The area where I believe Leica has a significant edge is durability. Both binoculars have excellent warranties, but the best warranty is the one you never have to use. Leica has the highest degree of waterproofness of any company that lists their specs (to 5m).
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Both are great. Some dealers will let you buy both to try for a week then send the one you don’t want back. Testing them side-by-side is by far the best way to make this decision. Often someone immediately gravitates to one or the other for very subjective reasons that may have never entered their mind until they tried both for themselves.
Cheers,
Cameron Cox
Leica Sport Optics
QUOTE]
Hi Cameron,
http://www.degreef-partner.nl/Discovery-Serie/Discovery-8-x-44.html
Steiner also states -5 m waterproofness
As for the choice of Zeiss or Leica: I chose the Zeiss 7x42 FL's in 2006, unfortunately I could not compare them to the 7x42 Ultravids at the time of purchase. I tried the UV 8x42's and wasn't impressed.
I still regret I did not try the 7x42 UV. The Zeiss developed an issue with a wandering diopter, and I sold them to a friend of mine in 2007 for very little money ( € 250.- ) who didn't care about the diopter madness. By now the endcap on the focus wheel has fallen off ( I've seen the bins recently) and the detent on the left objective rim still reminds me of the drop of only 3 feet on a linoleum floor they made in 2006.
I would never choose an FL again, were I in the luxurious position that I had crazy money to spend. Durability issues are not to be expected in such a price class.
For the record:
I've been using a cheapish pair of compact reverse porro's as my only bins for a month now, and am quite happy. The image reminds me of the colour rendition of a Trinovid 10x32 that I had 10 years ago.
Best regards,
Ronald