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Leica Can you Fix my Noctivid or give me my cash back !!!!! (1 Viewer)

GLOBETROTTER

Well-known member
To be honest i don't know why i dint say anything before maybe because i simply loves the Leica Brand........can be.

When on 16th of January i went to buy the Noctivid one of the samples in the store had issues in one barrel being less sharp than the other one.

The other unit was fantastic optically but the diopter wheel moves in some degree together with the focus wheel.

The third sample was not 100% perfect optically, the diopter setting was ok and did not move together with the focus wheel so i bought it.

After a couple of months the diopter setting start to move just slightly with the focus wheel and since them the effect was increasing moving until .7 Diopter so not longer useful to use it.

With calm i packed everything in the box and i wrote a nice letter for the technicians explaining the problem and telling them that the optics were not as perfect as other binoculars that i have.

2 moths later the binoculars arrived back and my surprise when i check them was HUGE because they dint make anything, the play in the diopter setting was the same.

The only thing that they do was remove the lens caps and put the binocular in a different plastic bag.

The binoculars are back to the maintenance facilities of course but i don't have ANY HOPE to be fixed as it should be, binocular are like cars a faulty unit from factory is very very difficult to be fixed.

When i send and e mail with my problem directly to Leica in Weztlar first answer was that the binocular has to be sent back to Portugal, after my complain telling them that since January i used the binocular just a couple of months and since them the rest of the time is traveling up and down to be fixed so i request another unit to replace it.

The only answer was the silent.

I Do a lot of photography at hight level and i already have more than 15TH leica products register by me in the Leica Owner area, the Noctivid are Peanuts as any Leica Lens can be from the same price up to 5 times the price of the NV.

I transfer also this information to the Guy of leica telling him that i already know the products of the factory very well and my complaints has a solid Base but not reply is the answer.

Thanks LEICA for this Nightmare.
 
Tell Leica to keep them and with your refund purchase a pair of Zeiss 8x54HT's and never look back!

Another Leica focusing wheel problem is not good news in this supposed flagship alpha offering.

LGM
 
Tell Leica to keep them and with your refund purchase a pair of Zeiss 8x54HT's and never look back!

Another Leica focusing wheel problem is not good news in this supposed flagship alpha offering.

LGM

Is not so easy.........i had the HT and SF in the past and the Noctivid is far superior in contrast, amazing color and any kind of glare flare, milky view suppression.

But it looks like still a very young product with a lot of issues to be fixed.
 
Tell Leica to keep them and with your refund purchase a pair of Zeiss 8x54HT's and never look back!
Another Leica focusing wheel problem is not good news in this supposed flagship alpha offering. LGM

To leap on a person's problem like that and stick another brand in their face is poor form as evidenced by Globetrotter setting the record straight that to him the Noctivid is far superior to the HT in contrast, amazing color and any kind of glare flare, milky view suppression. You were also on another thread 5 September (Post # 40) telling the OP to try the exact same 8X54's.

And it stinks that you would once again prove your well documented animus towards Leica on the back of someone else's problems.

Just don't understand how all you guys get so excited about such an unimaginative and retrograde set of bins. Something that probably only compounds LEICA's lack of drive to produce a truly cutting edge instrument. LGM

Good news as there would then be hope for a set of Leica bins with a Zeiss-smooth focusing wheel! LGM

The 8X54 HT looks a winner and with nothing in the current Leica line-up to compete . . . LGM

[in reference to Noctivid's alleged 3D] I do of course own Zeiss Night Owles so perhaps I've led an overly sheltered life! The messgae is therfore very clear: Forget this [Leica] marketing carp and save yourself circa $1000 in the process by trawling e-bay for a pair of Zeiss 7x45 Little Owles. LGM

I smuggled my 8X56 Zeiss Night Owls into Leica's Mayfair Boutique last week and compared the . . . with the larger Noctivid. . . . I will be sticking with my lead glass weighted bricks. There is no doubt the Noctivid is very, very good and ergonomically pleasing but they do not offer in terms of image quality anything that has not already been done. LGM

Even Hermann snapped back at you. How about, Loud Green Man, you just post on the Zeiss forum "and never look back!"
 

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Globetrotter,

I'm sorry to hear of your experience with the Noctivid. I know how much you've enjoyed these binoculars.

Can you explain a bit more about the issue with the diopter?

Is the issue making the diopter difficult to adjust in the first place?

If you can manage to get the diopter set somehow, can you then enjoy various views using the focuser?...or is the diopter and focusing constantly upset due to not being fully synchronous - ie: normal focusing routine is also constantly changing the diopter setting by the amount you mention?

Have you actually noticed the impact of this optically?... or do you feel optically everything is ok but the issues are related more to the immediate mechanics which are no longer precise in operation?

I hope that leica are fully supportive.

Regards,
Rathaus
 
I also had the same issue with the diopter on a noctivid i tried. The diopter moved 3mm in both directions while focusing, but i couldn't see that it made any impact om the image.
 
I've truly always wondered what constitutes the charge of trolling so guess I now know it's if one dares to consistently offer an alternative viewpoint. That the mere mention of an alternative brand within a Leica-specific thread has compounded my crime seems overly sensitive but if that's a steer in preferred US site etiquette I heed your warning.
LGM

Site etiquette is hardly regional. On September 2nd Hermann was publicly wondering how to ignore your posts . . . from Germany. A predilection for getting under folks skin with intention perhaps begins to bear the odor of a troll.
 
