338,
Some great posts in this thread so far. There are a couple of points mentioned previously that I want to elaborate on further before getting into the specifics of various models.
As mentioned above, quality control is going to be the biggest obstacle to overcome. The Chinese bins/scopes that I have handled can be very good optically and mechanically, if you get a good specimen. That last part is the key. I have handle some bins with excellent optics but because of poor quality control I ended up returning them.
On the flip side though, if you get a good unit then the performance and quality can be very, very surprising.
Having said that I see you keep returning to the Bressers. I have owned them and posted a thread both here and on Birdforum in regards to them. The links are:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=252458&highlight=Bresser+Everesthttps://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth...true/Bresser_Everest_ED_8x42#Post7536177It is the same post on both forums but the birdforum one had over 440 replies so there is some extra info there.
The actually measured weight of the Bressers is 24 ounces where I think the Zens are around 27 or 28. Not a huge difference but if every ounce counts then it is worthy of being mentioned. The Bressers appear to be built on the same platform as the Alpen Wings ED and Celestron Granite. The optical performance is very similar to the Bushnell Legend Ultra with a slightly different color bias.
There are many reasonably priced Chinese ED bins to consider. In my opinion, not counting the Leupold McKinley or the ZR Prime HD, the ED3s are the cream of the crop when it comes to just optical performance. They are the brightest, most color neutral and one of the sharpest of them. However, they are long binoculars (which is one of the reasons why the optics are so good overall) and the weight is in the upper range (though they aren't overly heavy in the hand because of their balance). The Vortex Viper HD is probably their only true competitor from an optical perspective. You gain lighter weight and smaller size with the Vipers but you give up some of the field of view.
Others I have reviewed/owned include the previously mentioned Bresser, the Zhumell Nova ED, the Hawke Frontier ED, Bushnell Legend Ultra and the Promaster Infinity Elite ELX ED. The Hawke, Promaster, Atlas Optics Intrepid and Vortex Talon are all basically the same design as the Zens but they differ in one or two features or performance areas. Links to my reviews on some of these models are here:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=263525&highlight=Zhumell+Novahttp://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=213464&highlight=Bushnell+Legend+Ultrahttp://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=1513714&postcount=60http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=122545&highlight=Promasterhttp://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=124448&highlight=Zen+Ray+ED3+8x43http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=2193536&postcount=49
