What did I miss? Terra ED??? (2 Viewers)

[BinoBoy]

I tried the HT's, both at the Zeiss booth and at the EagleOptics booth. They are great. No play in the focusing units of the four samples I looked through. I would not say that they are dramatically better than than the FLs. They are a lot slimmer, though. The grip is different. You're intended to wrap your fingers around the barrels near the far end, with all your fingers in front of the hinge.

I asked Stephan if the HTs were going to replace the FLs. He said that the HT line would only be the 8x42 and 10x42. They have stopped producing the FL 8x42 and 10x42. The rest of the FL will be replaced, but I don't know when or with what.

The Conquest HDs were very impressive. They seem like a great value for the money. I was looking through them indoors under artificial light that wasn't all that bright, so the conditions were not great to evaluate them. I asked Stephan how the Terra ED compared to the Chinese ED bins and he said that he had not done a side by side evaluation but that he thought the Terra ED was better. The build quality certainly is.

Zeiss really seems to have their act together. I was impressed with everything they had at the booth. I finally got to look through the FL 8x56 and now I really want a pair. Stephan says that the 8x56 still have better optical quality than the HT or the Swarovision.

I'll probably go back tomorrow. I became a snowbird this winter. My house is in the foothills west of Denver, CO, but I bought a condo in Cape Canaveral, FL. So, the bird festival is about 25 miles north of me. I should be able to go every year. It's really nice to try out some of the bins I've only heard about on the forum. I must have tried out 30 bins on Thursday. Zeiss, Swarovski, Leica, Nikon, Pentax, Celestron, Opticron, Canon, Eagle Optics, Hunts and One Good Tern are there. I had not heard of One Good Tern before. They are an optics store in Alexandria, VA. The owner has been in the business a long time and seems very knowledgeable.

Mark

 

[SEOW]

Binoboy- it looks like they've stopped producing the 7x42 FL, too. Do you know if there are any plans to replace that configuration?

 

[jan van daalen]

Russia's and China's economies have been slowly turning away from Socialism so they now appear to have a growing population that can afford to buy German/Austrian stuff. And they have very large populations also. Japan seems to be an anomaly.

I might be wrong here but Europe's economies seem to have been embracing more Socialism. But you live there so you might know whether the population that can afford to buy German/Austrian stuff is growing, remaining static or declining?

Bob

It's static. The complete marketshare grow comes from Russia, China and Japan.
Jan

 

[hinnark]

On the euro matter:
They must take point of the fact the German industry is the motor of the European economy and round the Milennium the German currency, the Mark, was next to the $ the leading currency. The German-French currency had the most benefits, but they were also the biggest players. Holland got minus 10%.
Jan

All I know is that, other than the politicians here use to claim again and again, almost everything got much more expensive since Euro introduction. Former Mark prices went to the same numbers, just in Euro. That means doubling the prices. But this is the consumer's point of view.

Steve

 

[jan van daalen]

At the end of the game Holland is one of the last Europe countries with a triple A status.
We call that European Dutch treat (read: we borrow money and pay the lowest rent and lent it to the Greeks for 5 times higher rent).

Jan

 

[LabradorDuck]

I attended the Spacecoast Bird Festival in Titusville, FL yesterday and today. I talked with Stephan Ingraham at the Zeiss booth.

He said that the Terra ED smelled bad for about six hours after being removed from the box. I couldn't detect any odor on the display model.

They are designed in Germany and have German QC and German Schott ED glass. They are manufactured "in Asia". The Schott glass was something that they had to fight for to get the performance that they wanted.

The prototype I tried was pretty impressive. Nice optics and excellent build quality. Nice smooth focusing with no play.

The festival continues through Monday. Any questions that you would like me to ask him?

Mark

Previous Zeiss offerings have been unique in their narrow interpupillary distance, closing down to 54 or even 52 mm instead of the industry standard 56. Will the Terra EDs continue this feature? I admit I haven't googled much, but IPD can be a difficult spec to find since only a few people (like myself) are affected by it.

