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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Kevin Purcell" data-source="post: 1387415" data-attributes="member: 68323">On the ZR 10x I found the close focus at a bit under 2m (about 5 feet or so).I alos roughly estimated the amount of focus turning need to get across "birding" distances (for me 3m/10ft to infinity). That was between 1.5 and 1.75 turns. The other 3/4 of a turn is closer than 3m (which takes quite a lotFor the Hawke 8x the results are similar with 1.125 turns from 10 feet to 5 feet! Outside the normal birding range for me at least. About 1 turn covers my usual birding range from 10 feet to infinity and another 0.5 turn after infinity (to compensate for myopes). So the usual birding "range" is actually not that far on the bin. Depending on your state of vision (this is for corrected vision) your range would move around.Not tried this with the ZR 8x because of the focusing stiffness issue but I suspect it'll be identical. I'm getting pretty convinced that the optics is the same but perhaps "tweaked" in the ZR. Sort of a 1.2 revision of the bin after the PM 1.0 and the Hawke 1.1.I noticed this and it's a little different to most other bins I've used. Both PM and Hawke just have a dial with no click stops which takes different amounts of force on my samples. The PM is about right: easy enough to move without moving on it's own. The Hawke setting is a bit stiffer and is more of a pain to set. Then again one only need set it once in a while.I do have other bins (Pentax SP? I forget which one has this!) that have a click set dial but it is more lumpy than this. Setting on those is more click ... click ... click. With the ZR it's more like a system to let you keep count rather than to hold it in place. It feels like a freely rotating wheel with soft clicks. I suspect you can set it between clicks though I'm not sure how well it will keep.After the previous "halo" comments I took the Hawke and the ZR 8x outside just to see if I could get stray light results. As I got out the sun was disappearing into the fog over the Puget Sound. So no results as I couldn't get "halo" like stray light in the Hawke (or the ZR) with that light. It's not actually that easy to find but it does happen in the Hawke (when it does it's outside the field stop ... it doesn't mess up the view ... and as I don't see the full FOV I tend to miss it).But the result I did get was to walk down a couple of blocks to the site of a failed "town house" development which is now a little nature reserve with resident Annas Hummingbird, assorted small passerines, and the occasional Cooper's Hawk. The light was turning to twilight some light from the distant sun illuminated fog but more from the blue sky. Better for checking bins (as every bin looks good in the sun!). I ABed the Hawke 8x and the ZR 8x against the trees and sky and a 50m distant fir with a coupe of Starlings and an American Robin in the top. After quite a few checks it became clear that the ZR 8x was brighter (i.e. has higher transmission) than the Hawke. It's a just noticeable difference when ABing but the ZR seems just a little brighter, little more colorful, a slightly bigger contrast range. So I think there are some tweaks in the mirror coating or the AR coating (or the silver coating in the Hawke is oxidizing <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /> )I thought I saw something on Sunday. And I was more convinced on Monday with some duck birding I haven't written up yet with the 10x comparing it to a 10x porro. But now I'm pretty sure the ZR has higher transmission than the Hawke or PM. Just by a little but I can see it.</blockquote>

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