A2GG
Beth
Post 18: On the last picture I can finally see the famous green cast of the grey SFs! o
I see a green cast on the Meopta and the Kowa as well
Very nice review Lee !
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Review: Zeiss Victory SF 8x32 (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter Troubador
- Start date
I see a green cast on the Meopta and the Kowa as well
Very nice review Lee !
I see a green cast on the Meopta and the Kowa as well
Very nice review Lee !
Thanks GiGi.
Lee x
wdc
Well-known member
Thanks for the fine review Lee, as well as the pictures. Well done as usual, and certainly an appealing, well thought out product.
I think you've helped whet the appetite, though most of us probably don't need it! ;-)
I expect many here, including myself, will be trying one out at some point.
-Bill
I think you've helped whet the appetite, though most of us probably don't need it! ;-)
I expect many here, including myself, will be trying one out at some point.
-Bill
dalat
...
Hi Lee, very nice review, very thorough. Your real life bird observation tests are more telling to me than star tests and transmission curves.
I'd love to see a side to side pic of the SF and your wifes UV. Problably not flattering for the SF but i'd still like to get a visual of the dimension.
Thanks again, Florian
I'd love to see a side to side pic of the SF and your wifes UV. Problably not flattering for the SF but i'd still like to get a visual of the dimension.
Thanks again, Florian
Great review Lee. I feel like I've got to know the bins better without being told how I should feel about them. I'm left wanting to experience them for myself. Thankfully Zeiss have told me the London Camera Exchange dealers in Reading have ordered them, so once things open up I should be able to try them. Anyway, I appreciate your efforts and good job, it's so great there continues to be innovation in binoculars.
Pic 1 and Pic 2 are astonishing.
You should be commissioned for advertising materials.
Edmund
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Adding my thanks for your write-up of your almost-a-week with the new SF seems a bit like thanking you for going to the trouble of getting to "second base" with Karlie Kloss o, but since most of us won't be able to do the former for some time, thank you. Your photos showcase the binocular really well, too - this bright spring sunlight has been wonderful for that.
Only time will tell whether this SF is indeed Zeiss's best binocular, but without a doubt, combining long eye relief with field of view that actually exceeds (and edge performance that far surpassses) the old classic porros is an impressive piece of optical design, fully upholding Zeiss's great reputation in this area. A wide field of view has certainly been a good selling point historically, and with other recently introduced binoculars (the Kowa 6.5 and also eg. the Kite Lynx 8x30) offering very large fields of view, it would seem likely that 150m, plus or minus a few metres, is what the other alpha manufacturers will be aiming for in their next 8x32s.
In some of the speculation about what form a potential x32 SF might take, I thought aloud that the SF concept (field of view/ergos) embodied in a x32 likely meant a larger binocular than its rivals, which seems to have been borne out - but the x42 SFs have shown that plenty of folks will go for a larger binocular if it offers a wider field of view and handles as well as it does, and Z has small 8x32s well covered with the Conquest HD anyway.
Modern binoculars are so good these days that I truly think any top alpha, and indeed many sub-alphas, would give wonderful views when used in isolation - but when products are this good, direct comparisons give the best sense of the fine distinctions between top products. To that end, I thought the comparisons with Mrs T's Ultravid were of particular interest, and wish you had not sold your 8x32 FL to SeldomPerched before the new SF arrived, as side by side comparisons between Zeiss's old and new x32 alphas would have been even more interesting. (Could SeldomPerched perhaps loan his FL back to you while he's absorbing himself in his new 10x42 SLC?)
Yes, I feel the sucking intake of breath in preparation for a gargantuan bellow of "NITNOID" from across the Atlantic - but hey, isn't that what all forums that discuss equipment are about?
Thanks again,
patudo
, but since most of us won't be able to do the former for some time, thank you. Your photos showcase the binocular really well, too - this bright spring sunlight has been wonderful for that. Only time will tell whether this SF is indeed Zeiss's best binocular, but without a doubt, combining long eye relief with field of view that actually exceeds (and edge performance that far surpassses) the old classic porros is an impressive piece of optical design, fully upholding Zeiss's great reputation in this area. A wide field of view has certainly been a good selling point historically, and with other recently introduced binoculars (the Kowa 6.5 and also eg. the Kite Lynx 8x30) offering very large fields of view, it would seem likely that 150m, plus or minus a few metres, is what the other alpha manufacturers will be aiming for in their next 8x32s.
In some of the speculation about what form a potential x32 SF might take, I thought aloud that the SF concept (field of view/ergos) embodied in a x32 likely meant a larger binocular than its rivals, which seems to have been borne out - but the x42 SFs have shown that plenty of folks will go for a larger binocular if it offers a wider field of view and handles as well as it does, and Z has small 8x32s well covered with the Conquest HD anyway.
