A2GG
Beth
Went up to the Audubon nature store today to check out the new Swaro CL b specifically and see whatever else.
They were having a Zeiss optics day in the store which I didn't know about beforehand. It was a nice surprise to walk in and see the Zeiss rep and the range of Zeiss binos. Rich Moncrief was there representing Zeiss and answering questions. We chatted a bit about birdforum which he frequently monitors and knew me as soon as I told him my user name on the forum.
My short list of binos for my next (and hopefully last) purchase were all there to try: Swaro CL B, Swaro EL 32 and Conquest hd 8x32. I mentioned the other day in a different thread I'd try the Victory Pocket out of curiosity and there it was in the lineup presented by Zeiss.
When I first arrived (before going into the store) I looked for birds and saw a few birders on the path. One woman had the new 8x30 CLb so I asked her how she liked it. She recently purchased it and was very happy with it. She allowed me to peek through it and it's a good thing because I discovered later the store only had a 10x30 in stock.
I had only a very brief look at it so it's difficult to comment on the optics. I was more interested to see if I could tell immediately if the bin worked better with my eyeglasses than my original version CL which I had with me. I think I was expecting a bit too much improvement after reading about the new 'eye box' or eyepiece design reported on the forum. I noticed it's maybe slightly better, more comfortable but nothing significant. If I had more time with it I think my perception could change, but I wasn't as impressed as I thought I'd be with this first view. It did seem perhaps slightly less picky with glasses than my CL. I noticed the ocular lenses are bigger on the CL b and the body is a little longer. It has the same great comfort/ergonomics and it's beautifully built. It doesn't look "garish" in person as I always imagined from product photos online. I did not notice the wider FOV. I think the specs reveal a modest improvement in FOV if I remember correctly. Both the 8x and 10x30 had a somewhat stiff focus but I would assume that should loosen up with use over time. It seemed to have a little better contrast in general, but I can't comment on sharpness specifically since the diopter was not set for me. The CL b has 16mm ER and the original CL has 15mm, but I think useable ER may be about the same. The eyecup rims on my CL are close to flush with the oculars while the CL b eyecups seem to rise above the ocular lenses a little more . Overall the CL b is nice, but I think I had a higher expectation of the interface and comfort with eyeglasses. Of course that could all change after using it for a few hours birding. I just had only a brief look.
The big surprise was the Victory Pocket 8x25 which lived
up to the great reviews on the forum. With this bino I had rather lower expectations and was skeptical of the reports about it working well with eyeglasses. I thought a small exit pupil is still a small exit pupil and didn't expect much here. I was immediately impressed with how good it was with glasses. It was not that different than my 8x30. I went back and forth between them and after a few times I did see that the larger 8x30 was indeed easier with eye placement, but I have to praise the VP for its comfortable interface with eyeglasses. I was impressed further with its very nice handling and feel, nice smooth and precise focus and very sharp image.
I had the diopter just set to zero and didn't custom set it and I could immediately see the VP was already sharper than my CL. It handled very well for a pocket bino. I wondered if I could use it as my main binocular. However, I think it's too small to be my primary birding bin. I'm trying to go these days with just one binocular to do it all. The tiny size and fly weight is tempting and I have to say it's real impressive ... I think Zeiss did a great job with it.
Tried out Conquest HD 8x32 and was again impressed. I've tried it a couple times in the past and liked it. It works very well with glasses. The focus is nice and smooth, but very fast. I focused from close to far several times to get used to it and I think it would come with time. I'm just not used to such a fast focus. I think it could be beneficial once I got adjusted to it. It's a little bigger than a lot of 32 size binos and relatively heavy at 22 ounces. But, there's still something about it I really like so I'm keeping it on the shortlist as a more affordable option (compared to Swaro EL).
Briefly picked up SF for the heck of it and still think it has nice handling and a nice focus action.
Looked briefly through the EL SV 8x32 field pro and it's the same impression I always have - its exquisite and had the best ease of view with glasses. The green color EL of the field pro seems more subdued than the former SV version. I like the new green tone better ... It was quite nice in person. I have it at the top of my list, but it's super expensive which gives me some pause.
Rich brought Zeiss schwag so I grabbed a large lens cloth and Zeiss t-shirt. Thankfully they had a woman's 'Heffer' size. I need to lay off the pastries and goodies...it's getting bad.
That's my quick report of the Zeiss day at Scherman Hoffman Audubon sanctuary. It was nice to meet Rich and try those Zeiss binos.
