??? Chromatic aberration, contrast, and saturation are not mutually exclusive. If an optic shows less CA it should also have better contrast and saturation. After all, the edges are sharper and better defined for all objects in the FoV. Blacker blacks and whiter whites. That is the essence of contrast. The dielectric prism coatings in the Victory reflects light more evenly across the spectrum for more natural colors vs. the slightly warm/yellow in SE.
Rick
Master Rick,
With deference to the kung fu book of wisdoms, where I believe you took your general dictum - "chromatic aberration, contrast, and saturation are not mutually exclusive. If an optic shows less CA it
should [emphasis added] also have better contrast and saturation" -- my own humble observations show that this does not apply in every case.
For example, let those with discerning eyes compare a 10x42 LX with a 10x42 SE (any year) and you will find that despite greater CA, the LX blows away the SE in terms of contrast and color saturation (particularly pre-2002 SEs).
When I first tried the 10x42 LX, which I now realize was ahead of its time and still holds up well against the "latest and greatest" ED bins except in CA control, I was blown away by the stunning sharpness, contrast, and super saturated colors of the images.
Despite its better but not perfect CA control and impressive resolution, the 10x42 SE (an 001xxx model - 1998?), did not come close to the stark contrast and super color saturation of the 10x42 LX. Frankly, the SE's images looked dull in comparison, because they lacked the LX's image "SNAP!" (super nasty ass picture
.
In re: to sample variation - I have used three sample 10x42 SEs (one briefly, two extensively), two 8x32 SEs (owned both of them), and three 12x50 SEs (owned two of them), and I can report that compared to other series of bins I've tried, I found the SE's are very consistent from sample to sample and from model to model. Except for DOF and FOV, the images look very similar in all three models.
The only "sample variations" I found was that one 12x50 SE had a close focus of 16' (typical is 24') and that the 505 8x32 SE, which had upgraded coatings, produced better contrast and color saturation (but also more CA) than the 501 8x32 SE.
So if you compared a good sample FL to a pre-2002 SE sample 10x42 SE (the year Nikon upgraded the coatings and switched to lead-free glass), it wouldn't surprise me if the SE had less contrast and color saturation, though I have not actually compared the FL and SE.
However, even this turned out to be the case, I would not generalize that observation to say that
every bin that shows less CA also has better contrast and saturation.
This wasn't the case in comparing the 10x42 LX to the 10x42 SE or the 505 8x32 SE vs. 501 8x32 SE since both of the former bins showed more CA but better contrast and color saturation.
Grasshopper
Excerpt from kung fu book of wisdoms:
Disciple Caine: Master, our bodies are prey to many needs: hunger, thirst, and the need for premium optics. Shall we then seek to satisfy these needs?
Master Kan: Only Acknowledge them and satisfaction will follow. To suppress a truth is to give it force beyond endurance, but always seek three months same as cash deals to avoid getting ripped off.