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Although the Zen-Ray Optics ZEN ED2 8x43 has had a lot of positive opinions on different foreign websites it failed to impress us in our optical test. Perhaps the endurance test will show its better side? Let’s check it up!

Low temperature

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The tested lens is not created to be used in low temperatures. Both the central wheel and the dioptre correction ring moved so heavily that, in order to turn them, you had to apply a lot of strength. Especially the dioptre correction ring was obstinate – we managed to move it only after several attempts. The gauge of the tubes was also rather difficult to change. It doesn’t reflect well on the quality of grease the Zen-Ray company uses in its devices. Only eyecups and the tripod mounting blockade worked as they should.

High temperature

In high temperatures the central focusing wheel turns loosely, with some additional slack at the very beginning which changes into a bit more pronounced resistance after a while. The performance of the dioptre correction ring, the gauge of the tubes, the tripod mounting blockade and eyecups was flawless though. We didn’t notice any grease leakages either.

Waterproof qualities

No complaints in this category. One hour submersion of the tested binoculars was completely problem-free.

Falls

Two falls from different heights caused a lot of problems. The binoculars got decolimated and one eyecup was skewed and completely blocked.

Optics cleaning

The water residue, which got stuck after the exposure to high temperature, was easy to clean on objectives but much more difficult to remove from the eyepieces. Fingerprints are moderately difficult to get rid of. The drops of rain dribbling on the objective lens leave little droplets behind. Grease is quite easy to clean and you don’t have to use any special cleaning fluid either.

Other

The hoods of eyepiece tubes came unglued and they could be removed without any problems.

Summary

The chart below shows the results the tested pair of binoculars got in particular categories:

Two categories, namely low temperature and falls, are the reason why we can’t call this pair of binoculars solid and durable. You can only hope that its successor, an ED3 series model, will fare in these categories much better.