They were having a Zeiss optics day in the store which I didn't know about beforehand. It was a nice surprise to walk in and see the Zeiss rep and the range of Zeiss binos. Rich Moncrief was there representing Zeiss and answering questions. We chatted a bit about birdforum which he frequently monitors and knew me as soon as I told him my user name on the forum.
My short list of binos for my next (and hopefully last) purchase were all there to try: Swaro CL B, Swaro EL 32 and Conquest hd 8x32. I mentioned the other day in a different thread I'd try the Victory Pocket out of curiosity and there it was in the lineup presented by Zeiss.
When I first arrived (before going into the store) I looked for birds and saw a few birders on the path. One woman had the new 8x30 CLb so I asked her how she liked it. She recently purchased it and was very happy with it. She allowed me to peek through it and it's a good thing because I discovered later the store only had a 10x30 in stock.
I had only a very brief look at it so it's difficult to comment on the optics. I was more interested to see if I could tell immediately if the bin worked better with my eyeglasses than my original version CL which I had with me. I think I was expecting a bit too much improvement after reading about the new 'eye box' or eyepiece design reported on the forum. I noticed it's maybe slightly better, more comfortable but nothing significant. If I had more time with it I think my perception could change, but I wasn't as impressed as I thought I'd be with this first view. It did seem perhaps slightly less picky with glasses than my CL. I noticed the ocular lenses are bigger on the CL b and the body is a little longer. It has the same great comfort/ergonomics and it's beautifully built. It doesn't look "garish" in person as I always imagined from product photos online. I did not notice the wider FOV. I think the specs reveal a modest improvement in FOV if I remember correctly. Both the 8x and 10x30 had a somewhat stiff focus but I would assume that should loosen up with use over time. It seemed to have a little better contrast in general, but I can't comment on sharpness specifically since the diopter was not set for me. The CL b has 16mm ER and the original CL has 15mm, but I think useable ER may be about the same. The eyecup rims on my CL are close to flush with the oculars while the CL b eyecups seem to rise above the ocular lenses a little more . Overall the CL b is nice, but I think I had a higher expectation of the interface and comfort with eyeglasses. Of course that could all change after using it for a few hours birding. I just had only a brief look.
The big surprise was the Victory Pocket 8x25 which lived
up to the great reviews on the forum. With this bino I had rather lower expectations and was skeptical of the reports about it working well with eyeglasses. I thought a small exit pupil is still a small exit pupil and didn't expect much here. I was immediately impressed with how good it was with glasses. It was not that different than my 8x30. I went back and forth between them and after a few times I did see that the larger 8x30 was indeed easier with eye placement, but I have to praise the VP for its comfortable interface with eyeglasses. I was impressed further with its very nice handling and feel, nice smooth and precise focus and very sharp image.
I had the diopter just set to zero and didn't custom set it and I could immediately see the VP was already sharper than my CL. It handled very well for a pocket bino. I wondered if I could use it as my main binocular. However, I think it's too small to be my primary birding bin. I'm trying to go these days with just one binocular to do it all. The tiny size and fly weight is tempting and I have to say it's real impressive ... I think Zeiss did a great job with it.
Tried out Conquest HD 8x32 and was again impressed. I've tried it a couple times in the past and liked it. It works very well with glasses. The focus is nice and smooth, but very fast. I focused from close to far several times to get used to it and I think it would come with time. I'm just not used to such a fast focus. I think it could be beneficial once I got adjusted to it. It's a little bigger than a lot of 32 size binos and relatively heavy at 22 ounces. But, there's still something about it I really like so I'm keeping it on the shortlist as a more affordable option (compared to Swaro EL).
Briefly picked up SF for the heck of it and still think it has nice handling and a nice focus action.
Looked briefly through the EL SV 8x32 field pro and it's the same impression I always have - its exquisite and had the best ease of view with glasses. The green color EL of the field pro seems more subdued than the former SV version. I like the new green tone better ... It was quite nice in person. I have it at the top of my list, but it's super expensive which gives me some pause.
Rich brought Zeiss schwag so I grabbed a large lens cloth and Zeiss t-shirt. Thankfully they had a woman's 'Heffer' size. I need to lay off the pastries and goodies...it's getting bad.
That's my quick report of the Zeiss day at Scherman Hoffman Audubon sanctuary. It was nice to meet Rich and try those Zeiss binos.
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