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The new ZEN ED 3 |
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Klamath
Optics Master Joined: May/20/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1308 |
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Posted: July/05/2011 at 00:43 |
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Zen Ray ZEN ED 3 The new ZR glass, the ED 3 is out and should be ready for sale at least by August 1. There are definitely more similarities to the ED 2, but the changes seem well thought out and do seem to have produced a better binocular. I have had both the 8x43 and 10x 43 for a few days now. As far as I can tell, these are specimens with no particular flaws and I will assume they are representative; these are a sample size of one each. Appearance For those who look at their binocular as much as they do through it, it seems to me that the ED 3 is a much better looking instrument. The rubber armor is very different from the ED 2, being a grayer tint than the ED 2. The ED 2 pattern of knobs is gone, replaced by a checkered pattern that is, from my perspective, a definite improvement. The armor feels softer and more tactile than the ED 2. Gone are the printed “dielectric coating” from the ring below the non diopter eyecup, not only the lettering, but the ring is gone too. The housing on the ED 3 appears to be a little different from the ED 2. The appearance of the hinges is noticeably different and the armor covers the hinge, unlike the ED 2 where the upper hinge was visible, not here. There is only ZEN ED 3, 8x43 426 fov, and waterproof on the focus knob, and the Zen Ray badge on the body armor instead of on the bottom hinge. The ED 3 incorporates two tripod adapter sockets. One socket is in a new location on the back hinge in front of the focus knob, and the traditional one on the front hinge. Both are standard 1/4" thread and any adapter will work in either location. Function The ED 3 has new eyecups which give a slightly different feel while up to the eye and the ocular lens is now about 1.5mm closer to the rim of the eyecup, increasing the usable ER. The upper level of the eyecup is flush with the ocular assembly, not raised over 1.0mm as before. The ocular lens is a few tenths of a mm closer to the surface too. The focus is completely different on the ED 3. This has to be about the fastest focus I have ever seen. There is one turn total wheel travel. It takes less than one half turn to go from the close focus distance of about 6 feet to 100 feet. It only needs another quarter turn to get to infinity and there is a quarter turn past infinity. The focus is clockwise to infinity. There is some play in the wheel and wheel movement is fairly stiff. After focus past 200 feet or so, the focus wheel is not really needed. Be glad it is a bit stiff; otherwise it would be easy to overshoot focus. The play in the knob seemed to help too. Just a very slight nudge as the tension comes up. I had no problems following the birds in the big shade trees around the house, nor did I have any problems with fine focus at long distance. The bottom line is, if you wish your ZEN ED 2 had a faster focus, it’s now fixed. The focus wheel is the same size as the ED 2, but is a solid black checkered knob on the ED 3. The objective covers on the ED 3, while they look like the ones with the ED 2, are a lot better. They look and feel like they should stay put. The neck strap is a little shorter and now is curved to fit the neck. There is only a muted gray Zen Ray printed on the strap. The case and accessories are the same. The size and specifications remain unchanged. Image The ED 3 has a new generation of dielectric prism coating. The antireflective coatings are also different; the ED 3 has a definite purple cast to the lenses. The ghosting or flare that could be seen in the ED 2 is still there, but to a lesser degree. I can only induce flare with the bright sun directly behind me. I can remove it by shifting the lower portion of the eyecup away from my lower eye socket a little.
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Steve
"Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted". William Bruce Cameron | |
lucytuma
Optics Jedi Knight Joined: November/25/2007 Location: Wisconsin Status: Offline Points: 5389 |
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Nice update Steve, do you think they are going to include the the 7&9x36 in the ED3 lineup?
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"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." - Thomas Jefferson
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Klamath
Optics Master Joined: May/20/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1308 |
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Edited by Klamath - July/05/2011 at 10:15 |
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Steve
"Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted". William Bruce Cameron |
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stickbow46
Optics Master Extraordinaire Joined: January/07/2009 Location: Benton, Pa Status: Offline Points: 4678 |
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Thanks for the heads up Steve.Do you have any idea what kind of price change there is?
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Pearls of Wisdom are Heard not Spoken
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Klamath
Optics Master Joined: May/20/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1308 |
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Steve
"Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted". William Bruce Cameron |
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coyote95
Optics Master Joined: January/24/2009 Location: michigan Status: Offline Points: 1196 |
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Thanks for the review Klamath. I like to hear about focus wheel, sounds like they made improvement over my 10x43 ed2's loose feeling. Makes me think i might want to upgrade.....
