Ok, here we go, got the Zeiss Victory pocket 8x25 yesterday. And....WOOW!!! Totally blew me away with the quality of the view and glass. I believe it edges out the Cl Bs 8x30 in raw optics (just slightly, mainly CA control). Sharpness is about the same, I would say the edge sharpness drops off about the amount with maybe slightly less quickly with the ZVP (maybe 5% difference negligible). Where the ZVP beats the CL B is in Chromatic aberration. Center is super low (i mean just about negligible) in the CL and pretty much non existent in the ZVP. At the edge CL has noticeably (30%) more CA than the ZVP. I am usually very critical and sensitive to CA but both are at levels that are acceptable to me. For example the Monarch HG 8x42 has more CA than I was willing to tolerate and that moved me up to the SF 8x42, both the CL B and ZVP control CA better than the Monarch HG. I would say CL B CA control is similar to SLC 8x42. Color accuracy is better with the ZVP with the CL having a yellowish golden cast, which I don't mind. This is especially apparent during the golden hour at sunset. Interestingly, I find the view relaxing/charming like sepia photos. ZVPs rendering of everything is very clinic and accurate.
I use my binos with and without glasses. This is where for me the Cl B pulled away from the ZVP. Without glasses the eye cups on the ZVP are too short and the binos need to float for optimal view. This combined with the smaller exit pupil caused a shaky image and black outs with a lot of difficulty panning and following birds in flight. The diopter setting on the ZVP is also worse IMO because it is not locking and the center indent is large and the knob is small and fiddly. I also found the diopter setting slightly vague. It is functional nonetheless. The focus knob is good but a little small. If I were going to use theses with glasses all the time I would probably keep th ZVP, maybe...
Of course the ZVP is more compact. But this is what made the final decision. I could probably be ok with the CL b as my only bino, I can't say the same (by a long shot) about the ZVP. Main reason is because of the limits of a x25 objective gathering less light and having black outs with the smaller exit pupil and the shaky view without glasses. The reason this is important to me is because I plan to use these to hike and travel, and during those times if i find an extended viewing opportunity I don't want to feel as though I comprised in the view and think "man i should've brought my SF"
Here was a question I asked my self while using both outside my house yesterday. If I saw a deer hanging out and I wanted to view them for an extended period would I be compelled to go back inside to retrieve my SF 8x42s. For the CL the answer was a quick no. For the ZVP the answer was a quick yes. Whole day of glassing could be done with the CL although I would prefer the SF and for me an definate no for the ZVP (I may even take a Monarch 5 over the ZVP for a full day of glassing).
So needless to say, I am willing to lug around the extra 6ozs of weight.