I still think it unusual for one ocular to fog up because in a lot of birding I have never had it happen. Not saying it couldn't but just unusual. I don't think the Zeiss SF were left in salt water and I believe it is a problem if they rust that easily. It could be that they are rusting from the salt air but that IS a problem for someone living near the coast. The people that had staining said they were not wearing tanning lotion and I personally would not like my $2500 binoculars to develop a stain. None of my binoculars even my less expensive ones have ever STAINED. The staining is a problem if it happens to only a few people. There is something wrong with the armour. Flecks may not be a problem , as far as, the optical performance but they should not be there on a binocular as expensive as the Zeiss SF. None of my binoculars have ever had flecks inside them and if they did I would say it is a lack of QA by the manufacturer. There have been quite a few complaints of loose armour on the Zeiss including this users. No binocular should have loose armour and it remains to be seen if the problem has been solved. A lot of people would consider low contrast a problem or weak point of the binoculars. I personally would because I really appreciate good contrast so if somebody says a binocular has low contrast it is a red flag for me. Others may differ. I feel the drop by HighNorth that cause his binoculars to break might be due to some weakness in the SF construction. I really don't think all binoculars would have broken that easily but that is my opinion. And to conclude I am NOT the one reporting all these problems. These are all different people reporting different problems. I am just commenting on them and I don't feel the problems should just be ignored. And lastly I don't think these are "Made Up" problems. Did HighNorth make up the rusty hinges? Was the staining just somebodies illusion? I don't think so.
Loose armour - seen 6 samples never seen any problems with loose armour
Rusty washer - I dunno look more discolouration to me not rust, but it maybe a fault...perhaps.
Staining - can't see any staining here and I've been wandering through mud and shite most weeks, sweat and blood on them (yup!) is this really a problem, it didn't actually look that bad to me, just like sweaty paw marks!
Internals - yup my Swaro certainly had flecks of something in them, probably silicon or something, I wasn't very worried about that as it never effected the view (and yes that was from new!) my swaro scope has some too, nay bother! (actually my swaro scope has taken on a yellow hue too! but only in certain light!)
Contrast - not sure what people are saying here, my view is if you are in a rainforest (for instance) then the zeiss will significantly outperform the swaro as it has a clearer image with truer colours, but that is just personal preference, I tried them with swaro side by side on the rainiest of darkest days and concluded that I could see more colours more clearly than the swaro ...that was what I thought.
Dropping bins - drop a swaro right on the bridge like that and see what happens! can't fault the strength of these bins, they look pretty robust to me but I'm not about to check with a hammer, throw them on the floor or drive my x-trail over them!...if I do I'll check back!
Ocular fog - Can't believe this is even being debated! please stop! :eek!: This is a non issue as fogging happens for a variety of reasons - breathing! sweating! heating! ..........I can continue! if it ain't inside it don't matter (no coating will stop external fogging due to temp change etc).
Eyecups - just like the old FL (mostly), no problems with that. What I did have with the Swaro is the rubber bit linked to the metal bit (tech speak!) distorts a lot on the metal after a while and spins or worse still you look down and it's gone lying next to the Trogon you never saw!
Focus - I do however think there is some inconsistency in the focus, granted. I think some units can be a bit 'stiff' but I'm sure they break in, mine is easy going, but I know the model I tried had a little to much resistance for my liking but I could have lived with it, but I reckon folk will panic and send them back before breaking them in....from what I hear it moves about well after a bit of use....happy days!
I have experienced plenty of consistency problems in Swaro, can't say for Leica never had one, but Swaro are not beyond their own issues. I learnt from one major optic retailer that they have less issues with Zeiss than any other brand (not sure if this includes the SF's however) being sent for repairs and faults....take from that what you will!
If anyone was reading this and thinking of buying an SF they would be sorely mistaken thinking there were problems that swaro will never have, there is often a blind loyalty to the old faithful green machine! (I should say Swaro are very good too!....not as good as the SF for my needs though!
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