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Message: <blockquote data-quote="chartwell99" data-source="post: 1424252" data-attributes="member: 5367"><p>I own both the 8 x 42 DLS (purchased at full price two years ago) and the 8 x 43 Zen Ray. The Zen Ray is optically wonderful, with a somewhat wider field and marginally brighter image than the Stokes. It also seems lighter and smaller than it actually is. If cost is a factor, there is no contest as the Zen Ray is $139 cheaper. The Stokes, however, has a higher quality feel and, with its fast and ultra smooth focus, is for me the handier birding glass. I liked the Stokes well enough, in fact, to have purchased the 10 x 42 DLS from that same Wisconsin optics retailer at $449, selling my Viper 10 x 42 to pacify my wife (a decision I do not regret as the Stokes is by far the better binocular).</p></blockquote><p></p>