Zen-Ray ZEN ED3 7x43 Binoculars ZEN-ED3-7x43

Excellent Apparent Sharpness, Brightness and CA control

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 glassed 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.

• 1 out of 1 people found this review useful.