David ...... I was not expecting that either. The Schott HT glass sounds like a good idea but I suspect it will be a while before I see the new model because I doubt I will be replacing my gen 1 10X42 anytime soon.
That would be cool to get a transmission graph but considering Tract is a direct seller primarily in the US market, I doubt we will ever see transmission data from Allbino's or Dr. G. Darn.
The pictures are of the gen 1 but they should be replacing them with the gen 2 pictures soon. The body is unchanged except for the locking diopter which will hardly be noticeable. The ring under the eye piece saying UHD will remain unchanged because the new model still has all of the original UHD properties of FMC, ED glass, Phase and Dielectric prism coatings.
Interesting. My understanding is fall. Either way, figure second half of the year and hopefully for the Christmas shopping season.
I also have a Zeiss Conquest HD 10X42 and have compared the two. You are right, the gen 1 Toric competes well. I can pick up detail a little easier with the Conquest under certain lighting and background conditions but the difference is not great. I also give an edge to the Conquest for things like removable eye cups, an optional longer eye cup and an included high quality case. The Conquest is also one rugged binocular as shown in the video being run over by a truck and blasted with a shotgun! Pratcially speaking, it probably does not amount to much in most situations, especially considering the price difference with the closeout sale of the gen 1. I would keep the Conquest if I could only have one but I find myself using the Toric more, probably because it is the new kid on the block for me. The small optical adavantage I see in the Conquest may be challenged by the new HT glass and coatings of the gen 2 Toric.
Tract is showing on the attendee list for the American Birding Expo Show to be held Sept 21 - 23rd, 2018 in Philadelphia, PN. Tract should be posting a blog entry and sending out an e-mail listing their upcoming show schedule. They intend to increase the number of shows. I suspect they will be weighted more toward the outdoor venues considering they compete in the hunting market.
I am also happy they retained the same body as I really like the handling of the one I have.
https://www.americanbirdingexpo.com/about-the-expo/vendors/?service_id=24
The normal price of the first gen was $664 and the normal price of the new gen is $694 so that is only an increase of $30 by my new math. I believe the new Toric is the lowest priced model on the market with Shott HT glass. I not sure if that is of any significance other than trivia considering all the varibles in grades of glass, where it is used and other factors.
You're welcome Chuck. I agree with you on the improvements. I had concerns when the announcement was made of a new generation that they might ruin a good thing but there is nothing in the changes that strike me as bad. One possible concern would be if the color balance got messed up with the new coatings but it sounds like it will be more neutral which I like. The diopter ring on mine is stiff and has not changed in use. Must be a sample variation issue. I have also not had any issues with falling or collapsing eye cups as a couple folks reported a while back.
:eek!: Say it ain't so. :-C
I was also wondering about what they meant. The gen 1 looks to have an ever so slightly warm bias to me leaning toward a slight amount of pink/red. I am wondering if they are reducing the warm which results in the yellow green to be more noticeable. In other words the change mentioned is in comparison to the gen 1 rather than in general terms.
One way to evaluate binoculars is to compare to other models. The comparisons I would like to see, and has been mentioned by others, is the new Toric to the 1) previous Toric, 2) the Zeiss Conquest HD and 3) the Maven B1. All are Kamakura and very similar.