The Most Beautiful Binoculars in the World (1 Viewer)

Pinewood said:

Dennis,

That binocular has a hole in the middle.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood :hi:

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Yes, she does, Arthur. The male is called an SLC.

Ed

elkcub said:

Yes, she does, Arthur. The male is called an SLC.

Ed

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Ed:

Good one, you are right on tonite. :eek!:

Jerry

Now these really are a thing of beauty .....



more here: http://www.gami16.it/Officine Galileo Glasses.html




Chosun :gh:

Annabeth2 said:

That's a beauty. I see these vintage bins on ebay sometimes and it always makes me want one

I must be in the minority. I do like the look of the new trinovids.
However, these older models are prettier.

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But not as pretty as your fuscia birding hat. :gh:

<B>

Originally Posted by Pinewood View Post Dennis said:

Yes, she does, Arthur. The male is called an SLC.

Ed

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So what's their offspring look like?

<B>

Dwayne Wayne

brocknroller said:

So what's their offspring look like?

<B>

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Depends on the gender, I would guess.

Ed :smoke:

elkcub said:

Depends on the gender, I would guess.

Ed :smoke:

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I see.

So in Absam they are Der SLC und Die Swarovision. Nicht wahr?

Ceasar

(Der Kaiser):king:

Zeiss 7x42 FL, the last of the ultra bright, lightweight wide angle ultra premium full size binoculars.

Bramberg said:

Oldie but goldie! Might not have the coatings of modern day binoculars but the aesthetics and the feel of these make them my top choice.

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Ahhh yes,.....the very aesthetically pleasing and functinal Leitz Trinovid series!

I have a mint pair Leitz 10X40 Trinovid that i just mailed out 3 days ago for a basic CLA, .....mainly removal of the old lube gasing deposits on the internals.

My speciman arrived as NOS otherwise, with outer box, NOS hard leather case strap, instruction pamplet, and even the mathing serial numbered import tax stamp! However, although this specimem is otherwise pristine, the bino carry strap was missing.

I do plan on using it once it has been serviced (Gus Lazzari estimates about 7 weeks),......but i have plenty of it's smaller siblings to use in the meantime. :t:

Ken Rockwell's well known review of this model (link below and mentioned previously) caused me to search it out in 2009. All the reasons he mentions gives this one my vote, although i am partial to the much smaller Leitz 6X24 Trinovid for everday pocket carry.

NOTHING better to carry when you HAVE to have a binocular handy every day.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/leica/trinovid/10x40.htm

I also have a "beater", but still excellent functioning Leitz 8X30 Trinovid that is not included in the thumbnail below.

The attached image, left to right,... are as follows:

Leitz 8X32B Trinovid (130M / 1000M) , Leitz 6X24 Trinovid (212M / 1000M)

My Leitz 10X40 Trinovid (not pictured) is similarly blessed with a generous FOV at 122m / 1000m and just 580 grams!

I can only imagine how popular these would be with updated coatings! Leica missed the boat me thinks,....but maybe the next big startup company will be someone stripping and recoating these old gals with more modern "coats". Sign me up fo "dat"!

They lack phase coatings. I don't think that can be remedied. Although I read in a thread here that there were old Bausch and Lomb Elites that did have phase coated Uppendahl prisms. In order to retain this style these new models will probably have to use this prism which seems to have been obsoleted.

I have one of the latest models. A Leitz 7 x 42 Trinovid BA with the green armor. I believe they were only made ca 1990-1992. These are still good, useable binoculars (and I still use them on occasion) but I attribute that mostly to their large exit pupil which makes them brighter and easier to use during different lighting conditions.

Never the less they are still not nearly as bright nor do they have as good a contrast and glare control as my Leica 7 x 42 Trinovid BN from the early 2000s which has Schmidt-Pechan prisms and phase coatings but which is also rather homely in appearance.

Bob

ceasar said:

They lack phase coatings. I don't think that can be remedied. Although I read in a thread here that there were old Bausch and Lomb Elites that did have phase coated Uppendahl prisms. In order to retain this style these new models will probably have to use this prism which seems to have been obsoleted.

I have one of the latest models. A Leitz 7 x 42 Trinovid BA with the green armor. I believe they were only made ca 1990-1992. These are still good, useable binoculars (and I still use them on occasion) but I attribute that mostly to their large exit pupil which makes them brighter and easier to use during different lighting conditions.

Never the less they are still not nearly as bright nor do they have as good a contrast and glare control as my Leica 7 x 42 Trinovid BN from the early 2000s which has Schmidt-Pechan prisms and phase coatings but which is also rather homely in appearance.

