BirdForum is the net's largest birding community dedicated to wild birds and birding, and is absolutely FREE!

Register for an account to take part in lively discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="FrankD" data-source="post: 1516413" data-attributes="member: 18544">I have had a few days with the Atlas Intrepid 8x42 now and thought I would share a few comments/experiences so far.One, my thoughts tend to pretty much mirror Steve's. The differences between the Zen Ray and the Atlas Intrepid are few and far between optically. The images are practically identical in just about every way. I have tried to note something of a difference between the two but the closest actual difference I have been able to come up with is maybe a slightly brighter image in the Zen Ray and a difference in the color bias between the two bins. The latter is something I am not entirely sure of though as I cannot always duplicate that experience. I will try to explore it further and comment more on it as time allows.Physically there are three areas I noted differences. One, the eyecup difference is immediately noticeable. As Steve referenced the Intrepid shares the same eyecup design as the Promasters though I don't seem to mind the "edge" as much as I did on the Promaster. Two, the rubber armor texturing is drastically different in my opinion. The Intrepid's armor is noticeably smoother and less "ribbed" for lack of a better word. I do not have a preference either way but both produce noticeably different tactile sensations. Three, and most noticeable, is the difference in the focusing tension. The tension on the Intrepid is stiffer and the speed is a hair slower than that of the Zen ED. Based on previous experiences with some of these ED open-bridge bins I am sure this is not a problem in warmer weather but in colder seasons I wonder what the resulting tension will be like. I wish I actually had a Vortex Razor on hand because I have vague recollections of the focusing tension being similar between these two models. I wonder if it is a change in the lubricant or in the design itself.Conclusion:As Steve referenced, anything that has been said about the other open bridge ED binoculars recently to hit the market certainly applies to the Atlas Optics Intrepid 8x42. The image is bright, exceptionally sharp with very good contrast and excellent color fringing control. The field of view seems very large and the overall image quality is certainly up there with some of the very best binoculars currently on the market. I would have no problem recommending these binoculars at any price. At $350 they certainly represent one of the true values in binoculars currently on the market.</blockquote>

Verification