From reading the specs and reviews (here and elsewhere) on the Ultravids, ELs and FLs, it seemed to me that the FLs were as close to the "perfect bins" as were being made - best close focus, near elimination of CA, brightest view, what has been described as the best center sharpness anywhere (even from the FL detractors), etc. Then the recent posts about off axis softness! Well something that sounds too good to be true probably is. But, I needed to find out for myself.
With no real opportunity to try out the Ultravids, ELs and FLs locally, I had the good fortune of attending a wedding in Houston this weekend. Perfect, I thought, I can now try all three. Well, not quite. I did find the Ultravids and the ELs, but no FLs. It was an overcast day (better for testing, I think). So, some thoughts on what I found, and what I ended up buying:
Ultravids: Beautiful glass! Images were crisp and sharp. Some softness at the edge, but no big deal. A little color fringing, but not terrible. Overall very, very nice. And I would have been perfectly happy with a pair if not for my very subjective issue with the thumb ridges. After playing with them for about an hour I could not for the life of me get comfortable with them. The ridge hit me at the first joint of my thumb. Eliminate the thumb ridge, and I might have walked out with a set of 10X42s.
Swaro ELs: Ergonomically, the most comfortable pair of bins I've ever held. Very balanced in the hand, the thumb impressions were great, and the ability to wrap the hand around the barrel made the 10x very stable. Little more CA than with the Ultravids, and a slight yellowish cast to the view. But the kicker was the focus mechanism. Yes, the ability to fine tune the focus was great, but the long travel was too much for me. So, scratch the ELs.
I did talk with the salesman for a long time about Zeiss and the FLs. He was formerly a great Zeiss fan until the arrival of the Victory series. This was at Land, Sky and Sea (a division of Texas Optical Repair, Inc.) in Houston and Eric was very knowledgable and helpful about all optical subjects. He had not yet seen a Zeiss FL in the flesh, but said that they could be the bin that brings Zeiss back to the forefront, especially after what he viewed as the failure of the Victory series. We discussed the talk on this forum about edge softness. He did speculate (restating that he had not actually seen them yet) that with the new flouride optics (as in the Zeiss Diascopes) the barrel would probably have to be longer (than the stated specs) to completely eliminate the soft edge due to curvature (forgive my paraphrasing of his point, but it sounded good at the time, and it could explain what some are seeing as unacceptable edge quality). He also said that the reportedly unbelievable center sharpness could have also contributed to the perception of greater softness off axis. He did say that he felt the Zeiss Diascopes (which use the same optics) are optically the sharpest and brightest scopes he has seen.
So what did I end up doing? Well I bought the last pair of Zeiss 7X42 B/GAT Dialyts they had! Went completely the other direction from what I set out to get (as far as magnification is concerned). I've decided I need both a 7x and a 10x. In testing the 7x vs. the 8x, I couldn't see THAT MUCH difference. 7x for those times I am in a boat on the bayous and in the hardwood bottoms, and a 10x for the shore birds and waterfowl. And the optics of the B/GATs....INCREDIBLE! I almost bought these 20 years ago, and only getting a GREAT deal on the B&L Elites prevented me from doing it.
Pros and Cons of the 7X42 Dialyts? Well, the Pros far outweighed the perceived and real Cons.
Pros:
1. Beautifuly balanced and a very robust build. Very well balanced feel in the hand. Almost 25 years of use have proven the design to be a very good one.
2. The optics are superb! Incredibly bright and contrast & resolution are great. Very slight CA that I could detect - but not an issue.
3. Rumors (on this forum and elsewhere) that these are being discontinued. I wanted a pair while I could still get them.
4. Wide FOV that is very pleasing to the eye.
5. The price. I got these for less than $900US. Another $500 - $700 for the Ultravids or ELs. Although price was not a consideration for this.
Cons:
1. Well, they aren't nitrogen purged, but Zeiss has changed their warranty to cover any water or fogging damage to these bins.
2. Narrow focus wheel, but that didn't bother me at all, so no problem there.
3. Old-style rubber eyecups. OK, this is an outdated design, but since I don't wear eyeglasses, it's not a problem for me. In fact, I find the soft rubber more comfortable for me than the harder plastic of the newer models. If one wears glasses, then maybe it's more of an issue.
4. Diopter ring on the right eyepeice is easily knocked off the setting. First real drawback.
5 Close focus is a little long. OK, this and diopter mechanism are the only real Cons to me. But, did I mention that the optics are superb?
So, I am still in the market for the 10X42s, but I won't make that choice until I can get my hands on a pair of the new FLs. And I will THOROUGHLY test the on-axis vs. off-axis shaprness issue. Interestingly, I have only looked for this problem since reading these posts about the FLs, and I see that every bin I have looked through (albiet, all roofs) have this issue to some extent. I can't see it interfering with my enjoyment of birding though, unless it's extremely excessive. But I am now happy that I have made up my mind to go with a 7x AND a 10x. What better excuse to get another set of great optics.
Rob
