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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Comparison of two Victories 7x42FL and 8x42SF (1 Viewer)

Torview

Torview

Well-known member
Not sure where I`ll go with this thread, but, as I was day off and out in the garden I thought these Sweet Peas offered a rich array of colours to compare the two.

Pictures taken with binoculars tripod mounted on a Lumix LX3 hand held behind the left eye piece. Left picture is SF.
 

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This post makes me realize that the FL model is still a very good glass today. I do not have the 7X42, but the 8X42 and 10X42 are excellent. The colors seem quite similar to my eyes, others may differ.
 
Maybe I've been using 7x binoculars for too long, but I'm shocked by how much larger and wider the image appears on the SF compared to the FL - I've not noticed that when switching between my 8x32 HG and the FL.
The Zeiss are such a fantastic binocular, it is a real shame they were dropped - particularly when considering the legacy left by no longer offering a 7x model after producing arguably two of the best.
 
Torview,

Glad you are enjoying the 7X42s. The resolution of the FL at least in the models I have, are at the top still today. I must confess I have only spent less than two minutes with the 7X42, enough to notice that is one of the few 7X40/42 glass that does appear to have a nice wide APOV. They are a high transmission glass, compared to many made today. Not too many roofs made with AK prisms in the 7X42 through 10X42 format today either, they are a few but not many.
 
Hi Daniel,

I think the AK prisms may present an image scale that looks smaller for a given power the way Porro`s do, at least they do to me, but the afov on the SF is substantially more impressive. I find the FL has a "cleaner" image which I think again is those prisms, so far I would put the FL just ahead on resolution, and my SF is plenty sharp.

Having said that, personally I find precise focus faster on a binocular without a flat field, I always seem to hunt just for a second on my SF just as I did on all my SV`S.

Dries, if I add a 10x in the future I will be looking at an FL, the 8 and 10 powers can be found at bargain prices these days, the 7x not so much if at all !

John.
 
Surprisingly nice photos, taken in the manner that they were!

TO me, sharpness appears on par with both, the SF looks to have slightly more saturated colors and slightly better resolution at the edges?

Both are great bins.
 
dwatsonbirder said:
Maybe I've been using 7x binoculars for too long, but I'm shocked by how much larger and wider the image appears on the SF compared to the FL - I've not noticed that when switching between my 8x32 HG and the FL.
The Zeiss are such a fantastic binocular, it is a real shame they were dropped - particularly when considering the legacy left by no longer offering a 7x model after producing arguably two of the best.
Click to expand...
Exactly my thoughts, Daniel. After some recent downsizing on a less is more basis I know my 7x42 FL will never be offered a redundancy package! I'm afraid the 7x42 SLC neu we talked about during the last year (last model; black hinge) didn't make the cut in the end, very nice though it was. I think the 7x42 FL (and its smaller SP 8x32 sister) tick practically all boxes for me. But of course there is a lot of other nice glass around, if not so much still in 7x.

Tom
 
Thanks ZZZZZZ. I am good with 7X42, besides my IF glass, the Meostar 7X42 hits all I need in that particular format. The seller also recently sold an HT 8X42 for $1250.

Robert he is asking $1450 for the FL 7X42.
 
dries1 said:
Thanks ZZZZZZ. I am good with 7X42, besides my IF glass, the Meostar 7X42 hits all I need in that particular format. The seller also recently sold an HT 8X42 for $1250.

Robert he is asking $1450 for the FL 7X42.
Click to expand...
Seller just posted them on cloudynights for $1500
 
Going off on a tangent here.............I saw this 10x32SF for sale on ebay and looking at the picture the focus wheel looks as if there is no connection to the middle hinge, my 42SF has a pin/axle connecting it to the middle hinge, is this a trick of the light or is the 32SF focus only attached at the rear hinge ?
 

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SeldomPerched said:
Exactly my thoughts, Daniel. After some recent downsizing on a less is more basis I know my 7x42 FL will never be offered a redundancy package! I'm afraid the 7x42 SLC neu we talked about during the last year (last model; black hinge) didn't make the cut in the end, very nice though it was. I think the 7x42 FL (and its smaller SP 8x32 sister) tick practically all boxes for me. But of course there is a lot of other nice glass around, if not so much still in 7x.

Tom
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear it didn't work out, as much as I enjoyed my SLC, the lighter weight (the main consideration for the switch) and brighter image of the FL has been quite noticeable. The soft edges are not really an issue, as the centre sharpness of the image focus the eye away from the periphery.
I'm still waiting to field test them somewhere tropical though...
 
I took the SF out this evening after using the FL since it arrived, something was missing, it`s probably not measurable, I doubt it`s communicable given my limited writing skills, but something was missing despite my love for my SF and how superb I think it is, right now I`m surprised to write I may prefer the FL !

Having said that, the wonderful ergo balance of the SF immediately made itself felt, this may be the SF`s biggest virtue, the way the weight just disappears is amazing. no other binocular I`ve tried does this for me.
 
SeldomPerched said:
Exactly my thoughts, Daniel. After some recent downsizing on a less is more basis I know my 7x42 FL will never be offered a redundancy package! I'm afraid the 7x42 SLC neu we talked about during the last year (last model; black hinge) didn't make the cut in the end, very nice though it was. I think the 7x42 FL (and its smaller SP 8x32 sister) tick practically all boxes for me. But of course there is a lot of other nice glass around, if not so much still in 7x.

Tom
Click to expand...
Every time I pick up the 7x42FL they feel superbly built as well as easy to use. There's something solid and reassuring about the quality. In fact the objective caps are seemingly such a perfect fit that pushing them on is a fight against the air pressure. They pull off naturally, but I've actually considered pushing a needle through each rubber cap to allow a little air to better escape.
 
I think I may finally understand what Tobias talks about in his reviews concerning his preference for a non flat field view, to me the 7xfl shows a much greater sense of depth and 3d than anything else I`ve put next to my SF, apart from my genesis 33 I`ve only used FF binoculars since 2016.

Picking up my beloved SF after using the FL and the view does seem very flat and 2d with little or no sense of space between objects.

I really did`nt expect to like the Fl this much, I knew that I liked a 7x42 but thought it would be a noticeable step down from the SF, and I suppose on the criteria the market demands these days it is, but damn its a cracking view.
 
One area the SF really trounces the FL made itself clear the other evening whilst looking for small birds flitting around in a Hawthorn tree at close distant, around 20m or so. With the SF I tend to hold the binocular steady and let my eye roam around looking for small movements, this is easy as the wide fov is sharp pretty much all over, but as I had the FL this time I needed to constantly move the binocular, as at close distance the sweet spot is quite small, the fuzzy edges losing any small movements of birds.

This is far less noticeable at greater viewing distances.
 
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