7x36 Shipping Date (1 Viewer)

I sent a pair of 7x36 back to get fixed, and they said the alignment was off so they're sending out a new pair when the next shipment came in. According to their website that was supposed to be around Oct 10. I haven't got them back yet and have sent a couple emails with no response. Anyone know when to expect shipment?

Thanks

kwoods181 said:

I sent a pair of 7x36 back to get fixed, and they said the alignment was off so they're sending out a new pair when the next shipment came in. According to their website that was supposed to be around Oct 10. I haven't got them back yet and have sent a couple emails with no response. Anyone know when to expect shipment?

Thanks

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Zen Ray would be the only one to tell you when the next their shipment of binoculars is due in and when your binoculars will be shipped out. If it were me I would wait for the inevitable to happen.

ttt

Just got word from Zen Ray, there was a slight delay in production and they expect to receive the new 7x36s from the factory early next week and will begin shipping then.

Just got notice that the bins have been shipped.

Arrived today.

And? AND??

Inquiring minds want to know.

Yeah, fess up. What are your thoughts on the new version? I am very curious.

I received the 7x36 ED2.2 this week and have only been able to check it in the backyard and at the office but so far I'm quite impressed. I'll try to post some photos this evening if possible and fyi I do not have experience with the previous version or other Zen Ray products.

Sweet spot appears to be approximately 70% of the field with very good resolution/brightness- compares well to my T FL and 8x32 SE in these areas with the Zeiss being the brightest as expected. I suspect the optical performance should be quite similar to the previous model with perhaps some differences related to the upgraded coatings. There appears to be no difference between the size of the sweet spot between barrels (I believe Brock had an issue with this on his ) and I am unable to identify any quality control issues such as internal dust or fit/finish/mechanical problems.

Focus knob is smooth with no slop and while the resistance is somewhat firm I definitely would not categorize it as stiff. Focus speed is neither too fast nor slow- for me it meets the goldilocks principle of being just right. It's similar to my 8x SE which reaches critical focus easily and without the overshoot of a too fast focuser such as my 8x32 LXL. YMMV, however.

Eyecups appear similar to photos from Holger's review in terms of their shape and have 1 intermediate position. http://www.holgermerlitz.de/zen7x36.html I do not typically wear glasses while birding so it's difficult to comment on the eye relief but these reportedly have improved in this area with the chance in the diopter mechanism. The nonlocking diopter appears to have more than adequate stiffness to prevent accidental changes.

Overall I'm quite pleased with the optical performance and look forward to some actual birding with it this weekend. I'm unable to comment on whether it performs better than its predecessor, but it certainly appears to be another example of a binocular that punches above its weight (as previously) and occupies an increasingly rare niche of not only being 7x but of the 35mm variety as well.

Thanks to Zen Ray for bringing it back,

Clinton

Clinton,

Nice comments. Much appreciated.

I will be curious to see your pics. Can you do me a favor? When you take them then can you get a bit of a side-angle shot of the eyecup? What I am looking for is to see how much recess there is to the ocular lens surface in comparison to the edge/surface of the eyecup. This was one area that was to be improved that I am curious about.

The other pic, if you can, would be of the reflection of the coatings on the objective lenses. There was a visible difference to the coatings of the ED2 and ED3.

Thanks either way for what you have contributed at this point.

Busy busy. Will test drive this weekend hopefully.

Here's some photos- the objective coatings are somewhat difficult to photograph but are green tinged with flashes of blue/violet.

A few more pics

Thank you.

The last series of pics does illustrate the coatings. The eyecup/ocular lens is another story. Do you have any pics with the eyecups fully collapsed?

FrankD said:

Thank you.

The last series of pics does illustrate the coatings. The eyecup/ocular lens is another story. Do you have any pics with the eyecups fully collapsed?

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Gotcha, how about this?

Trogon4323 said:

Gotcha, how about this?

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Is it just me or is the one eye cup on the diopter side sitting higher than the left side?

Looks that way to me too.

I do like the appearance of the left side though.

WiscTJK said:

Is it just me or is the one eye cup on the diopter side sitting higher than the left side?

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Ahh, I see what you're talking about. The right eyecup wasn't screwed all the way down- they're actually equal.

Well that is good news.

The 10x42 ED3 I tested about two years ago did have uneven eyecups, both collapsed and fully extended. See the photos here:

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=212971