Zeiss Victory SF 8x42: First Impressions (1 Viewer)

[jan van daalen]

Jan,

I happen to think Dennis is right in this case.

I like Lee and what he brings to the table but as of late it seems he wants to play
some kind of mediator, let the thread unfold let people figure it out on there own!

Its been more prevalent in these Zeiss SF threads.

In my opinion he isn't acting any different pumping the sf as Dennis has with the sv.

Its just not as blunt and to the point.

Bryce...

Hi Bryce,

Dennis has the tension to charche trough the verbal porcelan like an elephant and that made me react.
But since I know he is surrounded by people who just walk in short trousers and T-shirts at minus 20 degrees Celsius, I should have realized that he can't be blamed

Jan

 

[Troubador]

I am not a Zeiss or a Swaro fanboy. I do like quality optics though. The Zeiss fans seem to defending their new binocular and I understand that. I am not trying to knock the SF rather I am trying to determine if there is any problems with it and if it is worth buying one when I have already have a Swaro SV. I like Zeiss optics. I had an 8x32 FL , as well as, a 10x42 FL and I have had several of their compacts including the 8x20 Victory and even a couple of their monoculars. I was going to buy one but we have had some feedback that indicates their could be some minor problems with the first binoculars being shipped. I am going to wait and see for awhile now to see if any problems crop up. I am not sure at this point if the SF is actually better overall than what I have which is the SV so why should I buy it? I think it just might be another alpha binocular to choose from rather than the best birding binocular in the world as Zeiss says it is.(They sound like me,HaHa).

Agreed

Lee

 

[mooreorless]

Zeiss promo!

Does not get any better than that!:t:

 

[HighNorth]

Now give it the ultimate test. Pick up a a fishing pole, tie the SF strap on the end, and then submerge the SF into the fishing hole in the ice over night. Of course, it might get swallowed by one of the 300 Saimaa ringed seals still left. :eat:

Congratulations! on your new SF.

Brock

Hi Brock!

I would rather not try that, even though I am sure the SF could withstand it! I don't want my brand new SF to end up in the belly of some large marine mammal! :eat: :-O

 

[Binastro]

' How many moons can you see? That is a good indicator of resolution. If you can see 4 clearly that is good.'

This is one of the silliest statements I have seen.

The moons of Jupiter are constantly changing. Only a maximum of 4 are visible in binoculars of less than 200 mm aperture.

Last night, only one moon was easily visible in the early morning, Ganymede, as the other three were involved with Jupiter itself. It may be at the time HighNorth was viewing he could see other moons very close to the limb of Jupiter. In fact at around 01.00UT this morning HighNorth probably saw 2 moons. Ganymede far to the left and a bright moon near left, which was in fact all the other 3 moons combined. It may be the Canon 18x50IS could separate this combined moon, but I would be interested to see what HighNorth actually saw and at what time.

In addition, now there are mutual events, where the moons are passing directly in front or behind each other. Even without these mutual events sometimes Jupiter's moons are so close to each other that they cannot be resolved in handheld binoculars.

How many moons you see near Jupiter varies constantly. The resolution, the light grasp, the observer's eyesight, light pollution, transparency of the atmosphere, the elevation of Jupiter etc etc dictate how many moons can be seen. But mainly where each moon is in the constant dance that they have around Jupiter.

The Zeiss 8×42 SF should do very well, especially from a dark location. Jupiter is also high in the sky, even from latitude 70° North.

The best handheld binocular, for observing Jupiter's moons, with a reasonable weight for me is the Canon 18×50 I S.
Other image stabilised binoculars are also very good.

 

[Hermann]

Now give it the ultimate test. Pick up a a fishing pole, tie the SF strap on the end, and then submerge the SF into the fishing hole in the ice over night. Of course, it might get swallowed by one of the 300 Saimaa ringed seals still left. :eat:

Not a bad idea. But it would have to be a *very* long fishing pole, given that HighNorth is in Kirkenes ... That's only something like 1000 miles to the north of the area where the remaining Saimaa Ringed Seals live.

Hermann
who missed seeing the seals on
his trip to that part of the world

 

[[email protected]]

' How many moons can you see? That is a good indicator of resolution. If you can see 4 clearly that is good.'