Modern binoculars are so good these days that I truly think any top alpha, and indeed many sub-alphas, would give wonderful views when used in isolation - but when products are this good, direct comparisons give the best sense of the fine distinctions between top products. To that end, I thought the comparisons with Mrs T's Ultravid were of particular interest, and wish you had not sold your 8x32 FL to SeldomPerched before the new SF arrived, as side by side comparisons between Zeiss's old and new x32 alphas would have been even more interesting. (Could SeldomPerched perhaps loan his FL back to you while he's absorbing himself in his new 10x42 SLC?)
Yes, I feel the sucking intake of breath in preparation for a gargantuan bellow of "NITNOID" from across the Atlantic - but hey, isn't that what all forums that discuss equipment are about?
Thanks again,
patudo
NDhunter
Experienced observer
Lee:
You have presented a very nice review, it does confirm how great the Zeiss Victory SF models are.
You have 3 photos here, but what models are they and what do you think of them ?
Also, have you had some chance to use the Swarovski SV 8x32 and compare directly with the new SF ?
Jerry
Comparisons of different models are inevitable but have their limitations because ultimately preferences for one model over another are so personal. Even when it comes to optics you will find some folks who are irritated by e.g. astigmatism while others do not notice it, some demand flat fields while others find them unappealing and of course some are badly affected by rolling globe while others don't see it. And that is before one considers handling. FL32 and SF32 are so completely different in the hand and optically FLs don't have a flat field. Comparing them would be like trying to decide whether one prefers a Chablis or a Meursault, when in fact they are both fine.
Take a look at the photo of my hands holding SF32 and IMHO this shows that SF is as small as it could get while still offering an open-hinge grip with natural placement of the first finger on the focus wheel. And while the only time I have thought SF42 is on the long side is when reading specifications, never while using one in the field, there is no doubt that SF32 brings all SF42's benefits in a handier package and with a fov boost.
Lee
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Hi Jerry
Thanks for your kind comments about the review.
All of those photos have appeared alongside reviews I have posted. Pic 1 is Meopta's B1 MeoStar 8x32 (a favourite of mine), Pic 2 is the recent little Kowa 6.5x32 (in constant use from our kitchen window) and you surely recognise the two SF42s in Pic 3, one being an early grey 10x and the other a later black 8x, (both being go-to binos for me).
No, I haven't been able to compare the SF and EL32. I did briefly consider trying to do this but there wasn't time to arrange a loan of an EL given the duration of the SF32 loan, and while a brief comparison such as I did with the Ultravid would have been an obvious thing to do if an EL had been available it wouldn't have justified troubling a dealer to send one just for this and I didn't have the time to do a deep comparison anyway.
Lee
SeldomPerched
Well-known member
Thank you, Lee. I really enjoyed your review and also your photographs. I shan't try an SF for a long time though or I might not still enjoy your black FL!
Best wishes,
Tom
Best wishes,
Tom
Hi Florian
Here they are side-by-side. IMHO this is neither flattering nor unflattering to either of them. They are both the size they need to be.
Lee
Attachments
This post is in answer to a member who asked in a PM about the material of the eyecups on the surface that touches your eye socket.
Pic one shows the eyecup alone and Pic two shows it with my fingers pressing towards each other from opposite sides of the eyecup. You can clearly see the extent of the rubber covering as it distorts under my finger-pressure and creates an oval opening to the top lens instead of the circular one.
I have tested this model with my spectacles put to one side and even cramming them into my eyesockets to test for blackouts, I didn't find the eyecups at all uncomfortable.
Lee
Pic one shows the eyecup alone and Pic two shows it with my fingers pressing towards each other from opposite sides of the eyecup. You can clearly see the extent of the rubber covering as it distorts under my finger-pressure and creates an oval opening to the top lens instead of the circular one.
I have tested this model with my spectacles put to one side and even cramming them into my eyesockets to test for blackouts, I didn't find the eyecups at all uncomfortable.
Lee
Attachments
Thanks Tom but just because you try SF32 and like it that doesn't mean you have to stop enjoying FL32. They are such different characters in the hand I think you could enjoy them both at different times.
Lee
Thanks for the very thorough review, as usual, Lee. Sadly, acquiring those binoculars will not grant me your powers of observation or encyclopedic knowledge of all winged creatures, but we can only strive...
Take care,
— Fazal
Take care,
— Fazal
Be interesting to hear how the edges look under the stars, maybe also see how Venus looks as it gets close to the edges too. Given myself an unpleasant surprise with some bins I had previously thought of as good when used in the daytime when I tested them at night.
Great review
Peter
Great review
Peter
