Objective filter on APO Televid 65? (1 Viewer)

I am very close to purchasing a Leica APO Televid 65, having done all of the research I noted a lot of suppliers stating that the APO models come with an optically neutral lens to protect the APO optic. However I have also seen some comments that this is on the 82mm only, and not the 65mm.

I am one of the unfortunates that had an APO Televid 77 where the objective coating came away, this won't likely put me off the purchase as Leica optics are still incredible (IMO) but I would just like to be clear in advance.

Does anyone know the exact state of affairs regarding the presence / absence of this protective lens? Also have there been any issues or reports of coating degradation in the new Televid models?

Ta very much for any info

chris murphy said:

I am one of the unfortunates that had an APO Televid 77 where the objective coating came away, this won't likely put me off the purchase as Leica optics are still incredible (IMO) but I would just like to be clear in advance.

Does anyone know the exact state of affairs regarding the presence / absence of this protective lens? Also have there been any issues or reports of coating degradation in the new Televid models?

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From what I heard that problem affected only the very first Leica Apo, the Apo Televid 77. The reason was that they used a type of glas in the objective lens of the Apo Televid 77 that was rather soft and to which the coating wouldn't stick very well under certain circumstances. I've never heard of any of the more modern Leica Apos being affected by this problem. The Leica Televid 77 (the non-Apo version) also didn't have that problem. Leica were well aware of what was happening, and from what I've been told they changed the construction of the Apo objectives in their later models.

That said, if you do a lot of seawatching I'd recommend using a good filter for protection (Nikon, Canon, Leica make good filters, I'm not so sure about the other manufacturers). I did that with my Apo Televid 77 at the time, and never had any of the problems others had. The loss in optical quality is very small - if the filter is good (and thus expensive). I switched to Nikon Feldscopes long ago, and I still prefer using a protective filter in certain circumstances.

Hermann