I purchased these binoculars for general observation purposes: nature, some casual birding, hiking, concerts, sporting events, etc. and to complement my other pair (German-made 10x42) which is purpose-built for military use. As such I chose the 7x43 for the extra field of view. I am relatively new to using optics, but I did a fair amount of reading so I would know what to look for.

I tested these two binoculars side by side for over a couple of weeks in the mountains of Utah. One day I might stay inside and watch birds at the feeder (I got to see a variety of smaller birds, esp. sparrows, and jays, quite a number of turkeys and even a quail), and another day I might take the four-wheeler up the trail and hike to the top of a hill to look at the whole canyon. It was early Spring so I got to observe in snowy forested terrain as well as dry shrubby hills. I only wish I had more experience with optics so I could appreciate these more.

Construction
It seems most of the shortcomings I had read about the build quality of previous versions (ED1, ED2) have been corrected. The included strap is a good length and it adjusted easily to hang about mid chest level. The objective covers are nice and snug; they do not slip off, and are easy to flip off quickly for use. The ocular cover is nice in that it also fits well, comes off easily when you want it to, and it’s only attached to the strap on one side and can slip out of the other, so it doesn’t interfere with the way the strap hangs during viewing.

There is still a little play in the focus knob, but I didn’t even notice it until I reread the earlier reviews looking for complaints. The focus knob is a little on the slow side, which is good for getting that extra bit of sharpness, especially at short distances. My only complaint with it is that it rotates the opposite direction from my other binoculars. I have to remember that this is my “left-handed” pair, which means that I use my left index finger and push out to focus further away, and pull to focus closer in. On my other pair I use my right index finger to get the same relationship between distance and knob rotation. Honestly I don’t care which direction the knob turns, but it would be nice if all brands did it the same way.

The eye relief is more than adequate; almost too much, in fact. As a non-eyeglass wearer I have to twist out the eyecups all the way and just rest them lightly under my eyebrows to get the proper eye relief. I much prefer this to having to mash the binos into my face, but it is a little harder to hold them steady this way. Here the lower 7x magnification helps, as my 10x requires much more care in stabilization.

The feel and balance is very good, and weight is very reasonable for carrying, even around your neck. I imagine if I used a harness I would barely feel them hanging there. Even considering I am still young and accustomed to carrying heavy stuff, this is a very “packable” binocular.

My last (very minor) complaint is that the case is a little small. It fits the binos themselves nicely, but I have to fold the strap carefully and stuff it in the cracks to close the case, and the binos won’t fit at all with the eyecups twisted up. It would be nice to have a little more room to leave the eyecups up, and fit a couple of small things in there like a tripod adapter or a cleaning brush. The case for my other pair has a soft separator that you slip the binos into so they don’t rattle around inside but there is still a bit of room for sundries.

Optical Quality
The first thing out of your mouth when you put these to your eyes will be “Ahhh!”, if you’re used to high quality optics, and “Wow!” if you’re not. It is surprising how good the image is for the sticker price.

The long eye relief, razor sharp focus, and ample sweet spot make for a really fun viewing experience, even if you’re looking at mundane things. On the other hand, if you have gorgeous mountains, canyons, and wildlife to look at like I did, you’re in for a treat. I was able to glass for hours with no fatigue.

The ED2 versions used to have problems with glare in certain conditions, but I was unable to find any. I used them in a variety of lighting conditions, from clear to cloudy, from morning to late afternoon, and even at night for some star testing. No glare.

There was also zero Chromatic Aberration (color fringing), in any of the conditions I tried. By contrast, my high quality German-made binos exhibited some subtle CA, most noticeable when I was watching hawks fly over the hills about 1000m away, back-dropped against a clear sky. This was the only way I could really see the difference between the ZR’s ED glass and the german (still excellent) non-ED glass.

The biggest surprise for me was the amazing depth of field. I was able to get “pretty sharp” focus in huge zones from about 20-100m, 100-400m, and 400m-infinity, with very little adjustment in between. Most of the knob’s travel is taken up between 20m and the near limit, which I tested at about 5 feet, a smidge better than the manufacturer’s spec of 2m. Only a small nudge of the focus knob is needed to take you to “really sharp” at whatever distance your target may be. This means that you can spend more time concentrating on what you see and less time meddling with the knob. The only drawback to having this much depth of field was that it was tricky to get the diopter adjustment just right, because everything looked so good!

