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Message: <blockquote data-quote="tenex" data-source="post: 3664890" data-attributes="member: 135233">It's good to hear that Zeiss may have improved the quality of the recent/black SF model.  But I think they're still neglecting the importance of first impressions in inspiring confidence.  Being accustomed to a Leica now (though I do still have my old 15x60 GAT), I have to say that Zeiss binos today just tend to look a bit crude.  Take something as simple as white lettering on a black ring below the ocular.  When Leica does that it's elegant; on a Zeiss, whether a $2900 SF (which I've only seen photos of) or a Victory 8x25 (which I also had to return for defects, twice), it just looks cheap.  The finish on the ring is too shiny, the paint too stark white, even the font too plain.  And then there's the busy overdesign of the armor edges, etc.  You start looking for something wrong.  I don't mean to sound prissy here, but it's like putting a Kia grille on a BMW, which I'm sure the SF is, optically.</blockquote>