Zeiss Victory 8 x 42 SF It Is! (1 Viewer)

[UTGrad]

After careful comparisons of the NL Pure and Victory SF, I just ordered a pair of 8 x 42 SFs and look forward to taking them afield.

The US retailer Euro Optic has a demo pair for $2066 and I jumped on it. I’ve purchased their demo optics in the past and they have been flawless.

Although the NL Pure has a larger FOV and viewing angle, I’m a Zeiss fan and their sharpness and color renditions have always worked for my eyes. Also their US warranty center is in the state of Kentucky which is next door to me here in Tennessee.

I look forward to low light glassing and finally after many years, owning my first alpha glass. My current pair are Zeiss Conquest 10 x 42s which have been great.

 

[GrampaTom]

After careful comparisons of the NL Pure and Victory SF, I just ordered a pair of 8 x 42 SFs and look forward to taking them afield.

The US retailer Euro Optic has a demo pair for $2066 and I jumped on it. I’ve purchased their demo optics in the past and they have been flawless.

Although the NL Pure has a larger FOV and viewing angle, I’m a Zeiss fan and their sharpness and color renditions have always worked for my eyes. Also their US warranty center is in the state of Kentucky which is next door to me here in Tennessee.

I look forward to low light glassing and finally after many years, owning my first alpha glass. My current pair are Zeiss Conquest 10 x 42s which have been great.

Cool, Nice choice.

 

[Scott98]

Congrats! not only a great state-of-the-art binocular but a great deal, I saw the recent batch of Zeiss demos at Euro Optic. Was tempted to try the Victory HT 10x54 again but restrained myself. They have both 8x and 10x. I tried a demo pair of Swaro EL 8x32 from Euro Optic and they appeared brand new in every way. I tried a Curio demo as well, it arrived with a broken focuser and they refunded every dollar including shipping cost.

Agree on the sharpness, I upgraded to the SF 8x42 in September and I'm been impressed with them for astronomy at night, which is the most demanding application IMO. The 92% transmission is appreciated and the star images are tighter points than anything else I've used. Super-clean image quality.

The wide separation of the barrels is also unique, there's room to completely curl both hands around the barrels which is really nice, the comfort factor is a 10 out of 10 on these. Looking forward to your impressions!

 

[UTGrad]

Congrats! not only a great state-of-the-art binocular but a great deal, I saw the recent batch of Zeiss demos at Euro Optic. Was tempted to try the Victory HT 10x54 again but restrained myself. They have both 8x and 10x. I tried a demo pair of Swaro EL 8x32 from Euro Optic and they appeared brand new in every way. I tried a Curio demo as well, it arrived with a broken focuser and they refunded every dollar including shipping cost.

Agree on the sharpness, I upgraded to the SF 8x42 in September and I'm been impressed with them for astronomy at night, which is the most demanding application IMO. The 92% transmission is appreciated and the star images are tighter points than anything else I've used. Super-clean image quality.

The wide separation of the barrels is also unique, there's room to completely curl both hands around the barrels which is really nice, the comfort factor is a 10 out of 10 on these. Looking forward to your impressions!

Thank you and I will certainly report back!

 

[UTGrad]

Astonishing edge to edge clarity, FOV, sharpness, and controls.

Right off the bat I noticed an internal glare/reflection outside the FOV but inside the eye piece. It’s kind of distracting in bright light. I narrowed it down to this ring inside the eye piece.

 

[Scott98]

interesting, mine have the same thing, you are an astute observer, I didn't catch the reflection during the day yet.

 

[james holdsworth]

So was Dennis really right about these?

 

[Troubador]

I used my SF8x42s for 5 years for looking at wildlife and was never distracted by anything like this.

Lee

 

[Scott98]

could this be something caused by eyeglasses? If you wear them you might want to take them off & see if that clears it up

 

[Troubador]

could this be something caused by eyeglasses? If you wear them you might want to take them off & see if that clears it up

But if you are wearing eyeglasses it is because you need them to improve your vision so it would be a very drastic step to abandon this quality of vision because of this minor issue. Just ignore it.

Lee

 

[UTGrad]

could this be something caused by eyeglasses? If you wear them you might want to take them off & see if that clears it up

I don’t wear glasses

 

[UTGrad]

But if you are wearing eyeglasses it is because you need them to improve your vision so it would be a very drastic step to abandon this quality of vision because of this minor issue. Just ignore it.

Lee

I think it’s a case of a new binocular and also I like to view with eye cups all the way in and anchor the cup on my brow to get a steady and full FOV. When I extend the eye cups it disappears but FOV narrows.

 

[Maljunulo]

Just a minor niggle: non-extreme refractive errors can be compensated for by focusing the binocular.

Astigmatism needs correction outside the binocular.

 

[Scott98]

I think it’s a case of a new binocular and also I like to view with eye cups all the way in and anchor the cup on my brow to get a steady and full FOV. When I extend the eye cups it disappears but FOV narrows.

Wow, great example of how people have different anatomy. For me extending the eyecups all the way out isn't enough, and I can still see the field stop and beyond.

So some skylight must be finding a way inside the eyecups when they're all the way down. The positioning of the eyecups seems crucial with these. I don't know if all wide-field binos are like this. You really need to dial it in for them to work well.

 

[mgp13]

Astonishing edge to edge clarity, FOV, sharpness, and controls.

Right off the bat I noticed an internal glare/reflection outside the FOV but inside the eye piece. It’s kind of distracting in bright light. I narrowed it down to this ring inside the eye piece.

I sent mine back for replacement because of this.