Need some help please - eyecups (1 Viewer)

Need some help please - eyecups fit

I got not long ago a new pair of Leupold Mojave 8x32. They are great, handling, brightness, sharp focus, size. I Highly recommend them.

However I have a little issue. The rubber eyecups I measured the inside diameter is about 25mm. They are somewhat uncomfortable. There is too much light from the side more so than I would like and the eyelashes keep touching inside the eyecups. They are still useable, as I used them a few times and they are almost as good as the Zeiss, is just that they are sensitive to eye position and feels like somewhat uncomfortable, not bad but still.

I have now realized why I like the Zeiss 8x32 FL so much. The inside diameter of the eyecups I measured is about 32mm so they are really comfortable. I have been using the Zeiss for a while and I could not figured out when I initially bought them why I liked them so much. Not until I got the Mojave to compare with. Now I know they provide enough space to the eyes. The Zeiss fit very well, more room to work with.

I am guessing this is/could be a general issue with smaller 32mm binos.

I hope you guys are trying to understand what I am trying to describe. At this point I do not know if to keep the Mojave or not ? Like I said Mojave are a great binos, when I put the Zeiss to my eyes they fell great, the Mojave it takes some adjusting.

Has anyone come across this situation before ? Looking for some input on this and personal experience. Appreciated.

Hi, I have experienced the problem you describe before with several binoculars, not only roof prism but also porro's, you have to position your eyes just right, which makes for less relaxed viewing. I cant comment specifically on the Leupold Mojave 8x32, but I have the Zeiss 8x32 FL and agree that the eye cup fit and eye relief is excellent for me, the other 8x32 I have is the Leica BN and that is fine too, but not quite as comfortable as the FL.
The only suggestion I have is maybe trying some of those rubber winged eye piece attachments which may improve the Leupold Mojave 8x32? They should help with the light at the sides at least.

Is this related to the 'blackout' or 'squint' issue? (whereby your eye has to be in a very
small area or the view blacks out). That happens in some models and not others,
regardless of size, although less with larger exit pupils (ratio of objective over power
greater than about 4).

I have cured 5 out of 5 cases by tacking a -4D or -5D (-250mm to -200mm FL)
plano-concave lens closely over the eyepiece. Fiddling with
concave-forward vs. concave-towards-eye can also help with keeping sharpness
at the edge of the field. I speculate that some manufacturers design assuming
full eye correction outside of the binoculars.

Is not a blackout or squint issue. Basically imagine looking through a very small hole so eye placement is critical.
I COULD say cut the eyecups rubber to increase the diameter from current 25mm to say 32mm like the Zeiss and they will likely work. Or maybe I could find different eyecups with a larger diameter around 32mm.
I do not have much experience with removing eyecuys from binos, I don't know if they are glued in place or not.

I attached a picture of what I am trying to say.

marinemaster said:

Is not a blackout or squint issue. Basically imagine looking through a very small hole so eye placement is critical.
I COULD say cut the eyecups rubber to increase the diameter from current 25mm to say 32mm like the Zeiss and they will likely work. Or maybe I could find different eyecups with a larger diameter around 32mm.
I do not have much experience with removing eyecuys from binos, I don't know if they are glued in place or not.

I attached a picture of what I am trying to say.

Click to expand...

You could find some rubber eye cups of a bigger diameter that will just fit over the top of them? Better than cutting them.

Aha.... I did'nt anticipate the problem would be so "mechanical". Annoying.
Yeah...perhaps screw down the eyecups and put a 'sleeve' on them to make a
bigger eyecup. A short piece of wide rubber tube..

Ideally, you could go to a machine shop tape them up and use an
end-mill to open out the top. How the material would respond is another story.
Probably not cleanly.

That eye cup design you illustrate was brought out in another forum. Why the inside diameter of the eye cup would cause your issue kind of escapes me. It is not going to effect the eye relief nor should it cause issue with how the eye cups fit your face and eyes. I can see where if you are an eye glass wearer the inside extension on the eye cup might affect eye relief. I thought from your description the Zeiss eye cup assembly as a whole would have been larger in diameter than the Mojave, but they look about the same from your picture.

