Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Zen_Ray 8x43 ED Just Arrived - 1st review Observations

I can't believe this cam so quickly...I just oprdered it thursday evening my time...must have been near close of business in Oregon.

Score (0 to 5 with 5 as the top score:
Order Processing/ Shipping/ Delivery: 5
- order was processed / shipped same day (near cob) / tracking # provided via e-mail same day / received inside of 48 hrs from Oregon to Virginia using USPS Priority (the cheapest option)
Customer Service: 5
- I thought I had a problem (turned out the error was mine)and CS treated me like a King as if i could make no mistake yet they patiently gave me knowledge to see what was right and they were determined to maintain me as fully satisfied (I was)
1st peak thru the bino: WOW!!!
- beats the Vortex Diamondback in color, clarity, sharopness, low light, depth, field of view and pobably other measures i can't think of
- FOV for the Vortex and the Zen are both specc'ed at over 400 feet,,,the delta is prbably 10 to 15 ft..yet one immediately senses the dramatic (broad) FOV thru the Zen...surprised me,,,did not expect to notice that as much as you do
- eye relief is about 18 mm for the Vortex and 17 mm for the Zen...reality...i think the Zen may have a tad more than the Vortex...either one works with eye glasses with ease to the extent that you can opush the adjustabkle eye caps out a nothch even with glasses and still get the whole sight window
= depth of field is also a standout difference you notice. The Vortex is fuzzy as you pan and you focus and zoom in to a sharp picture...the Zen is pretty sharp without any adjustment and then you adjust fromsharp to sharper and the Zen stays sharp pretty much at everything i panned on...the depth is very good

Last noite - I would bet my lunch that both bino's came from the same factory. The rubber eyep[iece lens cover for each is a dupl;icate in all respects. The rubber objective lens cover is the only thing the Vortex wins on...seems someone made the band that holds the cover much slimmer on te Zen than it was ojn the Vortext, consequently it does not hold as well on the Zen as the Vortex...but the objecive cover other than the band size seems similar enough to suggets it came from the same factory source.


I have not compared the weight specs but the Zen is bigger/longer yet it seems lighter. I had at first thought from looking at pictures of the Zen, that it's hinge bridge was ugly and maybe a source of weakness. Not the case, it looks much better and natural once you have it in hand and it is not a weak point..so i would not suggest you worry much about the hinge if you also thought it ugly and wierd.

Bottom line: this bino is a keeper and heck of a deal for the $.

Nice review Panzer. I must have missed it when I posted mine. Your comments pretty much mirror my own. I look forward to seeing what Steve posts.

Is this the same thing?

Zen binos

No..that is the ZRS which is the next model down the food chain. Click on "all binoculars" on the left tab and scroll to the 8x43 ED.

Thanks for the great review and tip on the coupon("IFISH" for $90 off). I went ahead and ordered one 8x43. Total came in $359 with free shipping promotion.

From what I hear that ZRS will perform slightly better than the Pentax DCF SPs. Ofcourse I believe its chief competition is going to be the Vortex Viper. We need to get someone that already has the Viper to invest in the ZRS.

Frank,
I may have missed it, but have you been able to compare the Promaster/Hawke/Zen-Ray EDs to the Vortex Razors?

Doug~RR

Doug,

Sorry, no I have not. I have not owned the Razors for close to two years now. This is something I would like to do but have not had a chance to do at this point.

There have been some speculation as to whether or not we are going to see a revamped Razor to compete more with the Pro/Hawke/Zen designs but nothing "official" at this point. I did see that Vortex has introduced a new "Razor" spotting scope that looks quite impressive on paper so it would seem a revamped binocular would be a natural progression.

I had a few questions about the Zen-Ray products and fired off an e-mail. The responses came within a couple hours and a follow-up was there when I looked this morning. The very quick and thorough responses impressed me.

My understanding of the company strategy is that they intend to sell a binocular that performs like something in the next higher price category. The ED versions that can be bought now for less than four hundred are intended to compete with 'top tier' binoculars. I'm seriously thinking of buying one just to see what all the fuss over Chinese ED binoculars is all about.

Do it Ward.

If they remedied the small issue with focusing tension variability between units then I think you will be very impressed with the binocular.

Truth be told I haven't really found someone that wasn't impressed in one way or another with either the Promaster, the Hawke or the Zen Ray.

I don't know if I mentioned it back when the Promaster originally debuted but I had the opportunity to let a few other high end optics users try the Promasters. They were shocked by the image quality. One of the guys even said that if those bins had been out when he was looking for new bins then he wouldn't have even bought his Swaro ELs. Another one, a Nikon SE user, tried to find something wrong optically with the Promasters and really could not come up with something to complain about.

That says something in my book.

Frank,
Any luck finding any comparison between the new Zen-Ray and the Viper? Thanks.

Take a look at the Zen Ray first impressions thread on birdforum.net for other ZR info as it comes in.

When Steve C (also here!) gets his bins from USPS then you will see that info (he has Viper, I think, perhaps it's a Razor ... damn these names )

That said as the ZR seem to be "another Chinese ED" (they are very similar to and perhaps slightly brighter than the other Chinese EDs) then a Hawke or PM to Viper comparison would be the same. That has been done before.