This is one of the silliest statements I have seen.

The moons of Jupiter are constantly changing. Only a maximum of 4 are visible in binoculars of less than 200 mm aperture.

Last night, only one moon was easily visible in the early morning, Ganymede, as the other three were involved with Jupiter itself. It may be at the time HighNorth was viewing he could see other moons very close to the limb of Jupiter. In fact at around 01.00UT this morning HighNorth probably saw 2 moons. Ganymede far to the left and a bright moon near left, which was in fact all the other 3 moons combined. It may be the Canon 18x50IS could separate this combined moon, but I would be interested to see what HighNorth actually saw and at what time.

In addition, now there are mutual events, where the moons are passing directly in front or behind each other. Even without these mutual events sometimes Jupiter's moons are so close to each other that they cannot be resolved in handheld binoculars.

How many moons you see near Jupiter varies constantly. The resolution, the light grasp, the observer's eyesight, light pollution, transparency of the atmosphere, the elevation of Jupiter etc etc dictate how many moons can be seen. But mainly where each moon is in the constant dance that they have around Jupiter.

The Zeiss 8×42 SF should do very well, especially from a dark location. Jupiter is also high in the sky, even from latitude 70° North.

The best handheld binocular, for observing Jupiter's moons, with a reasonable weight for me is the Canon 18×50 I S.
Other image stabilised binoculars are also very good.

The Canon 10x30 IS is pretty good also. I can't see all 67 of Jupiters moons though like the SF. That Zeiss SF must be something.

 

[Swissboy]

Hello Swissboy! The temperature in the Kirkenes/Varanger area will probably be in the range of +5/-5. However, it can get windy and rainy/snowy, so it may seem much colder! It can also get a lot colder inland away from the coastal areas.

You won't find much good birding in Kirkenes I am afraid, but if you make a stop in Vadsø or Vardø, you are almost guaranteed to see Steller's Eiders, King Eiders, Common Eiders, and a lot of other sea birds.

I would recommend staying for a day or two in either town, but if you don't have time to stop over, you could still see lots of birds from the deck of the ferry. The ferry will stop in the middle of the Vadsø and Vardø harbours, and that's where the birds are! In Vardø, you also have the magnificent Hornøya, a bird cliff on an island which is only accessible by boat, and in Vadsø you have Ekkerøy bird cliff, which can be reached by a 15 min taxi ride.

Hope this helps! :t:

Definitely helpful, thanks. We'll probably not leave the ship anywhere, though I have not studied the schedule in detail yet. I know there is not much time at Kirkenes. This is a return trip with three nights in a row on the ship. I guess the bird cliffs would not be all that interesting in mid March yet? The intention is to basically look for birds from the ship.

Any ideas whether there is a good chance for Dovekies anywhere along the route? I presume those would have to be expected further west?

 

[Swissboy]

Comfortable handling.

I think that the SF has to be compared with another alpha bin, not just raise the bin ............

I had a brief chance to handle an 8x42 SF today. No info on the optics at this point. However, there is one point that struck me immediately. It is the one binocular that felt most comfortable in my hands right from the beginning. And I have handled and to some extent owned many alpha and other bins over the years. Excellent balance and perfectly structured surface. I still recall my first experience long ago with a Swaro 8.5x42 that felt clumsy in my smallish hands, with a barrel that was too thick for me to feel comfortable. With the Zeiss SF today, despite the fact that it has considerable similarites, the barrels felt just right.

 

[HighNorth]

Definitely helpful, thanks. We'll probably not leave the ship anywhere, though I have not studied the schedule in detail yet. I know there is not much time at Kirkenes. This is a return trip with three nights in a row on the ship. I guess the bird cliffs would not be all that interesting in mid March yet? The intention is to basically look for birds from the ship.

Any ideas whether there is a good chance for Dovekies anywhere along the route? I presume those would have to be expected further west?

Hi!

Dovekies have been observed on the Varanger peninsula actually. I think the best period for birding is April-May. However, the eiders you are looking for will be there even in winter. You will see plenty of seabirds when you arrive in the Vadsø and Vardø harbours, and you don't even have to leave the ferry. If you are traveling on one of the more modern ferries, there is usually a lounge with large windows for observation on the upper deck. Just set up your tripod and spotting scope, order a drink in the bar and enjoy the view! That's what I would do! :t:

 

[Swissboy]

Hi!