 

[Troubador]

Binoboy- it looks like they've stopped producing the 7x42 FL, too. Do you know if there are any plans to replace that configuration?

Zeiss UK have already posted on this Forum that everyone loves 7x but nobody buys them. I think that is pretty clear: no more 7x from Zeiss.

Lee

 

[Pileatus]

Previous Zeiss offerings have been unique in their narrow interpupillary distance, closing down to 54 or even 52 mm instead of the industry standard 56. Will the Terra EDs continue this feature? I admit I haven't googled much, but IPD can be a difficult spec to find since only a few people (like myself) are affected by it.

http://sportsoptics.zeiss.com/nature/en_us/binoculars/terraed.html#inpagetabs-2
The link for binocular specs is hidden below the text...
Here you find all technical data

TERRA ED 8x42
IPD 57.5 - 76 mm

The change in IPD tells me, perhaps incorrectly, that this bin is not 100% Zeiss design. For years, I've ignored every mid-priced bin with a low IPD of 58mm. I wonder if Zeiss picked a frame off someone's shelf?

 

[BinoBoy]

Well, I thought the bird fair ended today, but the exhibits ended at noon yesterday. When I got there, they were packing up, so I only got to talk to Mr Ingraham for a minute.

He said that there would be no HT 7x42 and he couldn't comment on replacements for the other FL.

The MC multicoating has slightly lower transmission that T* and the spectral curves have a little rounding on the shoulders. So, it is less expensive but very similar.

There are no plans for bins between the Conquest HD and the Terra ED. He feels that the Terra ED competes well against other bins in the $500 to $600 range and the Conquest HD competes well against bins in the $1000 to $1500 range, so he doesn't really feel that there is a gap. So, they feel they have the market covered with three lines.

Some other things he told me last week:

The factory in Hungary makes some components and makes eyeglass lenses, but there is no final assembly of binoculars there now.

The HT are assembled by 22 women in a clean room. Each HT goes from one woman to the next and must pass a test after each step. It takes a full day for one HT to be assembled. The cost of the HT is mostly labor. It takes eight hours to apply the T* coatings.

I didn't get to compare the Conquest HD and Terra ED again because they were already packed up when I got there.

Mark

 

[motts]

Very interesting info! Thanks for sharing!

 

[jan van daalen]

So that would mean that the maximum production capacity is round 100 HT's a week.
That's not much(?).

 

[james holdsworth]

So that would mean that the maximum production capacity is round 100 HT's a week.
That's not much(?).

Maybe the problem is that Zeiss uses a room full of women, gabbing and sniping and doing all those things women do, and it takes longer to make each bin as a result.

Before the PC police jump me, this is entirely in jest - even if my wife [who works in a room full of women] would agree with every word......

 

[Chosun Juan]

He said that the Terra ED ..... are designed in Germany and have German QC and German Schott ED glass. They are manufactured "in Asia". The Schott glass was something that they had to fight for to get the performance that they wanted.
Mark

...... And, you have found out more about where they are made than anyone else so far has. The reps. at the Zeiss booth, should be quite reliable.

It sounds like they are made in Japan. That is a good thing.

Jerry

If it was Japan, I bet they would have happily said so. Nevertheless they sound intriguing.

Jerry, whoaaa! I read this as "exactly" the "opposite".....

If they were made in Japan, I'm sure they would trumpet it loud and strong, rather than deal with the "stigma", and "quality reputation" of Made in China (especially in comparison to Made in Germany). It's those damn (wascally wabbit) tricky "rabbit ears" again!

More suprising given the price point is the "German Schott ED glass". I wonder if that means, Schott ED glass manufactured in China, by the Chinese subsidiary, of German company, Schott ??


Chosun :gh:

 

[Chosun Juan]

...... Here's my question for Ingraham: Does "MC lenses" on the ED mean the bin is NOT Fully Multi-coated or is this just marketing speak to differentiate it from the more advanced T* coatings? Thanks.

Brock

Brock !!! I am stunned !!! :eek!: :eek!:

It has taken me, fully, 3 days, to pick myself up off the floor!

