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Zen Ray ZRS HD (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Steve C
- Start date
Kevin Purcell
Well-known member
The answer to that is on Edz review on cloudynights ...
I just checked focus direction of more than a half dozen different binoculars. Most turned counterclockwise towards infinity, the ZRS rp, the Celesatron Regal rp and the Bushnell Legend rp, Pentax porros. Several others turned the other way including the Nikon SE, Nikon AE and a Minolta porro.
the ZRS turns CC towards infinity. It has about 1 3/4 rotations.
From closest focus (about 6ft) to 30M (100ft) focus is very slow, requiring more than 360° turn of the focus wheel. In fact, in this range this is the slowest focus I've ever measured.
From 30m to 100m, focus is very fast, requiring less than 45° turn of the focus wheel.
from 100m to ~250m requires only a tiny fractional movement (5°?) of the dial.
the ZRS turns CC towards infinity. It has about 1 3/4 rotations.
From closest focus (about 6ft) to 30M (100ft) focus is very slow, requiring more than 360° turn of the focus wheel. In fact, in this range this is the slowest focus I've ever measured.
From 30m to 100m, focus is very fast, requiring less than 45° turn of the focus wheel.
from 100m to ~250m requires only a tiny fractional movement (5°?) of the dial.
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Kevin Purcell
Well-known member
Edz: "Most turned counterclockwise towards infinity"
Interesting result ... most of mine (too many!) turn clockwise to infinity.
Though I just realized that my Zeiss Victory 8x40 turns counterclockwise towards infinity. I've had that bin 8 months and didn't that it turned the other way. I guess Zeiss switched their direction from Design Classic/Victory to the compact Victory/Conquest/FL.
The others I have with CC to infinity are a Celestron porro and Pentax roofs.
Not an issue for astro use but a pain in the bit for birding (I've lost bird IDs focusing the wrong way with less used bin).
Interesting result ... most of mine (too many!) turn clockwise to infinity.
Though I just realized that my Zeiss Victory 8x40 turns counterclockwise towards infinity. I've had that bin 8 months and didn't that it turned the other way. I guess Zeiss switched their direction from Design Classic/Victory to the compact Victory/Conquest/FL.
The others I have with CC to infinity are a Celestron porro and Pentax roofs.
Not an issue for astro use but a pain in the bit for birding (I've lost bird IDs focusing the wrong way with less used bin).
I am seriously unsophisticated about bins compared to most of you folks, but this touchiness about focus you are discussing, together with my experience of the ZRS 10X causes me to wonder if the problem doesn't lie in what seems to me to be a super short focal length. I find that with my fixed focus Pentax' it is easy to find a target in the trees and resolve it, while with the ZRS, this is much more difficult and I am constantly fiddling with the focus knob trying to get things to sharpen up. Thoughts?
And by the way, is it endemic to any bins in this power class which have close focusing that a short focal length is just part of the package?
And by the way, is it endemic to any bins in this power class which have close focusing that a short focal length is just part of the package?
rivergazer
Well-known member
I have nothing new to add or ask about the ZRS', just taking the opportunity to vote for CCW to infinity, which, I think is the opposite of most of the top brands. It seems so obviously intuitive to me, at least if you're right handed. I focus with my right index finger, so, if I need to focus closer, I pull the top of the focus wheel toward my hand .... CLOSER to my hand. If I need to focus on a more distant object, I push the top of the focus wheel AWAY (farther) from my hand. My original Stokes DLS go CCW to I, my new Nikon SE's go CC to I, and drive me nuts. I know, I'll get used to it, and this will forever remain an unresolved debate. Thinking maybe I should just focus with my left hand when using the SE's. To any of you lefties out there who are tired of getting no respect, take heart, I'd say you won this one. C'est la vie.
