Not pleased with the Zeiss 8x25 Terra ED.
I purchased the Zeiss Terra ED 8x25 today based on the review on this thread. Sad to say, I was underwhelmed. I have a Nikon 10x25 HGL (LXL) compact and that binocular must've spoiled me with it razor sharpness. I understand it is not an equal comparison both on price and magnification, but surely they should be much closer considering the Nikons are only 200ish bucks more (due to build quality and materials e.g. magnesium vs. polycarbonate fiber shell)
The visual rendering through this binocular is puzzling across the field. If you get the center sharp the the circular area 20-30 percent around the center was just a tad soft. I thought it was my eyes playing tricks on me, so I focused the center and them move it image up and could see it was the optics and how the Zeiss engineers designed the lens. Whatever they were trying to correct for it left the visuals looking a bit weird. Wonder if there are some aspheric correction lenses involved in this design. Also, the edge wasn't too sharp vs. the Nikons and Chromatic Aberration correction was not up to snuff for me. I have a pair of $50 Olympus 8x25 WPII Trackers (which I bought based on another glowing review) as well and that bino was more pleasing to me than the Terra EDs, especially at that price point. Credit to the Terra ED, they were brighter than the Olympus.
All in all, after an indoor test and comparing them to my other binoculars, I've decided to send them back. I am now curious about how the Swarovski 8x25 Pocket CLs will perform.
Edited by MagisterM, 28 April 2016 - 02:52 AM.