I bought these in September 2011 and could not be more pleased. Images are sharp and crisp. I love the focus wheel. The only problem I've had is that very recently the hinge seems to have loosened up a bit and I have to adjust the width each time I use them. No problem, though...a quick trip to ZR and they will be fixed. This is my third pair of ZR bins and I really have no reason to look elsewhere. (Posted on 3/17/12)

I bought these to replace an older pair of Pentax roofs (non ED glass). I really liked the Pentax's, but had heard good things about the Zen Ray. I figured if I hated them, I would only be out $0 dollars for the shipping, so it was worth a try. Well I have to say...these will NOT be going back! I was really surprised how much better they were in all lighting conditions. Very slightly bigger then what I had, but very well ballanced. Fit & finish is very classy and it looks well made. All in all a fantastic effort for the money and well worth a try. (Posted on 3/8/12)

I've been using my 8x43 ED3's since November, and have used them in a wide variety of situations on three different continents.

Ergonomics are great and they are very well balanced, even when held with one hand. I was not very happy with the strap that was supplied with the binoculars so i bought a wider neoprene strap and this is working very well.

Optically the bins are brilliant - very bright, pin sharp, and colour rendition is excellent. I have not come across any problems with chromatic abberation whatsoever. The only weak points that I have found in the optics are that they are not sharp edge-to edge, and in some situations there appears to be a bit of a "halo" effect on the periphery of vision - this is most noticeable when using the binoculars under the canopy of woodland.

I compared them side-by-side with a friend's Swaro 10x42 EL and they stood up very well (certainly a winner on value for money, given that they cost about one fifth the price of the Swaros!). Optically there seemed to be little difference, and whilst build quality seemed to be better in the Swaro that's not to say the ED3 is weak in this area.

I was definitely recommend the ED3 worthy of consideration for your next bino, or as a back up.
(Posted on 1/17/12)

Excellent fit and finish,feels good in my hands, fast shipping and Charles is a pleasure to deal with. Great glass! (Posted on 1/10/12)

So far I am impressed with the ED3. I am not an optics expert, but these are by far the best I have ever owned. I would and have recommended to others. Did not give a 5 for Quality, because I have not had them long enough yet. (Posted on 1/3/12)

The ED3's retain all of the great value delivered by the ED2 models but improve upon them in several key areas:

- Optically, they are very similar... however, the ED3's new coatings make them ever so slightly brighter, but more importantly more NEUTRAL in terms of white balance and color representation. Presumably the transmission curve is now more even across the visible spectrum. This makes them seem a little less "vivid" than a binocular with a warmer color balance (which will make contrast look a bit better by making reds/oranges "pop" more) but the view is pristine and accurate. Furthermore, the sweet spot is a bit bigger and the edge performance a bit better as well, all while maintaining the huge FOV and bright, relaxed view of the ED2 model.

- Stray light / glare control is markedly improved. I returned the ED2's because of annoying "veiling glare" crescents that were frequently present, but the ED3 has corrected this issue and now only shows glare when pointing almost directly at bright sun (which is a torture test that almost no binocular can pass).

- The focus knob is MUCH better, less slick with a gripper feel (more like the Vortex Viper knob with little bumpies for grip) and the focus is also faster. Less slop too.

- As others have noted, with the new eyecup design the eye relief is improved. I found the eyecups to be very comfortable.

- The ergonomics are also much better, notably the softer, grippier rubber armor (better than the slicker, plasticky feel of the ED2) and improved objective covers (the tethers don't feel like they will fall off at any moment).

- Frankly, I think the aesthetics are much better too. The ED3's have less "bling" but are classier looking, much more like a high-end bin at a glance than the tackier green + black plasticky look of the ED2.

Basically, there isn't much left to complain about even not considering the ridiculously low price point. Optically they are just superb, with alpha class brightness and transmission and a huge FOV. The only thing you'd get with a 4x more expensive binocular is a larger "sweet spot" and better edges.

Kudos to Zen-Ray for improving a good product and taking this design to the next level!! (Posted on 11/29/11)

I actually went into a store with the intention of buying the ZRS HD model. Just out of curiosity i asked to try the ED3 and that evening, after minimal attempts to try to talk myself out of it, bought the ED3s online.

Now, I can't compare these to hideously expensive binos like a lot of other people seem to be able to - simply because I don't own any glass that expensive, and don't know anyone who does. Everyone of my hunting mates have bino's about this price range... brands like Bushnell, Leupold etc... all the nice mid-range hunting glass names. And I CAN say that the ED3s are better. My usual hunting buddy picked them up and focused on a line of trees 100yrds away and exclaimed "That's crazy! They look like they're in 3D!" After some light mocking, we compared them to his and immediately saw what he meant - the other brand (don't want to name names) showed the same picture, but you couldn't really tell relative distance. It was a flat picture. I don't know enough about glass technology to explain the concept in fancy terms, but I know better when i look through it!

