Leica Binoculars - Fantastic Glass!

[jonathan_reynolds]

I always grieve over people who can't actually see the benefit of good bins, but life is certainly cheaper for them. When the new Trinovids came out I happened into a demo day at a bird hide, where all the leading makes were available. The image through the the Trinovids m was perceptibly more contrasty than my 20-year old Zeiss Dialyts, and the Trinovids had the advantage of being totally sealed against moisture. On the other hand they were much bulkier and the image wasn't so very much better that I was tempted to spend.

 

Personally, I like a 10x bin for birds and mammals, partly because I just enjoy gazing at the beasts, and partly because in woodland the narrow depth of field is useful to isolate the animal. But I am currently looking for a pair of the original 1970s unarmoured 8x32 Leitz Trinovids at the right price. They were very beautiful and very compact, and would make a great second pair.

 

A very good tip that I learned from friends is to wrap unarmoured bins semi-permanently in a tube of wetsuit rubber. This acts as simple weather-proofing and armouring, but - best of all - if you cut it a couple of inches long at the wide end it acts as a lens-hood to prevent the flare that happens with all bins against the light.

[jamie bushley]

I like Leica cameras, but I couldn't see spending so much on binocs unless you are going to be using them for hours a day or just have lots of money to spend. I have a couple pairs (in different mag ratios) of decent quality 20 year old binocs that I bought used a few years ago for under $10. They work great and if I break them or lose them it would be no big deal.

 

When looking through binoculars you will only be seeing the image (and that image quality) for a fleeting moment. I prefer to spend my money on lenses which will capture the image forever, but to each their own!

[frank_horn]

I bought my 7x42 Trinovids around 1973. I have used them a lot and, by now, there is a very slight slippage in the rear focusing wheel. ( I am the original owner and wonder if this would be a warrantee repair?)

 

Like the above person said, they sold me on Leica camera gear. About a week after I bought these (At Altman's in Chicago-- now out of business) I got two camera lens caps for the front objectives and hollowed them out. Then I put a piece of plastic bag around the barrels and on that, rubber tape. Then, electrical tape over that. It has been like this since '73 and if I removed that now, I'd expect to find a pristine binoc. I have also a set of new eyecups. If I had it to do over again, I'd have paid a few $ more and gotten the 10x40s). Actually, I'd have paid more and gotten an APO-Televid (straight) and 32x, had they been available. I believe a scope can do most of what a binoc will do, and more. A look at a planet with binocs simply produces a 7x or 10x bigger point of light.

 

I took a picture of these tape-armored binocs and sent them to Leica. Before long, the elegant pebble grain was discontinued and the rubber aromred binocs appeared! I hope I am not part of the reason the pebble grain is gone!

 

Does anyone have one of the colored models they made-- blue, yellow or red, as I recall?

[wendell_kelly]

I've never used Leitz binoculars but another place to find superb Leitz glass in in the Leitz microscopes of the 1960's.

 

The black-finish microscopes that Leitz manufactured then are, at least, on a par with the M3 and M4 Leicas, both in

the mechanics and the optics.

 

There are a variety of ways, it seems, to practice the true faith.

[bernard_korites]

I think I hear the fluttering of angel wings!

[kens]

I used to be happy with Nikon, Minolta, and the like. Because I was familiar with the photo equipment I looked through a

dealer's Leica binocs just out of curiosity. I was stunned. Now I use 8x20 BC Trinovids and 7x42 Ultravids and I'll never go

back. A real pleasure to use.

[james_cooke]

"I have two pairs of Leica binos and a pair of Zeiss 10x25s. They both have similar quality glass but the Leica are better built,"

 

Hmmmm better built? Yes and no. I switched from the Zeiss 10X25 Clasic to Leicas Trinovids because what I believed to be better metal construction but the focus of the Leicas are no where near as smooth and precise as the Zeiss. In fact I find the Leicas rough, and uneven in comparison. You can hear them focus if there is not much ambient noise which I dont think is acceptable for this pricepoint. Even Nikons that are a tenth the cost are smooth and silent. I was so concerned by this they went back to Germany under warranty but they are the same. The optics are great but the focusing really spoils the use of them. Hopefully they improved with the Ultravid line.

[clive1]

Photo.net...?

[michael_oxford]

While the Leica bino's are not regarded as optimal for astronomy (I'm assuming b/c of the light falloff due to the roof prism),

their eyepieces for the Televid 'scopes are considered some of the best; right up there with Astro-Physics, TMB, and

TeleVue. I would buy a couple if I had the money. : (

[eric_meyer]

There are a lot more truly decent binoculars out there today than there were 30 years ago, but some like Trinovids and ELs still stand out. An 8 (or 10)x30 of that grade will go anywhere and be a pleasure to use.

 

Oddly enough, I remain a Trinovid fan: I don't like the (10x) Ultravids I've looked at. They may be brighter, but the eyecups don't adjust far enough out for me, and they just don't deliver as flat a field -- some combination of worse distortion or field curvature or DOF, I haven't tested which. Strange, at that price, to have moved backward on such essentials. (The current Zeiss is even worse; for a 10x42 today I'd pick the EL.)

[GerrySiegel]

Interesting discussion.Pentax,in my opinion still makes some decent mid range $ roof styel light mag alloy

binoculars. Quite a

variety in fact... I can't say I have compared them to the Leica or Swarovski product in the field (versus the

ones I played with at the Swarovski boutique store downtown) but they have a flat field, water proof and a good

construction.

They use a hybrid aspheric to achieve clarity however and I can't speak for the longevity of hybrid plastic/glass

aspherics of course or how they would fare on Mt McKinley. For light weight I am satisfied with my Pentax SP 10

by 43 for its price which is by no means cheap I hasten to say. I

would like to try the Leica and Zeiss products one day to see what the standard of quality is. Am sure they are

deserving of their reputation. My budget and

needs aren't quite up to it these days. But one day. Oh yes, the Fujinon Polaris are monsters but do well for

backyard astronomy, the porro prism is old fashioned and bulky but they got the coatings just right-great

transmission, separate focus,. and the castings are impenetrable by tank weapons. They are best on a tripod of

course. Or at sea in a blowing wind on the focs'l for lookout duty by strong arms:-)

[msitaraman]

Ahem...would anyone care to comment on whether they have that "Leica glow"?

 

But seriously, I borrowed a pair of Trinovids (8x42) and their superiority is immediately apparent relative to my

humble (but well built and well corrected) Nikon binoculars, both in nightime (terrestrial and astronomical) and

daytime viewing. Someday...

[bob_mac]

Since I purchased a pair of 8x20 Ultravids last year, looking into the trees or out onto the ocean has been one the simple pleasures in life. Living along the coast during the autumn months one can witness a variety of birds departing for the winter. It amazes me every year. The months of October and November tend to be months I use them the most. Last night I put them in my bag for the morning sunrise. While viewing the horizon today I am thinking of how pure and clean the view is. They are just plain fun to view thru!

...and given all of the distortion in the news these days I find solitude when I do find time to use them...

-b.