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Yes, my Noctivid diopter moves a very small amount, but at this stage, there is zero impact on optical performance (which I can detect). I've done some basic tests to make sure. I hope this is the case for Globetrotter. I can't foresee whether the diopter could become more of a problem in the future.

Regarding a one knob set up, I think there is something to be said for the firm clicking and notched/indented diopter settings of the Swarovision. It is the gold standard for me. Without the preset clickstops the Swarovision diopter would possibly move about a touch also.

I'd be perfectly happy with a simple one sided diopter setting like the newer trinovids...or I'd prefer a seperate knob at the objective end like on the older classic Leitz trinovids.

Otherwise, the magical performance of the Noctivids is continuing to amaze me. I'm too busy enjoying them to write much about them.

Rathaus
 
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Site etiquette is hardly regional. On September 2nd Hermann was publicly asking how to ignore your posts . . . from Germany. Preferred site etiquette in most cultures is that alternative viewpoints make a contribution, not an uncontrolled desire to express animus for its own sake.

Perhaps I should simply device a signature that speaks of my allegiance to a particular viewing instrument or would that be seen as too much of an uncontrolled desire to express such in every post?

I believe Hermann was stating an intention rather than actually seeking site guidance in how to ignore my posts. At least that's how I read it.

LGM
 
I have two Noctivids, an 8x and a 10x.
I have carefully checked (of course) after Globetrotter's post and they are both perfect. Maybe a little play, but this is normal.
May be the problem is with an early batch? Mines have been built in may (8X) and in june (10X) (I have checked the signed final test card).

Would you please, Globetrotter, check when yours was made?
One more thing: have you moved the diopter knobs a lot, or hard?
 
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...
Is the issue making the diopter difficult to adjust in the first place?

If you can manage to get the diopter set somehow, can you then enjoy various views using the focuser?...or is the diopter and focusing constantly upset due to not being fully synchronous - ie: normal focusing routine is also constantly changing the diopter setting by the amount you mention?...

Globetrotter,

I hope you will tell us the answers to Rathaus's questions. The first problem occurs in many bins, even some Leica Trinovid BA/BN and Ultravid, which are generally so smooth that the two parts of the separated focus wheel can be turned independently without affecting each other during adjustment. It's a bit of a hassle, but once set, everything is good. Using both hands on the focus, to maintain hold on both parts of the wheel during adjustments, is the way to do it most easily. I find that approach far superior to the diopter systems used in Zeiss Victory, Zeiss FL, Swarovski EL and others, in which it is quite difficult to adjust focus without messing up the diopter setting while it is open for adjustment. The click stops of the EL are an inelegant solution.

The second problem would require immediate repair attention.

--AP
 
Globetrotter,

I hope you will tell us the answers to Rathaus's questions. The first problem occurs in many bins, even some Leica Trinovid BA/BN and Ultravid, which are generally so smooth that the two parts of the separated focus wheel can be turned independently without affecting each other during adjustment. It's a bit of a hassle, but once set, everything is good. Using both hands on the focus, to maintain hold on both parts of the wheel during adjustments, is the way to do it most easily. I find that approach far superior to the diopter systems used in Zeiss Victory, Zeiss FL, Swarovski EL and others, in which it is quite difficult to adjust focus without messing up the diopter setting while it is open for adjustment. The click stops of the EL are an inelegant solution.

The second problem would require immediate repair attention.

--AP

Hi.

I dint use to much the diopter just first time in the store and second time in the open field for fine tuning.

What i found at some distances the binocular was sharper and at others not so there is an influence when the focus wheel os move and the diopter setting varies by itself.

As i bought the binocular in January must be an early sample and probably now Leica already fix those bugs i don't know what i don't like at all is the terrible service that they provide.

I really like the optics of the Noctivid as photographer working with uber expensive lenses, cameras and calibrated monitors i can say that by far the noctivid has the best color of any binocular on Market but all of this problems push me to get one Swarovski 10x50 Field pro.

I am so tired now that i don't know if i want the binocular back or my money.

Very Sad to say that but i don't have any hope that they can fix or replace it.
 
Are you sending it back via an official leica store?

They send it first time via the Leica Rep in Spain directly to the repair Facilities in Portugal.

I asked if there is any chance to send it to Germany but the Guy told me that they don't have any repair facility in Germany.

I don't have any information just this reply from Germany:

Dear Mr. Jimenez,

We thank you for your email. Your mail has been transferred to our workshop in Portugal.

Leica - Aparelhos Ópticos de Precisão, S.A.
Reparatur Leica Sportoptik Produkte
Customer Care
Rua da Leica, 55
PT-4760-810 Lousado / Portugal
Telefon: +49 (0) 6441 2080 - 898
 
Personally I hate the two-in-one focus solution. It's an answer to a question that no one was asking - the dioptre on the hinge [a la many Zeiss] or on the right eyepiece works just fine and is far less complex.
 
So sorry to hear your bad news Globey, hope Leica do the right thing by you.

In the meantime, although you feel so discouraged now, try to keep your courage and push Leica to get the result that you need.

Good luck.
Lee
 
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So sorry to hear your bad news Globey, hope Leica do the right thing by you.

In the meantime, although you feel so discouraged now, try to keep your courage and push Leica to get the result that you need.

Good luck.
Lee

Thanks a lot Mate !!!! i will try to get another unit or mine properly fixed.

I will continue update this post with the last news.
 
GT...
I hope they soon get this fixed for you. Should have all ready been fixed sounds like it.

Keep us updated...
 
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