I just have opposite experience. The clarity and brightness just totally blew the HG away when I took them to compare HG in cabela store. From what I read, the halo affects the first batch of 7x36 binoculars that only affect a very small percentage of people. They have already put in new baffle and design to fix that issue. With the pair I have, I can count at least 6 people I know who have bought the zen binoculars. They are all quite pleased with it.