But if you have identified the extension of the eye cup toward the lens, then I'd do two things. First is I'd call Leupold and see if I could get a just in case spare set of just the rubber eye cup covers. Then (as you suggested above) I'd take off the rubber eye cup covers. They will be held in place with contact cement and should not prove too difficult to remove. A pair of forceps and a sharp pointed knife blade and a little common sense will allow you to "skin" them off the binocular. When they are off, you can take a very sharp knife/razor blade/scalpel/small scissors and cut off a rubber doughnut from the inside of the eye cup. Use a little contact cement and the modified covering can glued back on. I'd almost bet that will do nothing for the issue you describe.

I too (along with Bencw) was thinking about using an objective cover with its center cut out, but the inside diameter of the eye cup will be unaffected at its 25 mm diameter.

3-M makes a rubbery material with adhesive on one side. You might cut a proper sized ring from something like that place it on the eye cup. That will maybe extend it enough to clear you eye lashes, but the extension may mess up the eye relief. I guess you could try an eye lash manicure as a last resort ;-)

Thanks for all the replies. I will keep it like it is for now. I noticed most Swaro models have a wide eyecups diameter. If I remember correctly the Meopta 7x42 I had also had wide eyecups. Definitely eye comfort has been studied here.

marinemaster said:

Thanks for all the replies. I will keep it like it is for now. I noticed most Swaro models have a wide eyecups diameter. If I remember correctly the Meopta 7x42 I had also had wide eyecups. Definitely eye comfort has been studied here.

Click to expand...

I understand now what you were referring to. It would be nice to shave some of the rubber away from the pupil entrance is does seem a little excessive.

Bryce...

marinemaster said:

I got not long ago a new pair of Leupold Mojave 8x32. They are great, handling, brightness, sharp focus, size. I Highly recommend them.

However I have a little issue. The rubber eyecups I measured the inside diameter is about 25mm. They are somewhat uncomfortable. There is too much light from the side more so than I would like and the eyelashes keep touching inside the eyecups. They are still useable, as I used them a few times and they are almost as good as the Zeiss, is just that they are sensitive to eye position and feels like somewhat uncomfortable, not bad but still.

I have now realized why I like the Zeiss 8x32 FL so much. The inside diameter of the eyecups I measured is about 32mm so they are really comfortable. I have been using the Zeiss for a while and I could not figured out when I initially bought them why I liked them so much. Not until I got the Mojave to compare with. Now I know they provide enough space to the eyes. The Zeiss fit very well, more room to work with.

I am guessing this is/could be a general issue with smaller 32mm binos.

I hope you guys are trying to understand what I am trying to describe. At this point I do not know if to keep the Mojave or not ? Like I said Mojave are a great binos, when I put the Zeiss to my eyes they fell great, the Mojave it takes some adjusting.

Has anyone come across this situation before ? Looking for some input on this and personal experience. Appreciated.

Click to expand...

MM,

You confirmed what I suspected about the eyecups on the 8x32 Mojave from Frank D's photos. Frank doesn't have a problem with them and neither did Steve C., but for someone with deep-set eyes and/or a high bridge nose, they looked like they might spell T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

From the top view, the Nikon 8x30 M7 looked like it would be more comfortable to me. due to the thinner eyecups with rounded rims unlike the thick, flat rims of the Mojave's eyecups.

Given the Nikon's similar shape and optical performance with the Mojave,. you might want to exchange the Mojave for an M7 if the store will allow.

Be aware that there was a quality control issue with the M7 - bare metal rings inside the objective tubes that were not painted. causing flaring and loss of contrast. It appears the problem has been corrected, and Nikon has a fix in case you do get one with bare metal rings, but that means sending the bins in for repairs, which might be more work than you care for.

I don't have personal experience with this particular bin, but I do have lots of experience with this particular problem.

Jimmy D.

Jimmy D.,

In a nutshell you have highlighted the dilemna that I am now in. I haven't decided whether or not to send my M7 8x30 back to B and H for a replacement or send it off to Nikon to have it "fixed". The contrast is definitely lacking in comparison to the Leupold. In fact, the Sightron BS II actually has better contrast (though a notably warmer color rendition). Still, I am quite enamored with the little Nikon. I just love holding it. So cute, so little and yet such a high performer from such a dainty package.