8x42 Zeiss FL Binos
05-21-2005, 12:06 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Ohio
Posts: 28
8x42 Zeiss FL Binos
After reading as many binocular threads and reviews as I could find on various hunting sites and birdforum and carefully evaluating my uses, I narrowed my selection and made the 2 hour trip to Cabelas to do some shopping.
Ive been using a pair of 10x42 B&L Discoverers (roof prism models) for about the past 5 years and have found them optically to be pretty good, but I have found the 10x to be difficult to make out detail at times due to the amount of magnified hand shake and found myself wanting a wider field of view.
So I decided to start shopping for a premium pair of 7 or 8x42, the candidates needed to be light weight under 30 oz.,they needed to have a good wide field of view and after reviewing specs I decided on atleast 390ft./1000yds., they needed to have a locking diopter setup where the diopter wouldn't be getting bumped and innadvertently adjusted, they needed to have a good comfortable in hand feel and they needed to have click stop detents on the twist out eye cups.
I narrowed my choice down to the Leica Ultravids, the Zeiss FL's and Swarovski EL's. The Trinovids and SLCs were eliminated due to exceeding my weight limit, the Nikon LXLs and Brunton Epochs were eliminated due to my F.O.V. limit.
I found the view through all 3 to be excellent just as I had expected it would be, however I found the feel of the 8x42 Leica's to be very uncomfortable in my hands, I found the focuser felt very rough, and found that long straight items such as the beams inside the building bent sharply in the edges of the field moreso than in either the 7 or 8x Zeiss or the EL's.
The 8.5x42 EL's felt much better in my hands than the Leica's, they had a much smoother focuser which was noticably slower than both the Zeiss or Leicas but the twist out eye cups felt just like the ones on my B&L's that don't stay twisted out when I go out walking around.
The Zeiss FL's I found to be extremely comfortable in my hands, I love the smooth housings without the thumb indentations on the underside which most binos have and I tend to find annoying, the focuser felt very smooth and faster than the others, about the same as my B&L's, like the Leicas the eyecups have the click stop detents which when you twist them out they stay out, they are the lightest of the 3 and the weight difference is noticeable. The view through them is awesome, exteremely clear and bright, after having them for a week now I can deffinately see the difference in the amount of magnified hand shake between the 8 and 10x binos and with the supperior optics I can see much more detail through them.
Optically I found them all to be extremely close, my decision was based more on feel and features and for me it was the Zeiss FL with the Swarovski a close second with the eyecups being the determining factor.
For anyone in the market for a pair of premium binoculars I highly recomend that you check these out, however I don't believe you could go wrong with anyone of these three as they are all very nice.
Ive been using a pair of 10x42 B&L Discoverers (roof prism models) for about the past 5 years and have found them optically to be pretty good, but I have found the 10x to be difficult to make out detail at times due to the amount of magnified hand shake and found myself wanting a wider field of view.
So I decided to start shopping for a premium pair of 7 or 8x42, the candidates needed to be light weight under 30 oz.,they needed to have a good wide field of view and after reviewing specs I decided on atleast 390ft./1000yds., they needed to have a locking diopter setup where the diopter wouldn't be getting bumped and innadvertently adjusted, they needed to have a good comfortable in hand feel and they needed to have click stop detents on the twist out eye cups.
I narrowed my choice down to the Leica Ultravids, the Zeiss FL's and Swarovski EL's. The Trinovids and SLCs were eliminated due to exceeding my weight limit, the Nikon LXLs and Brunton Epochs were eliminated due to my F.O.V. limit.
I found the view through all 3 to be excellent just as I had expected it would be, however I found the feel of the 8x42 Leica's to be very uncomfortable in my hands, I found the focuser felt very rough, and found that long straight items such as the beams inside the building bent sharply in the edges of the field moreso than in either the 7 or 8x Zeiss or the EL's.
The 8.5x42 EL's felt much better in my hands than the Leica's, they had a much smoother focuser which was noticably slower than both the Zeiss or Leicas but the twist out eye cups felt just like the ones on my B&L's that don't stay twisted out when I go out walking around.
The Zeiss FL's I found to be extremely comfortable in my hands, I love the smooth housings without the thumb indentations on the underside which most binos have and I tend to find annoying, the focuser felt very smooth and faster than the others, about the same as my B&L's, like the Leicas the eyecups have the click stop detents which when you twist them out they stay out, they are the lightest of the 3 and the weight difference is noticeable. The view through them is awesome, exteremely clear and bright, after having them for a week now I can deffinately see the difference in the amount of magnified hand shake between the 8 and 10x binos and with the supperior optics I can see much more detail through them.
Optically I found them all to be extremely close, my decision was based more on feel and features and for me it was the Zeiss FL with the Swarovski a close second with the eyecups being the determining factor.
For anyone in the market for a pair of premium binoculars I highly recomend that you check these out, however I don't believe you could go wrong with anyone of these three as they are all very nice.
05-24-2005, 05:50 AM
#3
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Lehigh County PA USA
Posts: 12,157
RE: 8x42 Zeiss FL Binos
Very nicely done. Your comments mirror many of those that I have seen posted for those binoculars on the various optic review websites. The Zeiss Victory FL, arguably, offer the most advanced optics on the market today. The introduction of fluorite into the lens system greatly increases brightness/contrast while reducing chromatic aberration. Probably the only "sem-negative" comments I have seen made in reference to them is that they are a bit long in comparison to many of the competition.
If I had that type of money to invest in another set of binos I would definitely be considering the FLs. For now though I am more than satisfied with my Venturer LXs. Again, nice review.
If I had that type of money to invest in another set of binos I would definitely be considering the FLs. For now though I am more than satisfied with my Venturer LXs. Again, nice review.
