got these binos and was totally amazed on how crisp everything is when looking thru them. i was so amazed on how good they were i had to compare them to some high end 10x42 binos that my friends had, like the swaro slc, el and a leica ultravid and a nikon monarch just to compare something that is about the same price range. i ain't a expert or someone who uses binos on a regular basis (just for hunting) so i really don't know what people would use to compare binos to each other but this is what i did. first thing i looked at was the clarity and how crisp the colors are and another thing i did was i put the binos out of focus and wanted to see how easy and fast it was to get in focus when you pick um up and look thru them and the last thing i did was i put my hunting pack in some thick brush and wanted to see how fast i could spot it and how clear it would be from about 80-90 yards(if there is something else you want me to try, or know what other people do let me know and i'll try it). first off between the ed3 and the nikon monarchs hands down the ed3 were better in all the test that i did. the colors in the ed3 was way more clear and i spotted my pack way faster because of that. the focusing was also better in the ed3, i seemed to see things faster using it rather than the monarch it took a little longer but not that much longer. the ed3 and the swaro slc was in my opinion were the same. now comparing the ed3 to swaro el and the leica you could tell there was a little difference but not by very much. i think the only thing was in the crispness of the colors that the el and the leica brought out.

if i had to rate all the binos that i compared overall (price, value and quality) on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best, the swaro el and the leica i would give it a 9 only cause of the price, if they were cheaper i would give it a 10. the swaro slc i would give it a 9 again only cause of the price. if it were cheaper i would give it a 10. and i would give the nikon a 7 or 8. and for the ed3 i would give it a 10 because of the price and when compared to the high end binos it did very well or just as good next to the high end binos.

if you were thinking about buying a pair of binos or know someone who wants to buy one and likes to get high end stuff the ed3 are the way to go, you get the quality of a high end bino at half or even a quarter of the price. (Posted on 3/19/12)

You either buy a pair of Swarovski EL binoculars or don't buy anything. I tried Nikon EDG, Vortex Razor, Zeiss Conquest. Nothing compares to my EL. The ZEN ED3 falls into the same category, Yeah, they may be as good as Razor, EDG. But I can tell the difference between them and EL. I cannot see the point of buying any binoculars other than Swarovski. (Posted on 1/29/12)

Zen-Ray ed3 review

I have had my new pair of zen ray ed3s 10x43 for around a month now, I wish it was hunting season to put them to the real test. I have spent a fair amount of time over the last month hiking in the hills, being up at first light and glossing through them at dusk to give my thoughts on these binoculars a fair review. I wish I had my old leupold golden rings hd to compare side by side however I am going to have to count on the countless hours I have spent through them as comparison.

My first impressions of the binos out of the box were great! The rubber armor feels really good on the hands, it is not too plasticy feeling if that makes any sense. It also is not too sticky of a rubber like older style of binos or those bushnells they used to make in the 90s or so. My biggest complaint with these binos which is good because it is a small detail is the rubber coating on the body where you attach lanyard or bino straps. This area is a metal loop that is built into the body and the rubber armor loosely protects it. It looks and feels like a real cheap set of binoculars right there. I don't know if it would be better on future models to have the loops exposed and have the rubber coating stop at the body might be more aesthetically pleasing. There is what appears to be 20lpi checkering on the sides which fits nicely into my palms.  There is also a cutout for your thumbs on the bottom of the binoculars. The diopter adjustment does not have numbers on it just the middle indicator and a plus on one side and respectively a minus on the other, it is not a big deal for me because my adjustment is right above the minus, if I had more unequal eyes I can see it being an issue if it accidentally gets moved it might take a minute to get back into focus. The ring also has the same 20lpi checkering. 

The focus wheel Has the same 20 lpi checkering with the points knocked down and provides great traction on your index finger, the wheel is stiff which I really like, it is stiffer than a lot of other brands and might take some getting used to for some people. The focus wheel is also really fast meaning it has a really quick ratio  that also might take some getting used to but is a really nice feature in my opinion because I can get on target quickly.

The open bridge design is the best thing since sliced bread! I do not think I will ever buy binoculars that have a piano style hinge again! This design allows me to be more steady because my hands are taking up more real estate on the binos. Also the added benefit of less weight. 

The optical quality is superb, I have had these out well before light and was astonished! The gather light very well. During the day it is really crisp,and easy to look through for an extended period of time. I always find binoculars uncomfortable on the eyecups and find myself putting a lot of pressure on them to get correct field of view which in turn creates fatigue. With these, I rest them on the bridge of my nose and I'm done, I see myself spending a lot of time through these, more than in the past due to increased comfort level. the field of view is very good(340 ft/1000yards). I was happy with the quality of optics from my leupolds however I had serious issues with the design. Purchasing these Zen-Rays gave me a better pair of binoculars for my needs by making them comfortable for me and providing a better quality of optics! Again I wish I could compare side by side but I still give the edge optically to the Zens.

