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Message: <blockquote data-quote="paddy7" data-source="post: 3091623" data-attributes="member: 88594">EDII - road testMembers of the mighty Waveney Bird Club spent a weekend out at Orfordness in Suffolk last weekend, and i thought i'd take the opportunity to get a few opinions on the EDII 8x42. Orfordness is a large shingle spit, with a range of habitats - saltmarsh, grazing marshes, estuary and sea with VERY BIG skies. The day provided a range of weather conditions, from a sunny morning to an increasingly cloudy afternoon.The group was about 13 strong, and i picked on about 8 of them at random. This was not scientific or extensive, as i didn't want to impinge on the main event. Probably the longest spent with the bins was around 5 minutes.The 'victims' were mainly Swaro users - 8x and 10x, but there were also Zeiss FLs, Leica Trinovid BN (10x), a couple of RSPB 8x and Nikon Travelite 8x25 EX. The main fact however is that all of them were serious birders.So, to the interesting bit (also interesting to me, as i had a quick squint through all their bins too...)1. There were absolutely no negative comments, either about the speed of the focus, or the field of view. In fact, at least 4 commented on the 'width' of the FoV, which - in view of the stats - i translated as the 'usability' of the field. Most actually saw the focus speed as an advantage, and spent some time focusing back and forth from close-up stonechat and linnet to distant redshank.2. The close focus was commented on more than favourably; at least three testers moved to testing the close-up within a minute or two of using them (as many of our members are also butterfly/dragonfly fans).3. The clarity and colour rendition was universally mentioned as a plus - only one Swaro 10x user said he thought his were 'sharper'4. Weight and balance - again, positive. Two female members of the party thought the ergonomics of the bins were better than theirs (Swaro 8X SLC and Trinovid BN 10x).5. Interestingly, no one mentioned the flat field, without a little poke from me. I think many were used to field flattening, and so saw nothing unusual in it.5. Specific quotes included 'there's nothing to not like here - you could get to love these!' and a general 'Whaaa?' when i told the general party the price of £399.As for myself - i sea-watched with them and counted up 1500 brent geese over the Saturday, identified a merlin (our target for the trip!) after it put up 90 golden plover at a distance of about 800m, got an Iceland gull over the sea and they didn't let me down once. I could just make them colour fringe when in the most extreme circumstances, but nothing like the ED 1 would have done. I used them on a little owl at first light and waders at dusk, and found them perfectly fine in half-light and lower.Also to mention: as i tried all their Alphas quickly, i could see that famous (for me) pale brightness, common to all of them, which - thanks to Typo - i now know as effective transmission of the shorter blue wavelengths. However, i found the contrast in the Vanguard perhaps more to my liking.The view i liked best of the 'other bins' surprised me - the Trinovid 10x42 BN, with barrels like - well, barrels. Go figure.The transmission figures for the EDII on the Allbinos test are seemingly what kept it from hitting the '150' score previously only achieved by the alphas (i think it missed by about 3). As mentioned above, this is probably this famous 'blue' end, contributing to what i still think of as 'pale brightness'. I should also mention my particular susceptibility to CA, and that i can make it happen in bins that others can't. It's a cross i've learned to bear.....Paddy</blockquote>

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