Hi,
I would appreciate your opinions which will hopefully help me make a decision.
I have a pair of Zeiss 8x42 FL's which I like a lot. I recently tried out 3 pair of Swarovski 8.5x42 EL's. Two of the older ones were not as bright as the Zeiss nor as contrasty. The third pair of EL's, (which is the latest fast focus model and which I bought) is quite impressive. It has slightly better depth of field than the Zeiss and is just is bright and contrasty. I also like the 1/2 greater power.
Now my question: I took both out on a very clear sunny day. I could see no difference between the two in various viewing situations, until I viewed a distant white house with foliage in front. With the Swarovski I could see a fairly high degree of purple fringing around the foliage and parts of the house. The Zeiss showed virtually none. I will eventually have to sell one pair or the other (I can't afford to keep both, and see no need to). Do you think the additional purple fringing of the Swarovski's is sufficient justification to sell them and keep the Zeiss? And how much of an issue is purple fringing in most situations?
I can get purple fringeing from my Swift 828's very occasionaly when viewing black backlit ducks against water - it's hardly noticeable and happens so rarely I forget about it - if I had it to the extent you have nothing would pursuade me too keep the bins - in the bright light of summer it will get worse.
If I show my Brother an example of the 'purples' he doesn't notice it, same as most people never comment about outdoor TV pictures of branches etc which suffer terribly from it. (and that's with a £50,000 lens)
[QUOTE=Chris Oates]I can get purple fringeing from my Swift 828's very occasionaly when viewing black backlit ducks against water - it's hardly noticeable and happens so rarely I forget about it - if I had it to the extent you have nothing would pursuade me too keep the bins - in the bright light of summer it will get worse.
If I show my Brother an example of the 'purples' he doesn't notice it, same as most people never comment about outdoor TV pictures of branches etc which suffer terribly from it. (and that's with a £50,000 lens)[/QUOTE]
Hi Chris,
Some people never notice purple fringing, but it seems that once you discover it you always notice it--when present.
I suspect that this is a trade-off with roof prism binoculars, and that its absence in the Zeiss fl's may be the exception to the rule.