New Zeiss Bino—SFL 10x40–Review

[General RE LEE]

I was going to buy 8x42 NL Pures but for a chest harness hunting Bino I’m liking the 8x40 SFL.

 

[stevie]

Can anyone comment on the eye relief for eye glass wearer. My Conquest HD is a little short on eye relief.

 

[ILPete]

Based on the Conquest's 18mm ER Spec, you're going to have ER problems with most bins. I wear glasses and have no ER issue the SFLs or most modern bins.

 

[stevie]

Thanks for the reply

 

[robby denning]

Can anyone comment on the eye relief for eye glass wearer. My Conquest HD is a little short on eye relief.

Hey man I did use them with my glasses on and I can say they had average performance, like most optics I can’t get the full field of view, however it wasn’t bad.

 

[robby denning]

Final review is up!

Zeiss SFL 10x40 vs. SF 10x32 Binocular Review

Zeiss has recently released two models of compact binoculars, the Zeiss SFL and SF. Both raise the performance to weight ratio, but which one is best for you?

www.rokslide.com

 

[Justin Crossley]

Great review, Robby. It's good to see another binocular option that works well and saves some money.

 

[robby denning]

Great review, Robby. It's good to see another binocular option that works well and saves some money.

Thanks JC

 

[mfllood3800]

Check this one out as well, I have the RRS and it works great but this looks to be slightly less bulky, should know Friday.

Aziak Equipment - Lightweight Tripods, Bino Adapters and other accessories for Western Big Game Hunters.

Aziak Equipment makes lightweight optics equipment for Western Hunters. We make the lightest backpack hunting tripod on the market, as well as the best binocular to tripod adapter - the Bino Clamp! Our tripods are good for shooting, glassing, mounting binoculars and spotting scopes. In addition...

www.aziakequipment.com

Been using their adapter for over a year now. I really like it. Even on the tighter AGC rig which is kindo of small compared to the Marsupial. No issues in and out. The attachment works great even in the Az Desert winds and dust. Never noticed movement caused by them. Super fast in and out.

 

[robby denning]

Been using their adapter for over a year now. I really like it. Even on the tighter AGC rig which is kindo of small compared to the Marsupial. No issues in and out. The attachment works great even in the Az Desert winds and dust. Never noticed movement caused by them. Super fast in and out.

Good to hear. I was surprised I hadn’t heard more about the Zeiss Tripod Adapter on here. It works well and better than my Swaro’ adapter as it doesn’t have the two-step safety feature the Zeiss does.

Now if they’d just trim them up a bit, just a little bulky. Prolly used the Vortex UL too long and it spoiled me.

 

[mfllood3800]

Great review, Robby. It's good to see another binocular option that works well and saves some money.

Good to hear. I was surprised I hadn’t heard more about the Zeiss Tripod Adapter on here. It works well and better than my Swaro’ adapter as it doesn’t have the two-step safety feature the Zeiss does.

Now if they’d just trim them up a bit, just a little bulky. Prolly used the Vortex UL too long and it spoiled me.

Yea no reason to have a bulky adapter now a days.
I like the Aziak because it is same idea as Arca rails. Even on my reloading press Arca rails are the new thing for accessory attachments. Slimline, quick and durable.

 

[Bluto]

Another can of worms as I try and learn my way around good glass. I’ve had a few examples of 10x42’s in my hands for about a week and a half. The Zeiss SF’s stood out to me for my eyes, I’m wondering how these 10x40’s would compare. Or am I completely missing the boat on this question?

 

[ILPete]

Best way to tell is to try them out. SFLs are 1.1 inches shorter, 5 oz lighter and give up 15 ft of FOV at 1000yd. But they're 5oz lighter according to specs and $1,000 or so cheaper.

 

[Bluto]

Yeah the specs are making me very interested. I just saw this review and info and actually hadn’t considered anything other than the straight 10x42’s.

Now I’m even second guessing the 10x over the 8x.

 

[ILPete]

Other than robby's review there's not a lot of review info on the 10x40s. There's a fair amount of love for the 8x40s on Birdforum and I'm in the club. The Swaro NLs scream quality, but the SFLs perform almost as well, significantly cheaper, and are a lighter load on the neck. basically a full size bin at a mid size weight. The SFLs are also less prone to glare issues compared to the NLs.

 

[Bluto]

The 8’s in general are starting to sound appealing to me based on need alone. 10x *seems* to be the best all arounder for hunting, but my glassing for game is almost exclusively an elk hunt. (There are others, but any good glass will suffice.)

I don’t spend hours looking for muleys or sheep, and I don’t really score anything at all. Are there elk, is there a bull? If yes, start hiking. I’m bigger on low light performance than resolving antler details. But…sometimes elk are in big country. So I dunno.

I’ve read more of the same on the glare you mentioned. I know Robby is high on 8’s in general, and these SFL’s are intriguing.

 

[ILPete]

I've historically used 8x for birding, but have been happy using 10x32 NLs I got earlier this year. They're the first 10x bin I've been satisfied with in field use. Nice FOV for 10x and lightweight. I'd consider the 10x40 SFLs, but their FOV is much less.

The NL glare can usually be dealt with without too much trouble, but if you're glassing towards the direction of the sun at dawn or dusk I can see where it could be irritating. Reportedly Leicas are the best at dealing with that issue.

 

[General RE LEE]

Other than robby's review there's not a lot of review info on the 10x40s. There's a fair amount of love for the 8x40s on Birdforum and I'm in the club. The Swaro NLs scream quality, but the SFLs perform almost as well, significantly cheaper, and are a lighter load on the neck. basically a full size bin at a mid size weight. The SFLs are also less prone to glare issues compared to the NLs.

That Birdforum has to be the stuffiest forum I’ve ever been a member. I’ll ask a question and some stiff will post a link and smugly say this was addressed already on page 8 post # 692 of said thread. Well excuse me for living cat lady cork sniffer.

 

[ILPete]

That Birdforum has to be the stuffiest forum I’ve ever been a member. I’ll ask a question and some stiff will post a link and smugly say this was addressed already on page 8 post # 692 of said thread. Well excuse me for living cat lady cork sniffer.

LOL. There's good info there, but a few of them are quite uptight and can't stand it when someone has a differing opinion form theirs. And do not mention hunting. Panties will be severely bunched.

 

[Bluto]

Well now I want to join. I have some hunting questions. Probably involving some bird species that you can’t actually hunt.