Summary
It will be a long time before I buy another pair of binoculars. I could save for years to buy an “Alpha Glass”, but the improvement will only be slight. With such great mid-priced optics, I’d rather spend my money travelling, so I have something cool to look at! (Posted on 5/7/12)

Comparison with the 8x43 ED3:

I have had the rare opportunity to be able to try out Zen Ray’s new 7x43 ED3 binocular for the last week. The unit that I have in my possession is a prototype and not a production unit. I make mention of this simply because there are several key issues which will be commented on later in the review where this becomes pertinent. It seems appropriate for me to compare the 7x43 to the 8x43 since all of the comments that pertain to one can be applied to the other.

For the most part the 7x43 unit is identical to the 8x43 externally. The only difference between the two is in the ocular diameter. The 7x43's eyepiece is notably narrower in comparison to the 8x43. I must assume that this change was necessary in order to achieve the 7x magnification in the ED3 design.

The 7x43 does not display any play whatsoever in the focusing mechanism and is extremely precise throughout the focus range. Focusing speed, direction and overall feel are identical between the two configurations.


Optical Impressions:

Optically the 7x43 shares the same neutral color representation of the 8x43 primarily because of the specific formula of the antireflective coatings used in the ED3 design. As referenced in the 8x43 review this is a change from the slightly warm color bias of the ED2. The apparent field of view is narrower in the 7x43 design, 58.6 degrees versus the 65 degrees of the 8x43. In practical use I cannot tell much of a difference.

Eye relief for the 7x43 is listed at 20 mm. I have no problem seeing the full field of view with the eyecups fully collapsed. I do not wear glasses but because of my facial characteristics, large nose and relatively close-set eyes, I find that I need to use most binoculars with the eyecups in the fully collapsed position.

Close focus is right at 6 feet for my eyes.

In terms of the image, it is everything you would hope for in a high quality 7x43 binocular. The 440 foot field of view is expansive. Depth of field is also excellent. It does not give quite the “apparent” depth of field of a similarly configured porro prism model but the depth of field is still noticeably better than the 8x43 model. Very little refocusing is needed over a good percentage of typical birding distances. When you couple this with the faster focus of the ED3 design, one full turn from close focus to infinity, then you find a very easy combination to use out in the field. The larger exit pupil also comes into play here. One of the reasons I have always been so fond of the 7x40-something configuration is the large 6 mm exit pupil. The 6 mm diameter gives my eye more room to roam around the image. For the type of birding I primarily do, hawk watching mostly but also waterfowl, this characteristic makes using the binocular so much more comfortable.

Just like the other configurations of this model the image is exceptionally sharp mostly due to the use of extra low dispersion glass in the objectives but also because of the rest of the binoculars’ design takes full advantage of that ED glass.

Color saturation appears very good, again, probably in large part to the combination of ED glass and high quality antireflective coatings. Colors are well represented but do not necessarily have quite the “pop” that some of the ED3’s optical competition does (thinking Nikon and Leica in this case). Though not necessarily the case with the Nikon and Leica models I do find that many times a binocular with a specific color bias represents certain similar colors with better color saturation. Since the ED3 is fairly neutral in color representation I do not necessarily get “deep reds” or “brilliant blues” in much the same way as I would in other models. I often felt the same way about the Zeiss FLs that I owned for several years. The color representation was fairly neutral but specific colors might not necessarily have been as vibrant as competing models. I do remember an extensive explanation of this phenomenon with the FL in particular but do not have it on hand at the moment to continue the discussion further.

Apparent brightness is interesting for lack of a better word. In just about every condition I have tried these binoculars in the apparent brightness appears to be fairly equal between the 8x43 and 7x43 units. This really surprised me as I had fully expected the 7x43 to give me more of that overwhelming brightness that the 7x42 FL does even in comparison to the 8x42 FL.


(Posted on 10/24/11)