New Zeiss 8x32SF as your main binocular (4 Viewers)

[james holdsworth]

Binomania just did an unboxing video, so maybe they are now available?

 

[NDhunter]

Binomania just did an unboxing video, so maybe they are now available?

Piero is a tester, and often gets optics before they are released.

Jerry

 

[[email protected]]

Binomania just did an unboxing video, so maybe they are now available?

B&H says August 19. The Zeiss SF 8x32 look sweet in the Binomania unboxing. Although I don't do so well with Italian.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...qKmr6jY-tr4iYPkfctm9v56qor4uZ5ghoC9mkQAvD_BwE

 

[Torview]

I`m very much looking forward to Piero`s review, It did`nt look that much smaller than the 42 in still images, but in that video it looks way smaller.

 

[Hermann]

I have been using 8x32 Swarobright's for a while and recently thought I would upgrade to Swarovision's. The view through them was phenomenal for the most part. But, even on a bright & hazy day, the veiling glare was awful. The loss of saturation and contrast was just not acceptable for my uses. ie. Wildlife viewing in Alaska.

Same here. I tried the SV 8x32 for a day and didn't like the veiling glare. Glare is one of my pet peeves, and I found the SV 8x32 pretty horrible in that respect.

Do the 42 SF's give any indication of how the 32's will be? I kind of doubt it, as the 42 EL's are so much better at handling glare for me than the smaller ones.

Not really. In general, it seems to be more difficult to design small binoculars that handle glare as well as full-sized ones. However, there are - as always - exceptions to that rule, such as the Leica 8x32. And I'm sure Zeiss did everything possible to avoid glare. Maybe the greater length of the SF 8x32 is an indication - greater length makes it usually possible to get rid glare more easily.

If the 32 SF's can out perform the EL's in this regard, I know I would most certainly consider them!

Same here. I want a light pair with up-to-date optics and a wide field of view.
The Zeiss may well fit the bill.

Hermann

 

[b_reynolds_ak]

Hey, thanks for your thoughts on these. I’m looking forward to seeing some more reviews and trying them out!

*Update* I just placed my order for the 10x32 SF's from Optics Planet. After returning from a 12 day sheep hunt in the Wrangell Mountains, I realized that I would like that bit of extra reach that 10x affords over my 8.5x42 EL SV's. While the exit pupil is obviously smaller, you get basically the same field of view with the 10x SF's as the 8.5 El's with a half pound weight savings.

Cheers

Same here. I tried the SV 8x32 for a day and didn't like the veiling glare. Glare is one of my pet peeves, and I found the SV 8x32 pretty horrible in that respect.



Not really. In general, it seems to be more difficult to design small binoculars that handle glare as well as full-sized ones. However, there are - as always - exceptions to that rule, such as the Leica 8x32. And I'm sure Zeiss did everything possible to avoid glare. Maybe the greater length of the SF 8x32 is an indication - greater length makes it usually possible to get rid glare more easily.



Same here. I want a light pair with up-to-date optics and a wide field of view.
The Zeiss may well fit the bill.

Hermann

 

[Maljunulo]

Based on a single outing, I strongly suspect that my 8X32 SF will replace my 10X42 EL SV as my "main binocular."
ETA: A second outing this afternoon served to reinforce the above.
I think I'll see if my #1 granddaughter might be interested in her grandfather's cast-off binoculars.

 

[Maljunulo]

Post #23 Hear! Hear!
Also, I don't carry a lot of crap around with me ........... I grab my binoculars and go, so if I can't see it and identify it with "what I brung" it is either a miss, or for another day.

There are few things as beautiful as a living bird viewed with world-class glass, and that is why I go chasing birds.

There is always something to marvel at: the pupil in the eye of a Great Blue Heron, the talons of a Bald Eagle, the subtle shadings in the feathers of a female Mallard, the brilliant green of her mate's head, a male Wood Duck in full breeding plumage, a pair of Hooded Mergansers as they bob to the surface like corks after a dive, a Kingfisher beating a fish into submission by whacking it on the tree limb he is sitting on.The list is infinite in length.

As miraculous as the human eye is, good optics surely do supplement it, and offset most of its limitations, and they reveal thing to us that we would never even have known were there.

ETA: I finally did a direct comparison between my EL SV 10X42 and SF 8X32.

It didn't take very long to decide that the 10X42 will be offered to #1 granddaughter as a gift.