• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

PRIME HD is available for pre-order (1 Viewer)

I attempted to estimate my own unstated stable price of the Prime HD based on the going price of the ED3, since the Prime is based on the ED3, but with lens flatteners. I guessed that would add about $200, giving a $600 - $650 price.

(I know I said I would leave any additional speculation to others, so let me "word twist" a little here and just say I am agreeing with Steve's post! :t: )

Are there any long time followers of Zen-Ray that remember the pricing history the of the ED3?

(Just as an FYI, I'm thinking I will place a pre-order today rather than place the pricing game.)
 
Last edited:
if the ED3 is any example the "special price" with coupon will become the "normal" price.

When the ED3's first came out the "regular price" was $700ish, the "special price" was $520ish, and the "limited time only!" coupon of 20% brought it down to $420ish. The coupon kept having an expiration date that got pushed back and pushed back until it finally disappeared. Now if you look at the 8x43 ED3 product page it shows "regular price" at $499 and "special price" at $419 with no coupon codes listed.

I wouldn't expect the current $720 "special price" to be the actual street price any more than the ED3's stayed at $500+ street price. It's a normal game for a mfgr to play, I don't think you'll see any China bins selling for the "regular price" ever, that's just a marketing thing. I expect in not too long the PRIME's regular street price will settle in just above the current $540 intro pre-order pricing.
 
Zen-Ray is no longer showing the Prime HD 25% discount on their home web page, but the individual product pages still show the 25% discount along with the now past 4/15/12 end date. It appears the discount is still available by entering PRIME in the coupon field during check-out.

So, if you thought the pre-order price is past, think again! I saw a post from Cameraland NY saying the promotion price is $100 off from what the selling price will be once the product arrives.
 
I don't remember seeing anything either. Maybe they just went with the original design color or maybe they just want to make it a surprise.

;)
 
Perhaps they will be ... brown!

In any case, this is a rather different roll-out. You have to wonder if Zen and Hawke are coordinating introduction of the Prime/Panorama.

David
 
David Swain said:
Perhaps they will be ... brown!

In any case, this is a rather different roll-out. You have to wonder if Zen and Hawke are coordinating introduction of the Prime/Panorama.

David
Click to expand...
I can state with near absolute certainty that there is no relationship between the proposed Hawke Panorama or the ZEN Prime HD. There is also no relationship between Zen Ray and Hawke. Since ZR left the original ZEN ED OEM with the ED 3, they are at a new to them factory.

I also note that the Hawke Panorama showed up just about the time ZR decided to trash can the design that Frank showed us in his original Prime thread. I also note the Panorama sure looks like a dead ringer to the original rejected Prime right down to the last spec detail. I also note that Hawke has not got the Panorama out yet either and I have to wonder if the same problems that caused Charles to take his lumps and switch horses mid stream remain unresolved at Hawke with the Panorama. On the other hand, I may be out in left field here too, but that is my observation.

The short story is the prisms and the eye piece didn't play well together and the diopter setup sucked eggs.

The Prime that will hit the shelves is a quite different binocular from the original model.
 
Last edited:
The PRIME HD is in green armor. I will try to get some pictures of finished products posted soon. As we have already communicated to some of our customers, there will be a slight delay in PRIME HD launch due to a shortage of one component . I know, the waiting is killing me, and irritating our customers. We are doing everything we can to minimize the impact. We do have some units that are going out in the next 2 weeks to folks who ordered early enough to dodge the delay.

Thanks

Charles
 
Charles,

1) The Zen-Ray website is still showing a May 25th ship date.

2) Does this mean the "pre-order" discount price will be extended to the new July ship date?

3) Are those on the pre-order list being offered any kind of accomodation to not cancel and wait?

4) Are both the 8X and 10X impacted equally or is one going to ship before the other?
 
Yes. Green. See photo below (have to admit that I am not good at white balancing when taking photos :)).
 

Attachments

  • PRIMEHD1.jpg
    PRIMEHD1.jpg
    69.9 KB · Views: 144
Last edited:
Do not hurry

ZEN-RAY said:
The PRIME HD is in green armor. I will try to get some pictures of finished products posted soon. As we have already communicated to some of our customers, there will be a slight delay in PRIME HD launch due to a shortage of one component . I know, the waiting is killing me, and irritating our customers. We are doing everything we can to minimize the impact. We do have some units that are going out in the next 2 weeks to folks who ordered early enough to dodge the delay.

Thanks

Charles
Click to expand...


This is a new design and apparently there have been turbulent events taking place. No need to speed up anything - it is much better for everybody if the product hits the market in fully mature and well tested condition, rather than dealing with recall and repair afterward. What does it matter to wait for another couple of months? Nothing at all, let's first get things perfectly all right and then proceed with the delivery. A delay is nothing but a short irritation, but a quality product is lasting.

Cheers,
Holger Merlitz
 
Holger Merlitz said:
This is a new design and apparently there have been turbulent events taking place. No need to speed up anything - it is much better for everybody if the product hits the market in fully mature and well tested condition, rather than dealing with recall and repair afterward. What does it matter to wait for another couple of months? Nothing at all, let's first get things perfectly all right and then proceed with the delivery. A delay is nothing but a short irritation, but a quality product is lasting.

Cheers,
Holger Merlitz
Click to expand...

Holger, thanks for the understanding and advice. Yes, getting things done right is our first priority.

Another photo attached.
 

Attachments

  • PRIMEHD2-B.jpg
    PRIMEHD2-B.jpg
    32.4 KB · Views: 162
Holger Merlitz said:
This is a new design and apparently there have been turbulent events taking place. No need to speed up anything - it is much better for everybody if the product hits the market in fully mature and well tested condition, rather than dealing with recall and repair afterward. What does it matter to wait for another couple of months? Nothing at all, let's first get things perfectly all right and then proceed with the delivery. A delay is nothing but a short irritation, but a quality product is lasting.

Cheers,
Holger Merlitz
Click to expand...
Agreed, and sound advice! I for one am really looking forward to this binocular! I acctually don't mind a little wait. Just knowing that ZenRay is taking it's time to produce a quality product says alot! :) I truly hope it blows us all away!!!
 
WilsonsWarbler said:
Excellent looking! And those strap lugs are in the best place. Many other binocular makers don't seem to get that...
Click to expand...
Yes, it's understated looks are appealing. The H design looks very comfortable and i agree on the position of the strap lugs! The only nitpick from looking at the pictures is the ZR logo on the tripod socket which is an easy fix for a sharpy! They look like they should be balanced very well?
 
Warning! This thread is more than 12 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Similar threads

Y
Vortex Viper HD and Bushnell Trophy - A noob’s review
Replies
1
Views
620
giosblue
G
J
Full Spec Sheet for Nikon 8X30 Monarch HG
Replies
3
Views
1K
JohnVan
J
A
Verano BGA HD to VHD, optical changes, usable eye relief.
Replies
1
Views
310
Bentley03
B
G
Athlon Argos 20-60x85 HD Spotting Scope Reduced to only $299.99
Replies
0
Views
564
gr8fuldoug
G
has530
SVBONY SA205 Review
Replies
3
Views
635
has530
has530

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top