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"Life is like riding a bicycle . To keep balance you must keep moving" Albert Einstein
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Klamath
Optics Master Joined: May/20/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1308 |
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Steve
"Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted". William Bruce Cameron |
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Bitterroot Bulls
Optics Master Extraordinaire Joined: May/07/2009 Location: Montana Status: Offline Points: 3416 |
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I would be interested in a 7X43.
Thanks for the quality look into the future, Steve! On another note, my ED2 knob is precise and smooth. Love the idea of improved armoring. |
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-Matt
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spf2
Optics Apprentice Joined: February/02/2007 Status: Offline Points: 169 |
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I saw on zen-ray's website, the new glass has an almost purple color reflection, is that the result of newer glass coating?
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jonoMT
Optics Master Extraordinaire Joined: November/13/2008 Location: Montana Status: Offline Points: 4853 |
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Interesting write up, Steve. Sounds like they will be an improvement all around. I wasn't aware of the QC problems with some batches of the older ones. I guess mostly from not being in the market for new bins or paying much attention lately. But it sounds like most of the frustration never reached customers.
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Reaction time is a factor...
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Zen-Ray
Optics Apprentice Joined: July/24/2009 Location: Oregon Status: Offline Points: 52 |
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We still faithfully inspect every binoculars individually before they were sent out to the dealers like SWFA or to our customers. What Steve was referring was an event that we were able to intercept a very small batch of older models even before they left our warehouse floor. I shared that experience with Steve over PM, not expecting it got discussed here. I guess it's like the review: What I can only control is the quality of binoculars to our spec. But I will never know how Steve will think and write about it.
Learning from that experience, we emphasize the quality control at component level, on the factory floor throughout the design/manufacturing process of the ED3 binoculars. Hopefully the new ED3 will serve that mission.
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JGRaider
Optics Master Joined: February/06/2008 Status: Offline Points: 1540 |
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I've got a couple of quick questions if you don't mind.
1. Do the accessories, ie. the objective and eyepiece covers, fit better on the ED3? 2. How many eye cup stops are there? The one's on my ED2 could have been tighter. They had a tendency to move from the intended setting. Are the ED3's tighter to stay put, or about the same? Thanks, keep up the good work. These are great products, especially for the $$$. |
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Klamath
Optics Master Joined: May/20/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1308 |
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JGR
The ocular covers are the same, but the objective covers, while they look the same have a much tighter fitting elastic ring to hold the barrel a lot tighter than the ones that came with the ED 2. The neck strap is different too. It is now curved to better fit the neck contours, and is shorter than the older style too. Edited by Klamath - July/07/2011 at 11:27 |
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Steve
"Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted". William Bruce Cameron |
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jonoMT
Optics Master Extraordinaire Joined: November/13/2008 Location: Montana Status: Offline Points: 4853 |
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Charles, I viewed that as entirely a positive reflection on your company. Not everybody would be willing to deal with the hassle of having to do that. |
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Reaction time is a factor...
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Vichris
Optics GrassHopper Joined: May/19/2009 Status: Offline Points: 3 |
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Nice write up Steve......may need to upgrade my ED's to the ED3 soon.
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"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane"- Marcus Aurelius
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Klamath
Optics Master Joined: May/20/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1308 |
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Hey Chris, welcome to OT, haven't seen much of you elsewhere lately . The ED 3 is a nice glass and I do think improves the ED 2 in several ways. I sure don't need to tell you how good the ED 2 is.
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Steve
"Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted". William Bruce Cameron |
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captainjoe
Optics GrassHopper Joined: May/29/2011 Status: Offline Points: 8 |
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I am very close to pulling the trigger on ordering a pair of ED3s, but I am interested in the answer to this question as well. It is a pain to be out hunting out in the bush only to be fighting the lens covers and not have a decent shoulder harness to carry them with. At least if these can't be supplied through Zen Ray, it would be nice if they could recommend after market products that work well with these binocs so that the buyer doesn't have to experiment trying to find stuff that works. |
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Klamath
Optics Master Joined: May/20/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1308 |
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Steve
"Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted". William Bruce Cameron |
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captainjoe
Optics GrassHopper Joined: May/29/2011 Status: Offline Points: 8 |
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Thanks for the tip. Which Bushwhacker size worked for you?
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Klamath
Optics Master Joined: May/20/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1308 |
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Steve
"Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted". William Bruce Cameron |
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