Zen Ray (2 Viewers)

[NDhunter]

Another confirmation, that Zenray does not deserve a place on here. There is nothing new that can
be learned. It is all been said before. The subforum does not need a slot as now shown.

I was an early Zenray owner of the much blown up 7x36 ED2, I was one of the first to report the poor performance and the veiling glare. It was severe, and even Holger Merlitz made an article about how to correct the situation.

Some baffling was made to make things better. I talked to Charles about the issue and he acknowledged it.

The Zenray buzz was the first of the large Chinese effort into making a move into the large optics market.

Charles was part of it, and he had support from China, the CCP, Chinese Communist Party..

Jerry

 

[dries1]

ER, huh? I would not mention Swift and Zen Ray in the same sentence. Most Swift binoculars can still be repaired, but those cheap plastic internals of the Zen Ray not so much, ( a concrete wall helped me find out).

 

[Chosun Juan]

ER, huh? I would not mention Swift and Zen Ray in the same sentence. Most Swift binoculars can still be repaired, but those cheap plastic internals of the Zen Ray not so much, ( a concrete wall helped me find out).

I hope you feel better now ......








Chosun :gh:

 

[Chosun Juan]

Another confirmation, that Zenray does not deserve a place on here. There is nothing new that can
be learned. It is all been said before. The subforum does not need a slot as now shown. ......

A very strange comment - honestly what does it matter ?
Is it in some way hurting you to have Zen-Ray have a dedicated sub-forum slot ? They did offer a wide product range, and were 'involved' somehow in the design and manufacture - that is an important historical record.

I agree with others - maybe some reorganization of the Binocular forum is warranted. Current brands and retired/defunct brands. Main players/Manufacturers, rebranders/outsourcers.

I'm sure Zen-Ray will not be the last brand to fold. How's Leupold going these days ? They were in bed with Zen-Ray for a while with the Prime HD/McKinley .......





Chosun :gh:

 

[Chosun Juan]

....The Zenray buzz was the first of the large Chinese effort into making a move into the large optics market.

Charles was part of it, and he had support from China, the CCP, Chinese Communist Party..

Jerry

Jerry ????

This is a comment that those on the binocular forum would find interesting. :cat:

How do you know this ? Do you have a source ? Can you produce evidence of that ? What was the level of involvement of the CCP ? I have never heard of this before, or seen it discussed. Seems to me that deserves a sub-forum on its own ! :smoke:







Chosun :gh:

 

[dries1]

They were not mine, never owned a ZR, an acquaintance of mine grew very frustrated with their customer service, or lack thereof and just let it rip, I guess he felt better afterwards.

Now if I could have the optics of a Bushnell Legend M 8X42 in the body/construction of a Swift Audubon Roof 8.5X44 I would be very happy.

 

[jan van daalen]

They were not mine, never owned a ZR, an acquaintance of mine grew very frustrated with their customer service, or lack thereof and just let it rip, I guess he felt better afterwards.

Now if I could have the optics of a Bushnell Legend M 8X42 in the body/construction of a Swift Audubon Roof 8.5X44 I would be very happy.

In that case you have to buy the Bynolyt Tern 8x45, which is the same as the old Audubon.

Jan

 

[ceasar]

I have a Zen-Ray 8x42 Vista which I won in a raffle drawing of sorts here on Bird Forum when they first were introduced. I have never used it except very casually on my deck. It is made in China. I would describe it as a good user binocular.

It is a clone of the 1st version of the Vortex 8x42 Diamondback, which I own and have used over the years and loaned out when it was needed. I paid about $240.00 to Eagle Optics for that binocular several years before I won the Zen-Ray. It is another good user binocular.

The looks and the specifications of both binoculars are very close. https://www.allbinos.com/824-Vortex_Diamondback_8x42-binoculars_specifications.html

Allbinos also has a listing for the Zen-Ray 8x42 Vista: https://www.allbinos.com/1287-Zen-Ray_Optics_Vista_8x42-binoculars_specifications.html

The FOV of the Zen-Ray is slightly smaller 7.5º to 8º. (393' to 420' @ 1000 yards). ER is 17mm to 18mm for the Vortex.

Both the Vortex 1st edition of the Diamondback 8x42 and the Zen-Ray Vista 8x42 were likely made by the same company in China.

Bob

 

[dries1]

Yes Jan the Bynolyt is the very same body as the Swift Audubon 8.5X44 that I own, which has nice central resolution, enhanced pincushion in a narrow 6.4 degrees FOV. Transmission could be a bit higher also, but nice ergonomics.

 

[jan van daalen]

Yes Jan the Bynolyt is the very same body as the Swift Audubon 8.5X44 that I own, which has nice central resolution, enhanced pincushion in a narrow 6.4 degrees FOV. Transmission could be a bit higher also, but nice ergonomics.

