The Zeiss Victory Harpia scopes were introduced to the birding public during the American Birding Expo in September 2018. The two models, the 22-65x 85 mm and the 23-70x 95 mm, replace the Zeiss Diascopes in Zeiss' flagship Victory line. As the Conquest HD 30-60X85 Gavia scopes was named for the genus of loons, so the new Victory line were named in honor of the Harpy Eagle, a powerful predator which, by definition, is eagle-eyed.
Compared to other well-known scopes, fewer people have field tested these superb scopes. And that should change, because anyone considering upgrading their spotting scope should definitely include the Harpia among the contenders. It is among the very best-performing scopes on the market. Unsurprisingly, it also is not inexpensive.
A large helical focus ring on the Harpia body replaces the dual top-mounted focus knob featured on the discontinued Victory Diascopes. The single ring nonetheless retains dual speed coarse/fine focusing. The default is fine focus, but turn quickly in either direction and the fast focus gearing kicks in seamlessly. With a small movement either way you are back in fine-focus mode. I love it! [My wife does not "love it", but isn't that what are spouses for? ]
As in the Swarovski ATX scopes, the zoom and focus rings are adjacent on the barrel, so you hardly need to move your hand focus or zoom. Unexpectedly, the zoom does not show magnification but is labeled from 1 to 3 at ½ intervals, i.e. 1.5, 2.0, etc. If you keep in mind the magnification ranges (for example, 22x - 65x on the 85 mm), 1.5x = 33x, 2x = 44x and so on. In actual field use most people just zoom in to the desired image size and are not looking at the magnification scale anyway.
Kowa's flagship 883 model has held the wide-field record for years, but the Harpia scopes are the new wide-field champions. With the 85 mm, at 22x you have a panoramic 189.6’ at 1,000 yards field of view, and that continues right up to the 63' FOV at 65x. I'm an eyeglass wearer, and due to the generous eye relief, even at the maximum 65x the FOV feels “relaxed” and I see the full field.
In addition to comfortable viewing, like its namesake the Harpia has astounding resolution. To my eyes, it at least equals any of its competitors, and exceeds some of them. I find it tack sharp even at maximum zoom. Given how good the competition is, that is not faint praise! As examples of resolution beyond even what birders expect, over the past months I've watched Saturn get ever more distant, yet even as it shrinks the rings remain sharp. Jupiter's four Galilean moons are crisp pinpoints.
I do a lot of sorting through shorebirds, and months of sifting waterfowl flocks for less common species, and the Harpia excels at both.
As nothing is perfect for everyone, we'll note that some people don't love the dual focus feature, preferring separate coarse and fine focus knobs. The twist-up eyecup is very sturdy and does its job, but it can be stiff. I would call that a minor complaint given all the positive features. At present, Zeiss has no scope smaller than 85 mm, while many other makers have smaller, lighter, more compact scopes in the 60 mm range. Perhaps Zeiss will add one in the future.
In summary, the Harpia sets new limits in the field of view, can measure up against the competition in color and resolution, and is absolutely a top-shelf contender.