New Leica Geovid

[Don Tom]

Hi folks,
Maybe under the radar for you birders, but as a hunter the new roof prism geivids have me real excited! Only 10 g heavier than the comparable trinovid, with a similar field of view. Styling (IMO) is better than the Ultravids, and the specs on the rangefinder look good. A pair of 10x42 BRF are definitely on my wish list for alpine stalking. Will be handy for spotting Keas as well (not that they usually need binoculars).
Anyone here seen or handled a pair? They haven't reached New Zealand yet. I would appreciate opinions on their optical qualities.
Cheers,

TOM

[Don Tom]

Hi,
From the lack of response, I can assume that no one has tried the Geovids! Actually, I received a private message from a fellow hunter that some posters on this forum are anti hunting. I salute your politeness! Being ignored is much better than being flamed. And as mentioned, I can't see much use for the rangefinding feature for birdwatching, except to work out how far away that handy piece of cover might be.
The information supplied on this forum has been of great interest to me. I'm sure, as a hunter, I am not the only "non-birder" to utilise it. Retailers, sports fans etc must also be picking your brains.
I would be happy to explain my hunting philosophy to you. But this is not a hunting forum. Suffice to reassure you that I would never hunt a native bird, and have been actively involved in elimimating introduced pests such as stoats and rats most of my life. Hunting is my reason for being outdoors, as birding probably is for many of you.
Of course I observe birdlife when outdoors, but I won't claim to be a birder, as it is rarely my primary purpose.
I won't contribute any hunting related posts on this forum again, as I realise it is not fair to people sensitive to that philosophy. The member who pointed out my gaff has also nicely pointed me to a more suitable forum.
Thank you for the information freely provided. I will continue to frequent the forum, but will limit any posts to helping other's queries, and any birding experiences that I feel may be of interest. You are a nice group of people.

Tom Newstead

[Atomic Chicken]

Greetings Don!

First off, let me congratulate you on being a very polite and gracious person. The world needs more people like yourself... it is refreshing to see somebody actually consider the thoughts and feelings of others when posting about controversial topics.

Secondly, while not a hunter myself, I do own several firearms (including long-range rifles) and can definitely understand the "hunter/non-hunter" debates that have been going on forever. I personally would NEVER turn my rifles on game of any sort unless I was in bad need of food... and if I were to do so I would never take the shot unless I was certain that a humane, clean kill with little or no suffering of the animal was possible. Having said that, I personally have no problem with hunters or hunting in general, it's just something that I personally choose not to be involved in unless the need were ever great enough to overcome my moral aversion to killing.

Your post about the Geovids fascinates me.... I've been looking very seriously at these binoculars for purchase next year, I can see IMMENSE utility in the range-finding function for mapping of an area, if nothing else. It would be nice to be able to tell how far away the bird is for general note taking, but to be able to range 2 or 3 landmarks and pinpoint my position accurately on a map for observation logs would be VERY nice, in my opinion.

For optics in general, I actually prefer Nikon and Zeiss over Leica, but the addition of the rangefinding function would probably convince me to purchase the Leica Geovid unless either of the previously named manufacturers get on the ball and release a similar product.

Keep us up-to-date on your interest in these binoculars, and let us know what your evaluation is once you have the opportunity to view a pair. Thanks in advance!

Best wishes,
Bawko

[Don Tom]

Thanks for your kind comments Bawko.
I had a chance to handle a pair of 8x42 Geovids today. Was eagerly anticipating it, but was a little disappointed.
Bigger than I expected, they are substantially longer than Leica 10x42BNs. Eyepieces were too thick rimmed for me (I don't wear spectacles)as I have quite deep eye sockets. The optics seemed bright and crisp, as expected. I won't make any more comment on the optics, as I didn't make a direct comparison with any other bins, and I'm not good at making quick judgements on optics.
My current bins are Swaro 8x30 SLC MKIIs, and are tiny compared with these geovids. Would definitely not be tempted, now that I have experienced the dense North Island bush. I think I would rather buy a separate range finder to keep in my belt bag, for the couple of minutes per trip I would use that function. Especially at NZ$3000+ for the Geovids, as opposed to about NZ$1000 for a Leica 1200 rangefinder. I could buy a pair of Zeiss Classic 10x40s as well and still be ahead!
These comments are not a criticism of the Geovids except as they apply to me. Apart from the eyepieces, they were nice to handle. I probably should regard the size as a positive, as I am always suspicious of electronics shoehorned into too small a case, shock is bound to be transmitted through the instrument, rather than absorbed by the case. The weight is within a few grams of the BNs. If the eyepieces fitted me better, I would be interested in the 10x42 for South Island alpine hunting. I didn't try the rangefinding function, but I would assume they work as well as their standalone units.
They might work for you, but I would try them first, rather than on consignment.
Cheers,
TOM

[TrackersNZ]

I would be interested in the 10x42 for South Island alpine hunting. I didn't try the rangefinding function, but I would assume they work as well as their standalone units.
[/QUOTE]

Howdy,
Nice to see another kiwi on the forum. I guess the Alpine hunting opportunities are quite sparse based in Auckland. I too am a very keen alpine hunter as well as a passionate birder, my fulltime occupation is guiding in both.
(I am a member of both SCI and NZ Ornithological Society)
Seems the two can go hand in hand, and especially in the NZ scenario.
Wildlife interests me from many angles, I'm also completeing a masters degree in Wildlife Management.
I find that in general Birders know a lot more about optics than hunters, the optics posts here have a very high level of intelligence attached i.e. versus some on the various hunting specific forums.
Also noticeable that the high profile optic manufacturers are specifically targeting the birding market, and donating to bird conservation projects etc.

Have been trying to get my hands on a pair of the new geovids, not to buy, but to check and see if they can be used in one hand (Ranging) and must be the right hand, not for my own application, but I have a friend in Australia who is a top bow hunter. Now, neither of us have managed to track down a pair in NZ or Aus as yet. They must be very close to appearing on the shelves.
Personally I like to have the two items seperate, as easier to replace/update one at a time as technology improves.
Also I feel good binoculars will last a lifetime or longer, but anything electronic has a limited shelf life.
I have the latest LRF scan 1200, and it is superb, although I have yet to see it range to 1200 metres. (800-1000 no problem on a good reflective surface.)
My binos are Leica BN's and Swarovski SLC's, I also have a pair of Steiner auto focus, which are not too bad at 20% of the price of the others. Robust, lightweight and optics fine.
Feel free to PM to discuss further.