye slightly relative to the exit pupil, make them go away in part, or at least move them to a part of the view where they didn't interfere with my observations. I have to do something of the same thing with most top-end binos at times because none of them are entirely free of some patches of veiling glare under certain conditions. In that respect, in practical use, I feel like the Zen-Ray 7x36 ED2 work about as well as any of my alphas. I also found a possible explanation for differences in various reviewer's opinions of the prominence of these veiling glare crescents. When one's eye is closer to the ocular (but not so close as to cause kidney beaning), they diminish greatly. When wearing my glasses, my eye is usually positioned just barely close enough to the ocular to see the full FOV, and at that distance they are much more noticeable. I experimented and found that the issue is not due to the glasses themselves, and that the stray light is not entering the bino from the ocular end. I can't say for sure where it's coming from but I do note that the edges of the objectives are not blackened or masked, and they are _very_ conspicuous (brightly transilluminated) when looking through the bins from the objective end. When looking through the oculars at the exit pupil (with the bins held away from my face) I can see the bright edges of the objectives quite easily. I don't have any other bino (at least that isn't packed away) with as prominent undarkened or masked edges, so I suspect the edges of the objective are at least part of the cause of this undesirable condition.
Moving on to other considerations. Ergonomically, I found the the Zen 7x36 ED2 to be excellent. I do like the open-bridge design although it's not quite as well executed as in the Swarovski EL x32 and x42 models (they have a longer inter-hinge slot). The strap lugs are placed farther from the ocular end than I'd prefer; consequently, I find a bit of a trade-off between finger placement on the focus wheel and avoiding placing the web at the base of my thumb over the lug rather than in front of it (closer to the objective end). The hinges themselves are pleasantly stiff (hold IPD setting securely). The neck strap is functional but not the sort that I'd use (It is foam-backed/padded woven nylon; I much prefer neoprene straps, such as those from Op Tech or Eagle Optics, because they have a bit of give which reduces the apparent weight of the bino and they are superbly flexible which means they contour perfectly to my neck/shoulders). The objective covers don't attach securely (Zen-Ray is rectifying this) but I never use these anyway. The objective lenses, by the way, are deeply recessed from the end of the bino, a design that I like a lot. The ocular cover is an OK design, certainly better than some (e.g. Swarovski EL hard plastic version, Leica Ultravid bulky and ultra-floppy version). It goes on easily and securely and is made of a nice flexible/soft rubbery but not too floppy material, but it is a bit deeply cupped so it doesn't flick off the eyecup as easily as I prefer (when, rarely, I actually use ocular guards) and is a bit bulky when hanging on the strap. The case is a clam-shell style with a zipper. It's nicely made but a bit unnecessarily bulky. For packing efficiency, I prefer clamshell with a close form-fit or a close-fitting cordura case.
Now to discuss the things that I really don't like about the Zen-Ray 7x36 ED2. First big issue--the focus knob action. There is a bit of movement before the focus engages--what some inexplicably call "backlash"--but not enough to bother me in the slightest. The knob moves fairly fluidly, but with much more resistance than in any of my other binos. This is not good. It seemed to get more evenly fluid with use, but the amount of resistance did not lessen. After 20 minutes in my freezer (~17 degrees F), the movement remained movable (and fluid) but the resistance increased tremendously. This may be a deal-breaker for me (I currently live in Minnesota, where winters are long and cold). I despise slow focus in binos (e.g. the original Swarovski EL) so I was braced for disappointment after so many comments from previous reviewers that it is slow in the ED2 (though improved over the ED). As it turns out, I was very pleasantly surprised to find the focus ratio and amount of travel needed for focusing just fine. I can focus from nearest biding distance (~10 feet) to infinity without lifting my index finger from the wheel (i.e. in one "pull"). For dedicated birding, the resistence, even as much as exists at room temperature, is annoying but maybe forgivable since little adjustment is needed (and at 7x, DOF is large). The ratio could stand to be a tad quicker, but again, it's the high resistance that is the big issue when it comes to, say, getting on a bird quickly after looking a butterfly, or vice-versa. That's really quite a shame, because these would otherwise be outstanding butterflying/birding binoculars. The close focus limit is an awesome 4 foot 3 inches (Correspondingly, there isn't much travel beyond infinity, so beware if you're near-sighted and like to use binos without glasses).