Would be nice to see a small pocket ZenRay model come out at some point! (Posted on 10/18/11)

I recently received my ED3 (and gave my ED2 to my wife). They are almost too gorgeous to put down. Frank D 's review mentions the smooth, yet non-slick, tactile feel. He is right . They are a delight to hold and the cross hatching is far nicer than the raised dots. Also, the elimination of the exterior hinges makes them more comfortable to hold in my opinion. I kind of liked the odd green color of the ED2, but the color change also adds to the overall upgraded impression. I have not commented on the optical features, as Frank D's (and another review on line ) say it all. One note: The neck strap is not quick-release (despite the website statement that it is). Frankly i don't care and the strap seems better than the old one. (Posted on 8/22/11)

The ED3's are a much classier look and everything just feels better. I couldn't swear the optics are any better, but they did seem sharper to me. I have owned $1,000 binoculars (Vortex Razor, non hd) and these blow them out of the water. These are by far the best binoculars in the world for the money and I would say they are the best under $1,500 like advertised. I will never buy anything other than Zen Ray's in the future. Make the switch now! If you have any doubts order them and compare them to your old bino's. Thats what I did and then sold the Vortex Razor's the next week. (Posted on 8/12/11)

My new Zen-Ray 8x43 ED3's arrived recently and I must say it was worth the wait! The refinements that Zen-Ray has engineered into the ED3 takes a very good bin and elevates it to a "no holds barred" alpha class binocular. The edge performance is improved and no longer a distraction. The increase in useable eye-relief is much appreciated as I wear glasses when using bins. The new coatings have made the ED3 a better performer in low light and high contrast situations. The new, understated design and armoring improved the ergonomics and gave it the look a fine instrument like this deserves.
All this to say that IMO the ED3 is enough of an improvement over the ED2 to warrant an audition by current ED2 owners. For those looking for a binocular that performs at the very highest level you would do well to add the ED3 to your list alongside those venerable stalwarts from Europe and Japan. You will be quite surprised!
Congratulations to Charles and his staff at Zen-Ray! (Posted on 8/8/11)

I wanted to take the opportunity to chime in about my experiences with the Zen ED3 at this point. I received the 8x43 model at the beginning of last week. Since then I have had the opportunity to compare it with my ED2 and the Pro Optic 8x42 (as well as a few other roof and porro prism models).

Steve's review covered everything about the ED3 quite nicely. All of the key changes from the ED2 design are addressed. To reiterate some of those points with regard to my experience......

Upon removing the binocular from the box the first change that is easily noticed is the armor. Yes, the color is slightly different. It is a more subtle green tone. As Steve mentioned, all of then flashy "descriptors" are gone. The result is a binocular that looks much sleeker and "classy" for lack of a better word.

The second issue that immediately grabs your attention is the texture of the rubber armor. It is almost "smooth" without being slick to the touch. In other words it is very pleasing from a tactile standpoint. Once you pick it up you don't really want to put it down.

It is at this point that you want to put it up to your eyes but you are a bit afraid that the image won't live up to your performance preference.

The good news is that the optical performance is still there...and maybe then some. I say this for a few reasons. One, no, none of the major optical components have changed to my knowledge. The dielectric prism coating has been upgraded and the outer antireflective coating have been changed so there may be a slight increase in overall performance because of it. The glass itself has not changed though so do not expect a huge jump in performance level.

Optically the two areas where I do notice the difference from the ED2 is in the color rendition and in the apparent field of view. Again, as Steve mentioned, the color representation went from a relatively warm tone (slight yellow/red) to a cold one (blue/green). The color representation almost seems to be a bit of a "hybrid" Zeiss/Leica. Overall the color seems Zeiss in nature. However, I do remember using the Ultravids on a few occasions and almost feeling like they were "too bright" in certain situations. I get the same impression from the ED3. The colder color representation certainly gives the impression of a brighter overall image. It also give the impression of slightly greater detail. Direct resolution comparisons between the ED2 and ED3 though do not reveal any measurable difference.

I also mentioned the apparent field of view. Though the true field of view has not changed there does appear to be less field curvature in the image. As a result the apparent field of view "appears to be" larger in the ED3. Again, this is an impression because of the specific type and degree of edge distortion. Not the result of an increase in the true field of view.

Other notable changes worthy of mention....

Eye relief is definitely enhanced. With the eyecups now closer to the same level as the eyepiece surface there definitely is more usable eye relief. This was very noticeable to me after only a brief bit of use. With the ED2 I can have the eyecups fully collapsed and let my eyes scan around the entire image. When I attempt to do much the same thing with the ED3 I end up getting blackouts. I have to back the eyecups out about a half a turn before the blackouts disappear completely. I will probably do a little digging for some rubber o-rings to stick inside the eyecups.

Two, the focusing knob and focusing speed are definitely improved. The texture of the ED3 focusing knob is definitely better. Thank you to whichever forum member suggested it. It gives much better traction and therefore better control of the focus. When you add that to the faster focusing speed then you get a much better focusing design. Admittedly, I do occasionally overshoot perfect focus because the focusing speed is so much faster. But, after repeated use, one becomes accustomed to the new design.

I (Posted on 7/13/11)