ZRS HD 10x42
I've been following this post since around the beginning of March, and in fact SteveC's initial review played a part in my buying a pair of ZRS 10x42s. Although the first pair was a bit soft, the pair I've ended up keeping is sharp, bright (for a 10x), and very comfortable to use. I took them on a short, steep hike this morning and used them both to id. seen birds and wildlife and for quite a bit of scanning, out to about 1/2 mile in a small canyon near here. I could easily scan and find the Lazuli Buntings that were calling throughout the canyon, even those too far away to see without binoculars (and my corrected vision tests better than 20/20). On the way back, I scanned the other side of the valley, which is about 25 miles away, and was pleased with the resolution and comfort of the image (no eye strain).
Reading some of the posts here, it's almost hard to believe I have the same binoculars. The pair I have has secure eyecaps, secure objective covers and solid optics, with a sweet spot that looks to be greater than 60% of the image circle. The warm color cast is minor, and nothing compared to the color cast the sun will give you on any clear morning or afternoon. Over the past few months I have looked through a lot of binoculars, including many from the big four, and the ZRS doesn't suffer much by comparison. The $1500+ alphas were somewhat better in a couple of respects (mostly a seemingly flatter image field and greater edge to edge sharpness), but at a bit more than 1/10 the price, I'm happy with the ZRS. They are clearly better than any roofs I saw in five stores locally up to about the $500 level. I'm sure as with any new product there are some quality control issues (which I experienced first hand), but Charles has been easy to work with and I assume future models will have fewer problems as he continues to work with his manufacturer.
I've been following this post since around the beginning of March, and in fact SteveC's initial review played a part in my buying a pair of ZRS 10x42s. Although the first pair was a bit soft, the pair I've ended up keeping is sharp, bright (for a 10x), and very comfortable to use. I took them on a short, steep hike this morning and used them both to id. seen birds and wildlife and for quite a bit of scanning, out to about 1/2 mile in a small canyon near here. I could easily scan and find the Lazuli Buntings that were calling throughout the canyon, even those too far away to see without binoculars (and my corrected vision tests better than 20/20). On the way back, I scanned the other side of the valley, which is about 25 miles away, and was pleased with the resolution and comfort of the image (no eye strain).
Reading some of the posts here, it's almost hard to believe I have the same binoculars. The pair I have has secure eyecaps, secure objective covers and solid optics, with a sweet spot that looks to be greater than 60% of the image circle. The warm color cast is minor, and nothing compared to the color cast the sun will give you on any clear morning or afternoon. Over the past few months I have looked through a lot of binoculars, including many from the big four, and the ZRS doesn't suffer much by comparison. The $1500+ alphas were somewhat better in a couple of respects (mostly a seemingly flatter image field and greater edge to edge sharpness), but at a bit more than 1/10 the price, I'm happy with the ZRS. They are clearly better than any roofs I saw in five stores locally up to about the $500 level. I'm sure as with any new product there are some quality control issues (which I experienced first hand), but Charles has been easy to work with and I assume future models will have fewer problems as he continues to work with his manufacturer.
half right.
focal length has nothing to do with resolution. although a longer focal length could potentially have fewer aberrations and if one of those better corrected is spherical aberration, then resolution would be improved. But that is not dependant on focal lenght, only could be improved by longer f.
focus could benefit from longer focal length. As focal length increases, the least circle of confusion gets a tiny bit longer. that means that as you turn the focus dial thru the optimum point of focus you have a tiny bit wider range in which everything will appear to be focused. We're talking very small ranges here perhaps 0.1 to 0.2mm of the focal length, so perhaps 5° turn of the focus dial. The slower the focus dial, the easier it is to range thru. The faster the focus dial, the harder it would be.
edz
falcondude
Well-known member
if my understanding on f ratio is right, longer focal length will have higher f ratio and produce deeper depth of focus.
Falcondude, that's certainly my understanding from shooting film for thirty years. Ie, at f22 you can almost guarantee that your shot will be in focus, even if your a bit sloppy with the focus ring. On the other hand, at f2, you have to be damn precise and most everything other than your target will be out of focus. It is one of the ways to manipulate your camera to get the type of shot you want.