Thanks Kevin. I will search around on the Bird Forum for a comparison between Viper and the Hawke and ProMaster.

I have just finished up first impressions of the ZEN ED in both 8x and 10x43. Yes, they are made in China so this is a viewer's advisory. I intend this as a comment on the optics and quality of the binocular. That and only that. You can feel free to make your own political choices.

The Promaster Infinity Elite ELX ED and the Hawke Frontier ED, which are very much like the ZEN ED, have been reviewed by myself and others. I have said many good things about the Promaster ELX ED, and after comparing them to a whole bunch of other binoculars up to and including the European Alpha class glass, I will let stand what I have said about them. Whatever I have said about the Promaster also applies to the ZEN ED. These are simply fantastic optical instruments considering what they cost. They are what I will call 99.33 binoculars. That's 99% of the alpha optics at 33% of the price. If these are not the working class alpha glass, then I have no idea what is. Whatever your political stance on China is, these are not junk. There are no apparent build quality issues. Their construction seems on par with the Vortex Viper or the Pentax SP.

The differences in the Promaster and ZEN are few and small, but they are there. Resolution seems to be equal as determined by how far down the chart detail can be discerned. The ZEN may be a tad brighter than the ELX. The ELX has the appearance of having a reactive coating that appears just a little bit yellow (but less so than the Meopta 8x42)in dim light, and almost neutral in bright light (less so than the Leica)and maybe not quite as bright as the Zeiss FL. The ZEN has a closer appearance to the Leica in overall color tint. The Promaster has both water and oil repellent coatings, that I can testify work as advertised. The ZEN does not. Maybe that is the reason for the difference in color tint. The eye cups of the ZEN are more rounded and will be more comfortable for some.

The ZEN has more room between the barrels, 0.75" vs 0.70", and is two ounces lighter than the Promaster.

Now, I do not think these will pass the same objective optical tests with the same scores as the alphas, but they will be far closer than anything else in their price. What they will do is give somebody who just can't fork over the cost of the alphas glass class, but still can have first rate optics. What can't be known, obviously is the issues with durability, longevity, service, warranty service, and need for warranty service and repair.

Even if you eventually want an alpha, one of these will serve you well as a pickup, loaner, or backup binocular. There are things you need to figure out before you buy at that level before you fork out the cash. One is do you want 8x or 10x. Do you want a full size glass, or a compact glass. Just because your buddy talked you into a Swarovski just because he thinks it is the best does not mean you will not be better served by the view of a Zeiss or a Leica. You need to get this figured out. For around $400 you can use these to help figure that out.

Somewhere above the question was asked about how these compare to the Vortex Razor. I think they are a bit brighter and sharper than the Razor. But if I had a Razor I would not rush out headlong to trade it on one of these. They are, for all practical means, too close to tell the difference without them being side by side. Same with the Meopta Meostar. If I did not want Chinese, the Razor, the Meostar or the Minox HG is where you need to go. Or the Leupold Gold Rings. By the way, the folks Leupold have a new Green Ring binocular called the Northfork that looks a lot like these too.

So to repeat myself a little, if you want so close to alpha optics that mortal eyes will be hard pressed to tell the difference, this is your obvious route. Zen-Ray is a Beaverton, Oregon based company. They seem to be pretty serious about becoming a fixture in the optics arena. The ZEN warranty is no fault and goes with the binocular, no receipt or warranty card needed. We all know what first class service we can expect from Doug.

EDIT:
I have Vipers. These are better, both ELX and ZEN. They are also less expensive than the Viper. However the Vipers are good glass.

Steve,

No what, in the world, would make you think you need to post this little disclaimer?



Nice review as always Steve. I am a bit jealous that you and Kevin chose the 10x's as well. Now that I feel the 8x selection is complete maybe I should start considering a 10x to add. Hmm, ok maybe I will wait for a 10x50. :-)

At $359 with the IFISH code, I could not resist ordering the 8x43EDs. Should be a nice pair for in the truck and elk woods.

Doug~RR

Here is an answer to a question to Zen Ray about coatings on exterior lens surfaces.

Thanks for contacting us. Right now, the ZEN ED does not have
hydrophobic coating on the exterior lens. We did that purposely
because our study shows there is some brightness degradation with that
coating (it is not anti-reflection coating).

Please feel free to contact us if you have any question.

Thanks

Zen-Ray Optics


Any bad feelings about hunting with these in the rain and cold?

You will be fine without the repellent coating. Most of my optics do not have it. They are just fine in the field. my 0.02

2 oz lighter? I got the impression that they have the same optics. Is it just because of different armor design or the glasses are different?

There is less armoring for one. There is about 0.70" space between the barrels on the Promaster at 65 IPD and 0.75 in the ZEN. It seems to be a different material in the two as well. The ZEN has a more streamlined eye-cup design which looks like it would weigh a little less. Now I have no idea why, but the ZEN is a tiny speck shorter, maybe a 1/16" or so. Probably because the extra armor thickness and the way it wraps around the objective. The ZEN feels a bit lighter, but I need to weigh again to confirm.