Dovekies have been observed on the Varanger peninsula actually. I think the best period for birding is April-May. However, the eiders you are looking for will be there even in winter. You will see plenty of seabirds when you arrive in the Vadsø and Vardø harbours, and you don't even have to leave the ferry. If you are traveling on one of the more modern ferries, there is usually a lounge with large windows for observation on the upper deck. Just set up your tripod and spotting scope, order a drink in the bar and enjoy the view! That's what I would do! :t:

That's what I plan as well, at least when it's cold. We'll be on the Richard With, not too modern, which I like. As this is really an Aurora borealis trip, I did not want to wait till the nights are too short. Plus, those ducks will mostly be gone by April-May.

 

[HighNorth]

That's what I plan as well, at least when it's cold. We'll be on the Richard With, not too modern, which I like. As this is really an Aurora borealis trip, I did not want to wait till the nights are too short. Plus, those ducks will mostly be gone by April-May.

About the Richard With:

"The panorama lounges, Horisont and Syvstjernen, treat you to unforgettable views of the surrounding scenery." :t:

I have only taken the Hurtigruten on short hops from Kirkenes to Vardø and back, but the whole coastline north of Tromsø is truly magnificent! I hope you get clear weather and lots of activity on the sun, so you will see a lot of Auroras!

 

[HighNorth]

I would be interested to see what HighNorth actually saw and at what time.

Hello Binastro!

This was the view through my 8" Newtonian at about 75x magnification at 01:06 CET on 24th of January. With the 8x42 SF, only two moons were visible (or maybe actually three moons, where two of them seem to appear as one, as you said). By the way, you are looking at my first ever astro-photograph, so feel free to congratulate me! ||

 

[Binastro]

Hi HighNorth,
that is a fine effort for your first Astro photograph. What camera where you using? What were the exposure details?
It is particularly good as I don't think you have a driven telescope.

The view in the Zeiss 8×42 SF, (which must be particularly at home in Suomi Finland), would depend on what time you were viewing. The three inner moons were closing slowly on each other.

Of course in the much larger telescope you would be able to 3 or four moons.

In the photograph, the middle moon may be two moons combined, I will look up to see what they were.

At cold temperatures, both with film and digital sensors, the sensitivity increases. I think that there is less noise with digital sensors when it is cold, and Astro cameras are artificially cooled.

I like the photograph of the intrepid Arctic explorer.

A long time ago I had a Norwegian girlfriend, and although I was pretty fit when I was young, she was much fitter than me. The thing is that most Norwegians are pretty tough from from walking up and down mountains, skiing etc.
What amazed me was that in the hotels the fire escape consisted of a very thick rope with thick knots, and even the elderly were supposed to be able to climb down the rope from the sixth or eighth floor. No proper fire escapes for cIssies.

Of course in the telescope the view is inverted compared to the binocular view.

 

[HighNorth]

Hi HighNorth,
that is a fine effort for your first Astro photograph. What camera where you using? What were the exposure details?
It is particularly good as I don't think you have a driven telescope.

The view in the Zeiss 8×42 SF, (which must be particularly at home in Suomi Finland), would depend on what time you were viewing. The three inner moons were closing slowly on each other.

Of course in the much larger telescope you would be able to 3 or four moons.

In the photograph, the middle moon may be two moons combined, I will look up to see what they were.

At cold temperatures, both with film and digital sensors, the sensitivity increases. I think that there is less noise with digital sensors when it is cold, and Astro cameras are artificially cooled.

I like the photograph of the intrepid Arctic explorer.

A long time ago I had a Norwegian girlfriend, and although I was pretty fit when I was young, she was much fitter than me. The thing is that most Norwegians are pretty tough from from walking up and down mountains, skiing etc.
What amazed me was that in the hotels the fire escape consisted of a very thick rope with thick knots, and even the elderly were supposed to be able to climb down the rope from the sixth or eighth floor. No proper fire escapes for cIssies.

Of course in the telescope the view is inverted compared to the binocular view.

Hello Binastro!