Bob

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And i suspect those "ugly ducklings" are quite a bit heavier than the older versions. My old girls have a comfortable and pleasing waist,.....just a great place to wrap your hands around their svelte figures!

At some point, and i believe i have been there awhile now o..... , overall weight, ergonomics, and aesthetics take precedence over what little actual advances in performance technology develops. A bit of nostalgia whipped in for good measure, as many of the binoculars i use are as old or nealy so as i am at age 57.

Another thing to consider is I, like a lot of users, wear eyeglasses. However, if i use a pair of "B" version binoculars while wearing them the eyeglasses themselves add to a degredation in image quality due to smears, scratches on the lenses, etc.,.....negating much or all of any advances of sharpness the newer coatings impart.

So i usually remove my eyeglasses for longer sessions, or flip them up on my head for shorter ones and use them as a non-eyeglasser wearer would. No problem there with the diopter adjustment built into most any good glass.

The added brightness, contrast, etc. of newer top glass, i will admit, are features to be envied, .....but not the added and substantial cost, size, and weight usually.

Does a newer $2000 glass provide 4X the performance over buying a respectable and perfectly suitable for most conditions older $500 glass (say one of the Leitz Trinovids in near mint condition)

I can't see that much of a difference in low light anyway, with the typical aging pupil being a limiting factor in realizing any added brightness. And for brightly lit situations,....i find no need for added brightness anyway, and the Trinovids (or my older but heavy Zeiss 8X30 Dialyt or some of my others) are plent bright.

Personally, i would rather buy and own FOUR of the later for the same $2000investment, covering much more variety of size, power, and weight ,.....for usually i will find one that works very well. It's nice having several backups also, or glass to share with others to get them hooked like the rest of us! :king:

I love being able to carry my Leitz 6X24 Trinovid most anywhere,...all the time! Had them on me coming off a bicycle ride about a week ago, and another customer at KFC was about to throw out an almost full order of corn.

I stopped them and asked if i could use the corn to feed the ducks at my local duck pond, and they agreed. The duck pond is at the entrance to my local Price Chopper Supermarket, and i pass by there most every day.

I would not normally carry a bigger glass on my bke, but i had the smaller Trinovids as usual and it was a very nice visit on this sunny day. The ducks, of many varieties, were generally 30 to 60 feet away, and the 6X24 with the super wide FOV was PERFECT in this instance. This particular pair is very sharp, and i could "almost" see the tears of excitement in their eyes as the ducks ate the corn! (most definately the happy duck "smile"!

If i'm going out specificaly for birding or sight seeing, i'll usually carry my slightly bigger (but still light and handy sized) Leitz 8X32B Trinovid because i like to use them with the rubber eyecups "up" (and eyeglasses off), to keep extrainous light out of the sides of my eyes on sunny days. I'll grab my earlier Leitz 8X32 Trinovid "beater" binos if there's a chance of rougher conditions, or possibly to loan out to someone else.

That 8X30 Trinovid "beater" has a slight nick on one objective lens that is not seen when viewing, and some wear to the barrel fronts and varios small paint chips,......but has totally clear glass and perfect collimation and one of my sharper examples. ($209.00 on ebay in 2009) Anyone who has "borrowed" it is amazed at it's "ancient" performance. Now,....would you loan your $2000 glass to a newbe or youngster? Nope,...me either! :-O

If i'm going out for a short while and will be using a glass around dawn or dusk,....i'll usally bring along my Leitz 7X42 Trinovid. This bino is also very well collimated with clear glass and excellant sharpness,......and i KNOW someone used it A LOT! Both of the objective tubes have about 1/2 of their paint worn down to white, as well as other smaller signs of regular use.

And when i need or want more power, i'm looking forward to getting back my mint but slightly hazed up Leitz 10X40 Trinovids from their long overdue service.

All told,......just having a variety of decent binoculars to choose from, (based on the situation), is well worth giving up a little performance over modern (and often very expensive) top glass.

For the same total investment of $2,000 you get a LOT more variety and "situational" performance in my mind, because being limited to just one or two binos is, well,.....just not my style! :-O

You don't have to buy binoculars when they first come out. Waiting to upgrade to them when they get replaced by new models can save money.

I got my Leica 7 x 42 Trinovid BN from Cabelas at a close out sale. The new model Ultravids had been introduced 2 or 3 years before that. By the time I got mine not many people were interested in buying Trinovids and the 7 x 42 was never a big seller. It originally sold for about $1300.00 if my memory is correct. I paid $799.00 for it and got quite a bit of use out of it since then.

