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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FrankD" data-source="post: 1275924" data-attributes="member: 18544">Instead of starting a new thread I thought it better to add to this one. My sample of the mystery glass finally reached my hands today. Long story about signature required and DHL.To start off I find my opinions of the optical qualities of this glass to mirror Steve's to an extent. I am having a hard time with the depth of focus that he mentions. The focus speed is slower than most bins today but I did not find it excessively troublesome. I thought the slower speed provided more of a sense of control over precision focusing. I believe this to be one of those issues where it is going to come down to personal taste.The image this bin provides really is its strongpoint. I sat outside for about two hours earlier this evening comparing it with the Swaro EL 8.5x42, EL 8x32 and Zeiss FL 7x42. This binocular's optical performance is very, very close to this group of binoculars in several areas. Brightness is very good. I would put it as right at the same level as the larger Swaro EL and only slightly less than that of the FL (obviously taking into consideration the larger exit pupil of the FL). Apparent sharpness is very good if not excellent. The image has that look that the FL and Vortex Razor provide...very fine details are easy to pick out. Color fringing is very well controlled in this binocular. It most certainly gives you that window glass effect because of the low CA and because of the wide field of view.The field of view is extremely flat with no field curvature immediately noticeable in the image. Color is slightly more neutral than the larger EL but not as much so as the FL.Nitpicks:I have three nitpicks about this binocular.One, though I do not have a problem with the focus speed or tension my model seems to have a bit of play in the focusing mechanism. Some may refer to it as backlash. The tension is similar to that of the Pentax SP but that little bit of play frustrated me a little. I was more accustomed to the control of the FL and EL which are extremely precise.Two, the eyecup shape is not entirely to my liking. They seem to have a bit of an edge to them which not only cause slight discomfort but also seem to give me a bit of a problem getting comfortable with the image. When I hold this binocular a bit away from my face the image issue disappears entirely. If the eyecup edges were contoured a bit (similar to the FL or EL) then it would be much more comfortable.Three, the sweet spot. Looking at objects extremely close (in this case the face of my two boys) the sweet spot appears very wide, encompassing a good 80% of the field of view. However when focusing the center of the image on a distant tree (fine details of branches outlined against the white sky) and moving that tree up and down in the field of view revealed that there is a very gradual degradation of the image after one reaches the middle third of the field of view. The outer third shows noticeable distortion in much the same way that the FL does. The image cannot be refocused around the edge so it is not field curvature. Speaking of which, that is what this binocular's sweet spot and level of distortion remind me... the FL.I might also mention what Steve said about the open hinge design. The distance between hinges is shorter than that of the EL or Razor.....plus you don't have the thumb or other finger indents to help the bin feel lighter and narrower than it actually is.In summarizing this binocular puts together a potent optical package. It most certainly is in the performance level of the Vortex Razor and Meopta Meostar. One could argue that it is the most serious competitor to the big name class in some time...at least from an optical standpoint. The body style is obviously a knock-off on the EL but the optics are basically FL in nature with a slightly dimmer image because of the Schmidt Pechan prisms.Steve mentioned the price point this bin is selling at and its real name. If this is true and I have no reason to believe that it won't sell at the same price most places then this bin has shifted the performance versus price standard quite a bit. There is no bin at the $500 price point that will compete with it optically. Though others consider the Audubon 8.5x44 a poor man's EL I think I am going to start referring to this bin as just that. High end optics in a much less refined body.</blockquote>

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