I suspect the three moons visible in the picture would be Callisto, Io and Europa, from closest to furthest away from Jupiter. Ganymede is outside the picture entirely it seems, as the FOV wasn't large enough (or my camera was not able to capture it for some reason.)

At least this would coincide well with the picture I got from my Stellarium software at the designated time and date.

I use a Fujinon X10 point-and-shoot camera with a manual zoom. As I'm a very amateur(ish) photographer, I couldn't tell you a lot about which settings I used, but I know I used an ISO of 800.

We Norwegians used to be fitter, at least the general populace (post-War prosperity gets the blame) but we still produce some good cross-country skiers, so good in fact, that nobody else wants to compete with us!

 

[jan van daalen]

Hello Binastro!

I suspect the three moons visible in the picture would be Callisto, Io and Europa, from closest to furthest away from Jupiter. Ganymede is outside the picture entirely it seems, as the FOV wasn't large enough (or my camera was not able to capture it for some reason.)

At least this would coincide well with the picture I got from my Stellarium software at the designated time and date.

I use a Fujinon X10 point-and-shoot camera with a manual zoom. As I'm a very amateur(ish) photographer, I couldn't tell you a lot about which settings I used, but I know I used an ISO of 800.

We Norwegians used to be fitter, at least the general populace (post-War prosperity gets the blame) but we still produce some good cross-country skiers, so good in fact, that nobody else wants to compete with us!

And what about ice skating???????????

Jan

 

[HighNorth]

And what about ice skating???????????

Jan

I guess Holland dominates that sport in the same way we do cross-country skiing!

 

[brocknroller]

Zeiss promo!

HighNorth,

A Meade reflector? How long does it take for the mirror to reach equilibrium at -5C?

Now if you hadn't gotten the the SF, for just a bit more, you could have bought a Televue 102 f/8.6 APO refractor for observing the planets and saw planetary detail chromatic aberration free. I looked through Leif Robinson's TV 102 at our star party the year I asked him to be our keynote speaker (Leif is the former editor of Sky & Telescope), and it gave great views of Jupiter and its moons. I could see the Great Red Spot easily, though at the time, it was paler, almost pink.

I also looked through a TV 101 that night, which I preferred for the wider FOV (4.9° @ 250x). Great for clusters. But no doubt, you will get much more use from the SF.

You'd better zip up your hoodie, it looks a patch of your hairy chest is exposed between the top of the zipper and the bottom of the face mask! Brrrrrr... Mild here today, but we've got a "Alberta Clipper" coming our way tonight.

Brock

 

[HighNorth]

HighNorth,

A Meade reflector? How long does it take for the mirror to reach equilibrium at -5C?

Now if you hadn't gotten the the SF, for just a bit more, you could have bought a Televue 102 f/8.6 APO refractor for observing the planets and saw planetary detail chromatic aberration free. I looked through Leif Robinson's TV 102 at our star party the year I asked him to be our keynote speaker (Leif is the former editor of Sky & Telescope), and it gave great views of Jupiter and its moons. I could see the Great Red Spot easily, though at the time, it was paler, almost pink.

I also looked through a TV 101 that night, which I preferred for the wider FOV (4.9° @ 250x). Great for clusters. But no doubt, you will get much more use from the SF.

You'd better zip up your hoodie, it looks a patch of your hairy chest is exposed between the top of the zipper and the bottom of the face mask! Brrrrrr... Mild here today, but we've got a "Alberta Clipper" coming our way tonight.

Brock

Hi there Brock!

It's a GSO; Tawanese made. I figured I'd get something cheap and nasty in case I'd wreck it during the first collimation or something. It works well though, and I'm sold on the large (affordable) apperture of the reflectors!

The TeleVue refractors are awesome, but as you say, the SF is more versatile. I do respect what Uncle Al is doing at TeleVue though; I might even buy one of his eyepieces one day! :t:

Showing chest-hair is for real men; not Swaro-girlymen with matchstick arms and cricket bat shoulders!

 

[Omid]

I saw the Victory SF at the Shot Show last week. The field of view looked nice and wide. The binoculars felt very light and comfortable as well. If I was in the market for new binoculars, I would consider them but I already have some Leica and a pair of Nikon 8x32 HGs so I am OK