Technolyt, the owner of the brand Bynolyt, was the distributor of Swift in Holland and Mr. Schoemaker (a Dutch guy) was the worldwide distributor of Swift with the exception of the USA. After the close down of Swift by Allison, Technolyt had it made under their brand name. Indeed a nice bin and very well sold down here as a substitute for the Swift.

Jan

 

[dries1]

Jan, Thanks for the info, much appreciated. I may have to look for one.

Andy W.

 

[WJC]

Technolyt, the owner of the brand Bynolyt, was the distributor of Swift in Holland and Mr. Schoemaker (a Dutch guy) was the worldwide distributor of Swift with the exception of the USA. After the close down of Swift by Allison, Technolyt had it made under their brand name. Indeed a nice bin and very well sold down here as a substitute for the Swift.

Jan

Allison ... Jan, I thought we weren't allowed to curse on this forum. :eek!:

Bill

 

[jan van daalen]

Allison ... Jan, I thought we weren't allowed to curse on this forum. :eek!:

Bill

LOL,

You will know her (history) and the Swift brand much better than me. Life is full of surprises.

Jan

 

[WJC]

LOL,

You will know her (history) and the Swift brand much better than me. Life is full of surprises.

Jan

200807

Hi Jan,

Swift, Boston, had an honest and honorable crew, at least through all my business dealings with them, and my rep in Seattle was a great guy. The owner, Humphrey Swift (Hop to his friends), was quite different from most corporate leaders. Calling Swift after hours, he would pretend to be the janitor until he recognized your voice. But even in the early days of our association he would chat with you as if you were old friends.

After he passed away, Allison closed down the Boston location and terminated some longtime and loyal employees. Although sad, it was now her company. Shortly before Humphrey died, I threw my hat into the ring for helping them with their advertising. I sent a letter illustrating that some of their ads were short of sending the right message to potential customers, such as their telescopes having MIRRORS with ANTI-REFLECTIVE coatings. I offered about half dozen examples.

Allison readily agreed and I was given the impression that I was going to have a chance to help. I wasn’t looking for a job. I just wanted to help a company that I respected in an area that I thought was not getting the attention it deserved. But shortly thereafter Humphrey died and Allison (actually, I think she spells it with one “l”) started concentrating on the microscope importing business on the west coast. Not long after that, she sold that off and took a career in marketing and advertising.

Today, Swift Instruments has a time-honored logo and a catchy website promoting microscopes warehoused in Texas. Under the same logo, is Swift SPORTS optics in northwest Denver, Colorado. But the company Ed Huff and I knew so well is long gone.

Now, you have a little more history. It is not my place, yet I can’t help but feel Allison just tossed her dad’s hard work aside and deep-sixed a company that had a great past and could have had a great future. But that’s just me being an armchair spectator. :cat:

Bill

 

[Sterngucker]

Give it three years and we will have this discussion about GPO (and hopefully Maven).

 

[gcole]

Give it three years and we will have this discussion about GPO (and hopefully Maven).

Why would anyone wish (hopefully) this on any company :-C ?

 

[Sterngucker]

Why would anyone wish (hopefully) this on any company :-C ?

Because in my personal experience they peddle overpriced crap and contrary to their advertising do not step up to the plate when called out on it.


Your miles with them may vary, but I am done with that company.


GPO however I am tempted very much to try ... their 10x56 tickles me.

 

[CharleyBird]

My mother still uses and enjoys a Zen Ray as well. We had one tooth-pulling service issue when they were new, but for now the replacement pair continue to work.

I wouldn't want to lose the information in this forum, but it does seem odd that a dead brand has a prominent position, while some newer brands do not have their own forum.

Perhaps a better option would be to add a forum for Maven, and to re-order the forums. Obviously the suggestion below is just an idea - perhaps some shuffling of the order is needed, perhaps Kite deserves a subforum, etc. It still does strike me as weird to see GPO listed above, say Optricron and Meopta.

Alpha Brands:
Leica
Nikon
Swaro
Zeiss

Mid-sized Brands:
Bushnell
Kowa
Meopta
Opticron

Smaller Brands:
GPO
Hawke
Maven
Leupold
Pentax

Defunct Brands:
Swift
Zen Ray

Other Brands

I always find it strange there is no separate Steiner forum. Huge worldwide brand yet they are relegated to the Other forum.
I've bought three pairs in my time, and Steiner still sell a couple of very-well-thought-of instruments along with the usual suspects.

 

[Chosun Juan]

.... If you want another brand added then I'm sure the first step would be to ask.....

Chosun :gh:

 

[CharleyBird]

Maybe I'm the only one. If any forum restructuring occurs, and e.g. a new Steiner sub-forum is created, it would be useful to transfer the 49 threads with Steiner in the title currently in the 'Others' forum, into it.