These binoculars also have two spots for a tripod adapter, one on the front, and the other in front of focus wheel. I haven't played around much with the most rearward one yet but I can see the advantages. The tripod adapter cover has a big ZR in a silver finish which I would like to see subdued, I will probably cover it in a sharpie. 

They weigh in at 26.8 oz. that cut 6 oz. of off my leupold hd’s thus widening the margin of optical quality and weight even more. 

I purchased these directly from Zens website. Great customer service, I also bought other items from him including the s4 lockdown which I highly recommend! They make sense and it is extremely easy to throw your binos up. I haven't spent more than 4 hours with them strapped on and I have no problem giving them five stars! Charles at Zen ray recommends using the supplied zip ties to attach the Zens to harness, I think I will throw in a few extra zip ties in my pack, I see them breaking at an Inopportune time. There was a small communication problem with my order, the box came in and everything was there except the harness, I was however billed for the harness, I took pictures of everything and sent it to Charles at Zen-Ray. He informed me the harness ships out separately from another site. It did create a little panic in me because I was thinking the worst, invoice says it's there and it was not, I thought it had the potential to turn into ,”it was in the box, I put it in there myself” issue.  It turned out all good it just would have been nice to know that ahead of time. Speaking with Charles at Zen-Ray gives them 5 stars on customer service as well, he returned emails very promptly and answered all of my questions.

All in all, I will have these binoculars in the family for the rest of my life. When my kids get old enough to go hunting, I will either hand these down or buy them a pair of Zen-Rays. I do see myself with a pair of zeiss or Swaros but not any time soon! My opinion is these are the best binos for under 1500$ pretty good considering I paid under 500$ for them! I wish I would have found them sooner. Here is the specs from the website:

Dimension (HxW) 6.5x5
Weatherproofing Waterproof/Fogproof
Magnification 10x
Field of View 340ft/1000yards
Eye Relief 15.2mm
Close Focus 2 m
Weight 26.8 oz
Interpupilary distance (IPD in mm) 56-74
Carrying case EVA Premium Hard Case
Neckstrap Cushion Padded Premium Neckstrap with Quickconnect
Ocular Lens Cover Yes
Objective Lens Covers Yes
(Posted on 1/18/12)

I just received my ED3's -10x43 yesterday and spent a few hours last evening and today using them around the place. I viewed several different animals at several distances in good and low light.
I have views here out to about a mile and a half.

At this time, with my limited use, I can say these glasses are extremely good. I'm very excited about these bino's.
At 6 feet the image is great. Deer at very long distances stand out well. Even small animals are very clear and detailed with nice color at as far as I'm capable. Until I have time to see how the quality and durability factors text out I had to mark them a 4.
I am looking forward to seeing how they are fairing this time next year. I hunt year round so they'll get some use. I'm generally not extra hard on my equipment but it does get used.
As for now though -
I'm VERY impressed with the overall performance and value of my new ZEN-RAY ED3's. (Posted on 1/15/12)

Just received my pair of ED3 10X43 and am very impressed with the clarity and light transmission. Really a quality set of Binoculars at a great price. (Posted on 1/6/12)

I bought these for hunting in Oregon, everything from waterfowl to elk. Used them on an elk hunt in snow, rain, rough terrain- they were always usable in the weather, and even took a couple minor dings without issue.

The focus knob is perfect- not too loose, and not too slow.

I debated forever going 8x or 10x, as I would like a wider field of view when scanning the skies for birds. Well, these awesome binos have the same field of view as a friend's 8x. Amazing!

Very, very little distortion at the edges. I didn't notice it at all unless I'm looking for it, and moving quickly across a chaotic view.

Spent hours at a time looking through these.

Totally awesome. (Posted on 12/30/11)

Pro: Excellent clarity and light transmission. The shell is sturdy and looks like it could withstand almost any abuse. Strap with the padded curve for the neck is a nice addition.

Con: The focus knob is very very stiff. Almost impossible to get it focussed on those fast skulkers before they are off to another location. Seems to be loosening up with use, but still need lots of work/use before I'll be happy with this aspect. (Posted on 11/30/11)

I tested these side by side with the Vortex Viper. The Zen ED3 was the clear winner during the last 10 minutes of daylight. Durn the day the Zen ED3 have brighter, more vivid color compared to the Viper. Even though the Vortex warrenty was a little better, I still went with the Zen ED3. Truely a quality set of Binoculars at a great price. (Posted on 11/29/11)

The quality of these glasses is by far best in class (alpha-class sub $1200). Focusing action is fast and precise. The build quality seems very good--easily on par with next best competition.

