SeldomPerched
Well-known member
Today after a very active exercise-filled and sociable morning I was happy to give over a few hours this afternoon to more solitary pursuits: checking and recalibrating the dioptre settings on my binos, using a tripod and various indoor and outdoor targets to focus on. The idea was to let the tripod take the strain and to do everything carefully, using objective covers and not needing to squint.
You will see why I've chosen the Zeiss forum in a moment, but first to be set up and then enjoyed were a couple of Leica glasses, 8x32 and 7x42 - both UVHD plus. Having them set up on a tripod was a revelation and I enjoyed the rich colours and contrast, and the lack of flat field. I love both of these for viewing close up details of woodwork, earth, weathering on stonework and metalwork as they get a warm but still sympathetic treatment (to my eyes at any rate). Also for the saturation.
Then it was the turn of two Zeiss, the 8x42 HT and 8x56 FL. Now I know the HT is a transmission legend and I already love my pristine secondhand copy (thanks again, Lee) but the clarity of detail through this on the tripod was unbelievably good. I had to go back and check the Leicas again. They had their own magic but the HT appeared to shatter the laws of physics; where does all that light come from?
That wasn't the end of it. I hadn't realized till now quite how impressive the 8x56 FL was either. From use out and about I already had my suspicions and knew that it provided very easy viewing through the oculars but the muscle fatigue from hand-held use unsurprisingly tended to detract from the experience. Now on the tripod the view was effortless and very very clear indeed. I had so nearly sold this optic a few months ago because unlike binoculars with more regular objective sizes it was quite unwieldy. How glad I am not to have done so.
Is the 8x56 FL a sleeper that few have appreciated, or does it already have an outstanding reputation? How little I know and of course one might expect a bino of this specification to be bright but this glass or my example of it is one hell of a performer. You just don't have to work to see the image clearly; viewing is open and easy. All the odder to read somewhere that the more recent 8x54 HT which presumably replaced it isn't particularly impressive.
Apart from the weight the only other thing I don't like about the 8x56 FL is the feel of the outer cosmetic finish. Personally I prefer the handling and grippability of the HT design, though many will feel the opposite, I know, especially in cold weather.
Tom
You will see why I've chosen the Zeiss forum in a moment, but first to be set up and then enjoyed were a couple of Leica glasses, 8x32 and 7x42 - both UVHD plus. Having them set up on a tripod was a revelation and I enjoyed the rich colours and contrast, and the lack of flat field. I love both of these for viewing close up details of woodwork, earth, weathering on stonework and metalwork as they get a warm but still sympathetic treatment (to my eyes at any rate). Also for the saturation.
Then it was the turn of two Zeiss, the 8x42 HT and 8x56 FL. Now I know the HT is a transmission legend and I already love my pristine secondhand copy (thanks again, Lee) but the clarity of detail through this on the tripod was unbelievably good. I had to go back and check the Leicas again. They had their own magic but the HT appeared to shatter the laws of physics; where does all that light come from?
That wasn't the end of it. I hadn't realized till now quite how impressive the 8x56 FL was either. From use out and about I already had my suspicions and knew that it provided very easy viewing through the oculars but the muscle fatigue from hand-held use unsurprisingly tended to detract from the experience. Now on the tripod the view was effortless and very very clear indeed. I had so nearly sold this optic a few months ago because unlike binoculars with more regular objective sizes it was quite unwieldy. How glad I am not to have done so.
Is the 8x56 FL a sleeper that few have appreciated, or does it already have an outstanding reputation? How little I know and of course one might expect a bino of this specification to be bright but this glass or my example of it is one hell of a performer. You just don't have to work to see the image clearly; viewing is open and easy. All the odder to read somewhere that the more recent 8x54 HT which presumably replaced it isn't particularly impressive.
Apart from the weight the only other thing I don't like about the 8x56 FL is the feel of the outer cosmetic finish. Personally I prefer the handling and grippability of the HT design, though many will feel the opposite, I know, especially in cold weather.
Tom