Today I was out with my fixed focus bins and the ZRS HD 10x. With the fixed focus glass, once your out beyond minimum focus distance, everything is in, which makes for a very comfortable viewing experience. Stuff looks flat, well resolved and sharp. Unfortunately, minimum focus is about 30 yards.
With the ZRS, I find that trying to focus on a bird in a tree or bush is quite challenging, the focal length is SO dang short; I never get a good, true sense of precision, and the fact that everything just inches in front or behind is out of focus makes me feel quite vertiginous and uncomfortable.
So. If I had a million bucks, I'd find some genius binocular maker and pay whatever it takes to get hold of some fixed focus 10x that focus at 6' to infinity, or close focusing roofs with a focus wheel that have a really long focal length.
Today I was out with my fixed focus bins and the ZRS HD 10x. With the fixed focus glass, once your out beyond minimum focus distance, everything is in, which makes for a very comfortable viewing experience. Stuff looks flat, well resolved and sharp. Unfortunately, minimum focus is about 30 yards.
With the ZRS, I find that trying to focus on a bird in a tree or bush is quite challenging, the focal length is SO dang short; I never get a good, true sense of precision, and the fact that everything just inches in front or behind is out of focus makes me feel quite vertiginous and uncomfortable.
So. If I had a million bucks, I'd find some genius binocular maker and pay whatever it takes to get hold of some fixed focus 10x that focus at 6' to infinity, or close focusing roofs with a focus wheel that have a really long focal length.
Kevin Purcell
Well-known member
Not that I've heard of. Not even seen one loose.
It's just held in place with a sticky adhesive layer so it's easy to remove with a long finger nail. I did that on my Promaster to fix a loose screw on the top of the focus push rod (no thread locking compound one of them but there was on the other).
Send an email to ZR. I'm sure they'll put one in first class mail for you to stick back on. It's an easy fix.
EDIT: must read thread title ... I presumed these were the EDs. Silly me. In fact I can't recall how the knob looks on the ZRS but I wouldn't be surprised if its the same. Did it have a sticky back?
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You should really exchange these for another pair. Yours are obviously off (QC or perhaps damaged in shipping). You owe it to yourself to see just how nice the ZRS can be.
Hi, Longbow,
I am sorry to hear the issue you have experienced with the ZRS binoculars. Could you please email us ([email protected]) or PM me with your order number so we can follow up with the remedy to those issues?
Most of our customers' concerns will be promptly addressed within 24hrs whenever you contact us at [email protected]. I personally review all customers' messages every day to ensure we maintain the same high standard of customer service for every case.
Thanks
Charles
Zen-Ray Optics
I am sorry to hear the issue you have experienced with the ZRS binoculars. Could you please email us ([email protected]) or PM me with your order number so we can follow up with the remedy to those issues?
Most of our customers' concerns will be promptly addressed within 24hrs whenever you contact us at [email protected]. I personally review all customers' messages every day to ensure we maintain the same high standard of customer service for every case.
Thanks
Charles
Zen-Ray Optics
Thanks all. Especially Charles, I will email you.
Should probably have contacted the company sooner, but it's a hassle doing biz across the border and I kept hoping I was going to warm up to the glasses, have something decent for this season. I also get cranky when the customer is the one holding the QC bag. It's just one of those things that is a personal peccadillo. Rather than being more understanding and patient as I perhaps ought to be, I just tend to write off the whole thing and look elsewhere.
Anyhow, onward and upward.
Should probably have contacted the company sooner, but it's a hassle doing biz across the border and I kept hoping I was going to warm up to the glasses, have something decent for this season. I also get cranky when the customer is the one holding the QC bag. It's just one of those things that is a personal peccadillo. Rather than being more understanding and patient as I perhaps ought to be, I just tend to write off the whole thing and look elsewhere.
Anyhow, onward and upward.