My second big negative is the eyecup design and its consequent shortening of the usable eye relief. I can use the Zen-Ray 7x36 ED2 with my glasses and see the whole field when I look straight forward but there's not much room to spare. That makes the performance similar to the Swarovski 8x32 EL and maybe a bit inferior to the Zeiss 8x32 FL. The extremely unfortunate consequence of this is that I cannot look side to side in the field without suffering significant vignetting (as is possible if my eye is closer to the ocular in the Zen-Ray 7x36 ED2, or in binos with more eye-relief). I say extremely unfortunate because for me, the whole point of having a wide FOV and a 5+mm exit pupil is to allow for this easy off-axis viewing. It's perhaps a quirk not shared with everyone, but I really like to dart my eyes around the FOV rather than using the bino as if it were a rifle sighting device. When I can't, I feel like I'm in an optical straight jacket, so for me, this may be a deal breaker. Why carry a full-sized bino (the Zen-Ray 7x36 ED2) if it effectively only delivers a 2/3 sized bino ease of view? This situation is tragic because the ocular lens design itself has the potential for 18+ mm eye relief, but the recessed ocular and the eye-cup design reduce this to probably about 14 mm (I didn't measure it, but that's what it feels like). If I keep these, I'll look into removing the rubber eyecups to get a couple mm back.
I'd better conclude, so here's a potpourri of other disappointments and miscellaneous observations/oddities:
Unfortunately, by my measure, the minimum IPD of the 7x36 ED2 is the industry standard 56 mm. It's limited by the hinge, not the objectives (there is still ~7mm to spare before they contact one another), so we have yet another bino in the world that unnecessarily excludes a significant minority of potential users. I'd sure like to see the industry take this issue seriously, or as the case may be, put it on their radar screen. Right now, only Zeiss seems to be concerned with designing full and 2/3 sized roof prism binos that accommodate folks with narrow IPD (Thanks Zeiss!).
The overall quality of manufacture finish/cosmetics of the bino are substandard in my opinion. Certainly, they are not up to the level of the alpha models, or even the more pedestrian offerings from the major brands. I find this quite surprising because the finish on binos these days is almost universally quite good (e.g. I consider my Browning 8x32, made for Bushnell, to be as beautifully assembled and finished as any bino I own). The rubber armor is fine (though there were a few stray bits of glue), but I'm not a fan of how it extends over the neckstrap lugs (similar to some Vortex labeled products). Why do this? It just interferes with a clean strap attachment, and it might possibly lead to loosening of the rubber armor since the strap twists against the armor at the lugs. The diopter adjustment is fine, but I sure wouldn't mind if it locked in the down position more securely (e.g. like the Nikon Venturer LX design), and I'd do way with the thin, unevenly applied, textured rubber ring on it (just use a ribbed plastic part) which is likely to loosen in time and fall off. The bins look nice internally (clean and precisely assembled), but some of the exterior bits and labeling are rather poorly made. Some of the metal edges of parts (like the odd sharp edge on the front of the focus wheel, and one of the metal rings around the right ocular lens) are imperfectly blackened, so the bright and slightly uneven looking metal edges show where they shouldn't. Similarly, the silver printing on the focus knob badge and around the ocular is done very poorly--there are places in the shallowly embossed lettering that aren't filled in with the silver color, and the silver color looks to be very thinly applied and so easily worn off. Maybe that's a good thing, because with respect to silver lettering, I'd say get rid of it all--it looks cheap and cheesy--why does a bino need all this printing on it? Most ridiculous is the all-caps DIELECTRIC COATING printed in large letters around the barrel below the left ocular. The aesthetics would be much improved if all this were eliminated. An odd feature is that the name badge (which is kind of thin and insubstantial looking) on the focus knob can be unscrewed--it doesn't come off all the way, but it loosens so that by moving it and the focus knob opposite one another, the point at which it tightens can be adjusted so that the wording can be oriented however you like relative to the position of the rest of the bino. I haven't explained that properly, but turn it with your thumb and you'll see what I mean. You can also completely unscrew the flat cover on the other side of the hinge on the ocular hinge (I'm not sure if it has any affect on anything but it is possible!). The ZR-labeled cover on the front hinge can be removed to reveal a tripod mounting socket.
I don't have anything to say in summary (said it all at the beginning), so for what it's worth, that's all folks!
--AP
PS The Zen ED2 smell funny too, maybe from the glue for the rubber armor? It isn't the petroleum or car tire smell that I've experienced in some other binos.