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how important is the ED glass?

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m_freeman View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote m_freeman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: how important is the ED glass?
    Posted: January/24/2011 at 14:01
what is the difference in viewing with and without ED glass? Will it make a difference in seeing a deer in the bushes at 1500 yards with 15x binos?
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anweis View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote anweis Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/24/2011 at 14:19
Your question does not have a simple answer because optics, glass, optical coatings, binocular construction, etc are not simple. 
If you took two otherwise identical binoculars, one with high quality ED  glass and one without, the only difference that you would see would be that in certain light and viewing conditions the non-ED bino would have a colored fringe around everything in view while the non-Ed would not have this fringing and would appear sharper.
But, ED works only if the binoculars are properly designed and built to begin with and the ED glass is used in the design, not just slapped there. ED will not make a difference on your 1500 yards deer in the bush if, for example:
-you are looking against the light, the deer is in the shade, and the binos have poor baffles and lots of light dispersion
-you have handshakes (you WILL NOT see that deer at 15x and 1500 yards in the bush without a tripod or support of some sorts)
-many other reasons too numerous and technical to detail here (i have no clue).
 
In other words: if you purchase a decent glass, you will see your deer or not see it regardless of ED glass. In the past i have used similar optics (binoculars and spotting scopes) with and without ED, and the observable difference was a slightly sharper image with ED, but everything was there to see was still there even without ED.
It is the optical build that matters more than ED.
To give you an example: Between an ED Leupold spotting scope and a non ED older Swarovski scope, i always found the Swarovski better.  
 
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m_freeman View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote m_freeman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/24/2011 at 14:27
yes I assumed this, well designed qualiy binos can perform very well all things considered. This is why I am looking at the Minox 15x56 I assume this would give very good performance even though it is not ED glass.
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Bird Watcher View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bird Watcher Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/24/2011 at 16:00
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anweis View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote anweis Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/25/2011 at 12:46
And to complicate things a bit, ED is just a commercial term applied by companies to somewhat better glass. That glass is a category, a moving bracket or interval of quality, and is different to each company. ED in a $400 binocular is probably not the same glass as ED in a $2500 optic.
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stickbow46 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote stickbow46 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/25/2011 at 19:01
Great find Bird Watcher!
Pearls of Wisdom are Heard not Spoken
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Bird Watcher View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bird Watcher Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/25/2011 at 20:55
Tanks  Tank
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