S - u - r - e - l - y ........ you would have been dying to know whether or not the Terra ED has "rolling ball" ???? now that the untried by you Conquest HD is forever tarnished (for you) with reams of unpalatable "rolling ball!" 8-P

Being Made in China, you better check the fine print - just in case those tricky "Zeissians" srip in some unwranted "lowrring bawr" :-O


Chosun :gh:

 

[singraham]

Let's lay a few things from this thread to rest.
1) all the TERRA EDs anyone has seen are PROTOTYPES, and the armor is Rapid Prototyping Material, not the final armor. As it happens it has very similar consistency and feel to final armor, but NO CONCLUSIONS should be drawn as to the smell

2) The official TERRA ED story.
We (ZEISS Sports Optics) made a decision several years ago to bring the ZEISS Premium experience to new groups of birders and wildlife observers. We see the ZEISS Premium Experience as being a combination of exceptional optical performance...the brightest, highest resolution, highest contrast images available...and superior mechanical quality and performance, which includes a well balanced, easy hold, and smooth, relatively rapid, focus.
Our VICTORY Binoculars will continue to set the absolute standard for quality and permanence. They are essentially hand made in Germany. It is our intention that they simply have on competition. They are the best.
The Conquest HD line of binoculars are intended to be competitive with premium offerings from other European makers, including glasses which cost twice as much. They use a High Definition Lens design, which includes ED glass. They have the same "quality of view"...bright, sharp images...as the Victories, and the same excellent ergonomics, though in a more compact body design. We offer them at exceptional value. All CONQUETS HD products are marked Made in (binoculars), or Assembled in (riflescopes) Germany.
TERRA ED Binoculars are designed, engineered, and quality assured in Germany. In order to meet a very aggressive price point, and still bring the full ZEISS Premium Experience, assembly is outsourced (for binoculars, to China).

More specifically, since this is a TERRA ED thread, and to cover items already mention in the thread:
The optical design of the TERRA EDs is built around (real) SCHOTT ED glass, to provide the same "quality of view" as their more expensive siblings. They do not have T* Coatings, but the ZEISS MC multicoating has a very similar transmission curve and equal total transmission. We have used ZEISS MC coatings on Conquest riflescopes and binoculars for many years now. The TERRA EDs share the new look and the improved ergonomics of the VICTORY HTs and CONQUEST HDs, but in an even more compact and light weight form. The TERRA EDs are a fully premium product from ZEISS. We have done what we had to do, in today's market, to bring them within reach of those on a budget, beginning and aspiring birders and wildlife observers, and anyone who wants a real premium experience at price most can afford.

No apologies! This is a real ZEISS product and I am proud to be involved in its development (with Gerold Dobler taking the lead in Germany) and to be able to offer it to a whole new group of birders and observers! Everyone I have showed them too has been astounded when I tell them price! They are that good.

To put it another way. This is NOT the Diafun! There will be no Diafuns on my or Mr. Dobler's watch! I promise you that. (And remember, the Diafun reached the market at $700!)

You will be able to judge for yourselves when the TERRA EDs reach dealers in April...or if you get to a festival where I am between now and then. (San Diego or the new Birding Optics and Gear Expo in Columbus OH, anyone?)

 

[jan van daalen]

Singraham,

Thanks for this post.
Do I understand you correctly that the Conquest HD are MADE in Germany or are they MARKED made in Germany?
Jan

 

[jan van daalen]

To continue

In that last case 90% Japanese and 10% German would legally do
Jan.

 

[eitanaltman]

San Diego eh? I may have to scoot down to the Bird Festival in a month and check these out!

 

[singraham]

Singraham,

Thanks for this post.
Do I understand you correctly that the Conquest HD are MADE in Germany or are they MARKED made in Germany?
Jan

US import law is MUCH more strict on "country of origin" issues than German law. CONQUEST HDs are "made in Germany" under US import law definitions, which say that the "majority of the value" has to added in the country of origin. And that is all I am going to say on the subject. Let the product speak for itself.

 

[jan van daalen]

Glad to be on the same page here.
Thanks for sharing.
Jan