ZEN ED binoculars 8x and 10x, a review.

[whacker1]

Very good posts and reviews.  I will be keeping these in mind over the next year.

[whacker1]

Charles sent me a pair of the 10x over the weekend to try out and they arrived this afternoon. What a great opportunity to down-shift from NCAA tournament research to looking out of the office building with a different set of binoculars. 

They come with a very nice travel case. In initial comparison they are smaller in size, but about the same weight as my 9 x 40 Steiner Big Horn's.  The balance is very nice, and they bear a very ergonomic feel in the hands based on the way the binoculars were designed.  The comments others have made about the lots of movement on the focus knob are accurate, but they also make very fine adjustments, which I have had problems with in some of the Nikon's and Bushnells I have tried in the past. 

I am very impressed so far.  More too report over the next couple of days when I get to play with these side by side with the Steiners. 

[columbiaman]

How much better is ZEN, comparing to ZRS? I have a set of ZRS and I am quite happy with it. Not in the market immediately another pair, but always good to know what to expect.

[boneaddict]

I'll let you know shortly.  I usd one all last fall and just got the new pair. 

[Steve C]

The ZEN is noticeably brighter than the ZRS.  The ZRS has a noticeable reddish color bias and the ZEN is more neutral.  The resolution on the ZEN is better, particularly at longer distances.  The ZEN also has a noticeably wider FOV.  The ZEN is clearly an image quality competitor to far more expensive binoculars.  The ED glass on the ZEN also noticeably reduces color fringing on high contrast targets.  I have both types and like both, but the ZRS is the second place prize winner.

[ZRS-8x42]

Thanks everyone for sharing your experience with our product. There is always room for us to do a better job to serve the members in this great community.

Just slightly off topic, I just got an email from Grant McOmie, who is the host on Grant's Gateway on KGW Channel 8 in Portland. He took his ZEN ED for his outdoor adventures too. Here is one segment aired last week. Check them out.

http://www.kgw.com/video/getaways-index.html?nvid=341713&shu=1

or you can watch it in HD mode here

g=embed&sec=&hd=1

[Jekemi]

I have become a big fan of Zen Ray bonoculars. I received a pair of Vista's and used them throughout the recent duck and geese season. About to use them for the Turkey season as well. Now I'm turning my attention to the ED Zen's. As you know ED generically stands for Extra Low Dispersion Glass. This refers to optical glass that is made using rare earth sand that when melted and formulated has the characteristic of allowing a tremendous amount of light through without flare or distortion. Generally ED glass is only found on the super-premium optics, such as Swarovski. As has been mentioned by those testing the Zen ED's they are 1/3rd the cost of comparable Swarovski binoculars with incredible performance. Saving up my pennies.

[whacker1]

Well, I have had the Zen Ray ED 10 x 43 for two weeks.  I wasn't planning on buying binoculars and neither was my wife, but the talk and reviews around the ED's was so good, I just had to demo.  So here is my two cents about them.

I took them out Saturday just before daylight.  I took my Steiner Big Horn 9 x 40 and my Leica range finder to compare with Zen Ray's.  I dropped over the hill and took a look at some birds at 100 yards.  With it being so early in the morning, my Steiners pulled in enough light to see, but difficult to make out the finer aspects of the bird.  With the ED's I began playing with the focus and as others have said - you really need to turn the knob to find the right focal point.  But after playing with a the focus for a second or two I really got a much crisper image than my steiners could provide.  I was able to make out significantly more detail than with the steiners.

I hiked a 1/2 mile or so checking at different distances and comparing back and forth.  i got to looking at some grasses and downed trees at 280 yards.  Still not fully light yet, but starting to providing enough light to shoot had it been hunting season.  I noticed that when I pull up my steiners that it is a little difficult to discern the down log in the grass.  When I pulled up the ED's, I was able to move back and forth on the focus picking up the grass and then the downed log - back and forth looking at the grass and then the log.  This really allowed me to focus on one then the other - not capable of doing this with my steiners.

one of the things that surprised me - Magnification.  I am comparing a 9x to 10x.  As most know with scopes - you can notice some difference between a 9 and 10, but it isn't usually earth shattering.  When I look through the 10 power ED's after looking through 9 power steiners - I feel like I went from a 9 to a 12 power or more.  The ED's seemed to be stronger than what I expected out of 10x magnification. 

The high points for the quick reviews: 

Pros - clarity is phenomenal, magnification is strong, field of view is great, ergonomically very comfortable, ability to manage focus is fantastic, performance at low light was very strong, travel case is awesome, pricing is fantastic

Cons - like others said - lens covers are cheesy

Against my wife's will - I bought the demo's Charles sent me. 

I used to swear that the Steiner - base model - Bighorn edition (back in the day) and now the Predator were the best binocular for under $500 ( I think I paid $329 for mine 6 years ago).  I still think they are a great binocular, however I will now be using the ED's as my primary binocular - Far better glass for the same general price range.  I will just be keeping the steiners in the pickup all year and not care any more if they get beat up. 

Thank You Charles for letting me demo the binos-and better yet letting me purchase the demos.  Nice not to have to see them go when shipping them back to you.

[ZRS-8x42]

whacker1, thanks a lot for the great comparative review. I am glad it serves up to your expectation.

[ZRS-8x42]

I want to apologize to a few members here who wish to have an immediate access to the ZEN ED 8x43. Because of its popularity, we were not able to keep up with the demand. Now the 8x43 ZEN ED is currently out of stock. But 10x43 is still available with limited supply. Now, we are taking pre-order for 8x43 for second half of June delivery. We have been working very hard to get them back in stock and meet the demand. Thank you very much for support and patience.

[Jekemi]

Charles: when are you guys going to come out with a rifle scope? I know you guys will provide value; great price and great optics. We are all waiting. The money is burning a hole in my pocket!  Any plans?

[whacker1]

I feel the same way as Dave does about a Spotting Scope in the ED line.  Charles let us know when you have an update on your ED spotting scope project

[ZRS-8x42]

We are constantly looking for opportunity to expand our product offerings. I will sure let you know when or if there is anything on the horizon. Thank you for your patience.

[yelloweyenw]

Can anyone attest to the durability of the Zen-Rays?  How long have you had them and have they held up ok?  Just to be clear, I don't consider 1 or 2 years a good test of durability.  Thanks guys!

[whacker1]

can't attest to durability - only had them for a few months.  But they feel more solid than my steiners that I have had for 7 years or so.