As the experts have told us, not all ED glass is created equal. However, with some type of ED glass trickling down all the way to the $200 price point with the Carsons and Bressers, and being employed in a number of mid-teir bins, I want to kick a dead horse again (not illegal if it's already dead) and reiterate that the Nikon Premiers/HGLs, which were well ahead of their time when they first appeared on the scene in 1999, have now become outdated as even much lower priced roofs employ ED glass and dielectric coatings.
I don't care so much about the prism coatings, and in fact, might actually prefer the warmer bias of the sliver coatings, but to me and others, the HGL series shows more than its fair share of CA and could use an ED glass upgrade. I don't share Henry's concern that this would make the HGLs too much like the EDG.
Zeiss wasn't concerned about adding ED glass to the Conquest HD because it would make them too much like the HT, and physically they look much more like the HT than the HGL looks like the EDG. Not only are the ergonomics very different btwn the HGL and EDG, but so are the FsOV and other specs, and most importantly for me, the level of pincushion.
Also, other than the FOV and level of distortion, the SE and EII's optics look a lot alike, and those old dinosaurs are both still around. So I think the worries that a Premier ED and EDG in the same market might annihilate each other in a matter/antimatter reaction are overblown. As with the Conquest HD and Victory HT, what makes them both viable is that birders with different sized wallets can buy one or the other.
Given these new developments at the subprime and entry levels, at the risk of getting a cal! from the Humane Society, I think it's time to kick this horse one more time: Nikon Premiers/HGLs are due for an ED glass update.
Mike, are you reading? While they're at it, please ask the engineers to add some pincushion to the full sized models! If you read the Swaro RB thread, it should be apparent that the industry may have underestimated the number of RB + birders out there.
Three inches of snow on the ground in my neck of the woods right now. Old Man Winter, the skiers and snowboarders will be sad to see you go, but not me and the robins.
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