The new Leica Ultravids

[phyllosc]

For those of you who tried these new Leicas out at the Birdfair, what did you think of them?

I though they looked pretty sharp but then, with the sun shining like it was, any pair of pins will look good. I wish I'd had my own bins with me (Leica 10x32s) with which to compare them.

From an aesthetic point of view I liked the leather covered ones. They had a retro feel about them, looking like the Leicas of the mid 70's.

Dave

[Highway Man]

I liked them a lot, light weight, excellent optics, nice looking but with the close focus at a very poor 11ft (12ft with the 10X) I will not be considering them when my 8X32's retire.

Mark

[Leif]

They claim the body is made of magnesium. From what I remember of school chemistry magnesium burns ferociously. Not sure I would want to carry an incendiary device around with me.

[digi-birder]

I tried them, and compared them to my Opticrons, and thought they were miles better (obviously), but I preferred the Nikon.

The Nikon stand didn't appear to have many bins to try, but the 8x32 BNs I tested were fabulous. They were comfy to hold and easy to focus, for me, and I could not tell any difference between them and the Leicas, although they were tested 15 mins apart as they were on opposite ends of the optics tent.

[Doug]

I was blown away by the Swaro 10 x 32EL's - my wife was too - I can feel another expensive purchase coming up.

[cjay]

i did not get the chance to try the new leica's but did like the Optolyth BGA's. against my Leicas they were just as good.,& lighter but the minimum focus really sold the Leica's for me.

colin

[gorank]

The new Leicas seem very interesting from technical data, but i haven't seen them in Sweden...are they in the stores somewhere yet? Pricing?

What eye relief do they have? Better than the trinovids?
Its strange that you cant find this data on Leicas homepage...

[Leif]

Hi Gorank: According to Swarovski the EL's are made of "Extremely durable and lightweight housing of magnesium alloy".

[CDK]

Did no one else see the C.A. on the bins. yellow line down the right hand side of the posts situated about 50 yards away!! When I was there several people made the same comment.

Shame because the weight was very good and the focussing wheel has a quicker focussing system than the EL's.

The optical performance is no better than the BN's. However the price is considerably higher.

[Andy Bright]

This C.A. wasn't subtle either! though I didn't confront the Leica guys on it as everyone seemed to be having such a good time. They're going to have to do something major to rectify it, otherwise it could do the company some serious harm.
I thought the Ultravids were very nice in the hand, that feel-right quality.

[Leif]

IMO the 'standard' Leica 8x42 BN's are fairly well corrected for CA.

[pduxon]

Uh C.A ???????

[gorank]

CA = chromatic aberration
here is a link that briefly explaines what CA is:

http://www.yorku.ca/eye/chroaber.htm

In my Leica 8x32 BN:s the CA is somtimes visible..and in some cases a bit annoying...but i can live with it...

Minox (owned by Leica?) make binos with ED-glass...(two models 10x58 and 15x58) reducing CA...and they are cheaper than Leicas...but are they any good???
http://www.minox.de/

Swift also have ED-glass in some models that are not especially expensive...I wonder where the drawbacks are??

[mcdowella]

Originally posted by Leif
They claim the body is made of magnesium. From what I remember of school chemistry magnesium burns ferociously. Not sure I would want to carry an incendiary device around with me.

In school, you get strips of magnesium foil or similar - large surface area to burn with, and little volume to use as a heat sink. More solid chunks - even of pure magnesium - burn less readily. Magnesium alloy is used here and there, even e.g. inside racing car engines. See e.g. http://www.drysump.com/valvcvr2.htm.

[Roseate]

I tried a pair, but not on the Leica stand and they were excellent, no sign of any CA to my old eyes. I would have bought a pair if it hadn't been for the fact I converted from Leica to Nikon earlier this year.

Tom

[Leif]

Gorank: By the way, binoculars have two forms of CA. The first - logitudinal CA - is from the objectives as explained by your link. It appears as yellow and purple fringes. It is usually quite small and hard to see. The second - lateral CA, or CA of magnification - is from the eyepiece. Basically the eyepiece magnifies differently each colour component of the image from the objectives. So the blue and red components of the image formed by the eyepieces will be different sizes. It is zero at the image centre and most pronounced at the image edges. The CA you see in the Leica 8x32 is - I think - lateral CA. The amount of CA seen depends in part on the viewing conditions. In bright sunlight it can be quite obvious.

Mcdowella: Phew. Looks like the new Leica's are not a fire risk!

[mak]

C.A. can also be seen if you do not set up your bins correctly, vertical C.A. can result by not setting up your inter pupillary distance correctly. You will also see a horizontal line if you are not looking parallel through your bins. Which in my experience is quite common.

[TREEBUG]

When are the new Leica's available?

[Paul Godolphin]

I liked them a lot, light weight, excellent optics, nice looking but with the close focus at a very poor 11ft Mark

Hi Mark
Thanks for the review. I haven't seen these binos yet. Other writers here say that they like the feel, look etc.
So please, how do they look? What is the difference between these new ones and the existing Ultravid range?
I'd previously understood that the new range were going to be the same but with FL/HD glass. On the basis of various comments on this thread, maybe they are in fact a new body, and completely different?
Please would somebody give a detailed description and a comparison to the current Ultravid models?
many thanks
Paul

[dogfish]

This is a very old thread about the 'old' Ultravids... there's another one about the HDs, which are due in the UK around now

Sean