Pinewood
New York correspondent
Why would his covers be the new version? Nothing indicates that?
Hello Kristoffer,
I meant that he received the first model, that is the original style covers.
Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood
Why would his covers be the new version? Nothing indicates that?
Well said. At this stage in my life I can buy any binocular I want, but I still take great care in handling even the cheap ones, if for nothing else resale value. Take care of your stuff & you will never have any trouble with moving on with the next one .... GwenThis is my first post, just joined BirdForum.
I have been a keen birder/hiker/wilderness flyfisher for many years, and have owned all sorts of binoculars. Many years ago I had a Zeiss Jena pair, and they are still around but need realignment. In recent years I travel with cheap lightweight Nikon bins.
A year or so ago, I was hiking in the New Zealand ranges, and encountered a couple of deer hunters who were sharing the hut. At their invitation, I accompanied them, near sunset, to view (glass!) some deer they had spotted. These guys had a set of bins in a small box which they handled fairly carefully, while I just slung my Nikons round my neck.
I thought that my Nikons were adequate, but the performance of these hunters’ Leica bins (Trinovid 8x42s, I think) was something else, especially in the lowish light. When I got home and researched them, I understood why they were handling them so carefully.
Naturally I hankered after a set of these, but I baulked at the cost. Hunting (and fishing) has a rather more direct investment/return equation than birding. I largely sublimated these hankerings by the simple expedient of buying my lovely spouse (also a keen birder and hiker) some 10x25 Ultravids for a birthday gift. Great optics, compact, light, robust, these did the business. She loves them, and I get to use them from time to time.
However, the memory of the effect of that 5.25 mm exit pupil remained, and when I decided to look out some decent 8x42s, I stumbled on these debates on the Internet about Chinese optics. At the time of stumbling, the ZR ED2 was newly released, and given the general tenor of the reviews, a punt seemed in order.
Well, these Zen-Ray 8x43 ED2s have definitely been a rewarding acquisition. Very high wow-factor. Good enough for me. I don’t get any of these ghosting crescents unless I adopt a very peculiar viewing position, and can’t get ghosting crescents at all with the eyecups at ¾ extension, just fantastic views.
Binocular durability has been debated in various forums. I don’t intend to throw these binoculars around, nor would I throw around my wife’s Ultravids; I look after my stuff.
I just got the oppurtunity to run the 8x43 ED2's. First off the ergo's are a dream fit my hands perfect. Build quality was good! Eyecups firm indent's no play, focus was smooth ever so slight backlash at infinity, bridge tension was firm not loose. Optically very sharp in center, fov falloff was gradual quite good in this respect, very pleasant relaxed view! I have seen worse in this regard! Over all a big thumbs up! No need to repeat all that's been posted just another user's affirmation! I would keep these if I didn't already have the 7x36 ED 2's! I'm very impressed with Zen-Ray, they make fine affordable glass! I can see alot of people using these they are a good binocular! Bryce...
Was wondering if any of the owners of the Zen Rays 8x or 10x ED2 wear glasses when using them and if they have had any issues? The 15.2mm eye relief on the 10X looks like it could be marginal with glasses??
I just got the oppurtunity to run the 8x43 ED2's. First off the ergo's are a dream fit my hands perfect. Build quality was good! Eyecups firm indent's no play, focus was smooth ever so slight backlash at infinity, bridge tension was firm not loose. Optically very sharp in center, fov falloff was gradual quite good in this respect, very pleasant relaxed view! I have seen worse in this regard! Over all a big thumbs up! No need to repeat all that's been posted just another user's affirmation! I would keep these if I didn't already have the 7x36 ED 2's! I'm very impressed with Zen-Ray, they make fine affordable glass! I can see alot of people using these they are a good binocular! Bryce...
http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=2407Here we have three binoculars of nearly equal size and exit pupil. Without analysis, we would expect them to be equally bright. But we can see from the illumination data that the Fujinon provides an effective 932 out of 1272 toal sq mm of illumination, far more light to the exit pupil than either the Bushnell Legend or the ZEN ED2, even though it is slightly smaller in total light gathering area.
hmmmmm.......well, brightness isn't everything....
http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=2407
The ZRS seems very slightly brighter than the ED2 (to my eyes)
I have 10x ED2 and 7x ED2. I split my time half and half between two of them.