Optically, compared to the high dollar Swaro I sampled at GanderMtn, the ED3 performs just as well, has equivalent or greater apparent field of view (no tunnel vision whatsoever!). And near equivalent image quality. Unless I had both sets side by side, mounted to tripods and about 3 hours to nit-pick the details there is no discernible difference whats ever.

Technically the ED3 is missing the Field Flattener seen on the $1200+ alternatives, but there is little or no noticable edge distortion or loss of focus.

The objective cap design seems secure enough that you wont be dropping caps from your deer stand etc. And the ocular caps are a snug fit unlike the Nikons which literally fall off if held at the wrong angle.

My only complaint about these goggles is that the carrying case is too small to leave the oculars in the extended position. You must fully retract the oculars to fit in the quasi-hard case without forcing it. Really this Isnt a bad thing because this way they dont slop around in the case, but for me personally its kinda annoying since I dont wear eye-glasses and I prefer to keep the oculars fully extended. Again, not a problem in practical use, just a minor annoyance since extending and retracting oculars after every use *could* lead to undue wear on the mechanism.

Overall, these goggles are awesome. Dont throw 2-3x as much cash away for alpha-class optics that are, at best, a marginal improvement over the ZEN-RAY ED3. (Posted on 11/25/11)

The quality of these glasses is by far best in class (alpha-class sub $1200). Focusing action is fast and precise. The build quality seems very good--easily on par with next best competition.

Optically, compared to the high dollar Swaro I sampled at GanderMtn, the ED3 performs just as well, has equivalent or greater apparent field of view (no tunnel vision whatsoever!). And near equivalent image quality. Unless I had both sets side by side, mounted to tripods and about 3 hours to nit-pick the details there is no discernible difference whats ever.

Technically the ED3 is missing the Field Flattener seen on the $1200+ alternatives, but there is little or no noticable edge distortion or loss of focus.

The objective cap design seems secure enough that you wont be dropping caps from your deer stand etc. And the ocular caps are a snug fit unlike the Nikons which literally fall off if held at the wrong angle.

My only complaint about these goggles is that the carrying case is too small to leave the oculars in the extended position. You must fully retract the oculars to fit in the quasi-hard case without forcing it. Really this Isnt a bad thing because this way they dont slop around in the case, but for me personally its kinda annoying since I dont wear eye-glasses and I prefer to keep the oculars fully extended. Again, not a problem in practical use, just a minor annoyance since extending and retracting oculars after every use *could* lead to undue wear on the mechanism.

Overall, these goggles are awesome. Dont throw 2-3x as much cash away for alpha-class optics that are, at best, a marginal improvement over the ZEN-RAY ED3. (Posted on 11/25/11)

I purchased the new Zen ed3 10x43 2 weeks ago. Iinitially i was impressed by the look feel and overall quality of these bins.

After the second time i put them in the car i started seeing problems arise. Nothing of great concern, but small q/c issues that are having me question the durability of these binoculars.

The second time using these binuculars a clip broke for the hard binocular case (the one that connects from the strap to the hard case.) Luckily the other clip remained intact so did not drop them.

Secondly, the zen-ray logo inside the focusing wheel fell out right after i picked them up to use them.

These 2 items caused me some conern as to whether the QC on these was very good or if other parts will fail in the future. I realize these are minor problems, but still problems non-the-less.

Now for the good:

From the first time picking up my zen-ed3 i was impressed with the clarity of these for the price. I found them to be a great value for the price. The focus is easy and quick, but there does remain some slop in the focusing wheel. I found the eyecup adjustment increments to be very comfortable and generous in their movement.

Like i said. I find these to be an overall good binocular but they seem to have small issues that lead me to wonder about the QC/duarbility of them in the future..

(Posted on 10/18/11)

I took my ED3 10x44 binoculars on a Red Stag hunting in Scotland. They stood up to very wet conditions without fogging and stood toe to toe with the Stalker's Zeiss and Swarovski binoculars for a fraction of the cost. Outstanding clarity and performance!! (Posted on 10/17/11)

My birder friends warned me: don't do it. But not listening to them I bought and used my pair of 10x43ED3 now for some weeks. My friends had to admit they were totally wrong.... Amazing good view and ease of use. I used many binoculars in the more then 50 years I was a birder and the zen-ray 10x43ED3 is by far the best. Next weeks. Can't wait to use them in the yearly count of the migrating birds in autumn migration to the South. Thanks and greetings from Henk in Holland ! (Posted on 9/13/11)

I was able to take my ed3 10x43 out and do some glassing in the big horn mtns and they are amazing for the price. Was able to spot 5 elk at about 1.5 mile. and compared to bushnell elites they are brighter and clearer.
Thanks zen ray (Posted on 8/26/11)

Just received my pair of ED3 10X43 and am very impressed with the clarity, speed of focus and all around feel. Overall they are very comfortable and look forward to using them for the up coming season. (Posted on 8/18/11)