The same with the Leitz 7 x 42 Trinovid BA. I purchased it a year or two after it was discontinued for $500.00. It originally sold for $999.00. I used it for more than 10 years when I got the Leica. When I took the Leica out of the box and compared it with my old Leitz I was stunned by the difference in the view. I no longer noticed the Yellow cast the Leitz had after using it such a long time. It was so obvious when I compared it with the Leica I was amazed.

Bob

Looking at them..

It's funny how visually pleasing design often go hand in hand with high performance of a tool/instrument.

Yesterday I ordered a brand new pair of the the ol' trusty Swarovski Habicht 8x30 W. The Habicht is a well known beautiful classic that delivers. The Swaro's will replace my Nikon Monarch X 8.5x42 DCF as my every day all purpose bins. I believe this to be a big improvement in every way although the price is (were for the Nikon's) about the same. Personally I like the older habicht better as they had a bit more class with their tastefully engraved metal plates and did not sport the huge SWAROVSKI brand name at the center column. Less Is More. Leica seems to have have embraced this and have made many fine intruments over the years. Out of modern day available binoculars I think the Leica Ultravid Blackline steal the show.

Well, here we go again! :king:

Referencing posts 153 and 154 above.

As I mentioned in post #153 above if one waits for the right time one can often get top of the line binoculars at very reasonable prices. On a very recent thread I mentioned how I purchased an unused Leica 8x42 Ultravid Blackline binocular for the very reasonable price of $1249.99. Although it was a Demo I was able to register it with Leica as a new binocular.

http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=3040998&postcount=15

Bob

ceasar said:

Well, here we go again! :king:

Referencing posts 153 and 154 above.

As I mentioned in post #153 above if one waits for the right time one can often get top of the line binoculars at very reasonable prices. On a very recent thread I mentioned how I purchased an unused Leica 8x42 Ultravid Blackline binocular for the very reasonable price of $1249.99. Although it was a Demo I was able to register it with Leica as a new binocular.

http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=3040998&postcount=15

Bob

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Nice move :t:
Think I'll try your tactics and get one in the future aswell. They say (some say) that the EL is the best and this might be true. But just, just look at those.. I might get in troubble for saying this but out of modern day available binoculars the swaro's leathered version of the habicht is the only one to come close.

A little story I hope you enjoy. The most beautiful binocular ever made was the glass known as the The Romanov Optik. It was a one off special commission made by Carl Zeiss in the early 20th century for Czar Nicholas II to the specification given by him. Made from the best optical glass and prisms and worked on by Zeiss finest optical experts, the 6x30 binocular was almost entirely gold plated, the objective covers heavy gold plate with silver inlay, and the entire body set with over two hundred exquisite diamonds and rubies. The prism plates heavy gold plating was inlaid with the Zeiss logo on one side and the Russian imperial eagle on the other side, in fine silver inlay. The eye cups carved from black onyx. Impractical for general use, the binocular was kept among the Czars treasures. Following the revolution, when he was exiled to Tobolsk, the Romanov ruler was allowed to take some of the family treasures with him, including the Romanov Optik, However, upon reaching Tobolsk and sensing the tragic fate that was to befall him, the czar divided the treasure three ways and entrusted it to his loyal servants. The valuables were then smuggled out of the house where the czar and his family were being held. Later on the Soviets discovered a part of the Romanov treasure and it was confiscated. However the Romanov Optik was not among the items discovered and despite being sought by treasure hunters, it has not been seen since. No photographs, specifications or diagrams of it still exist, either lost or most likely destroyed. It’s most likely fate is that it was dismantled for the valuable gems and the remains discarded.

True or false?

Bencw - that is a very good story that is made only more mysterious by the fact that Carl Zeiss is reported to have died in 1888.
Robert

Bencw said:

A little story I hope you enjoy. The most beautiful binocular ever made was the glass known as the The Romanov Optik. It was a one off special commission made by Carl Zeiss in the early 20th century for Czar Nicholas II to the specification given by him. Made from the best optical glass and prisms and worked on by Zeiss finest optical experts, the 6x30 binocular was almost entirely gold plated, the objective covers heavy gold plate with silver inlay, and the entire body set with over two hundred exquisite diamonds and rubies. The prism plates heavy gold plating was inlaid with the Zeiss logo on one side and the Russian imperial eagle on the other side, in fine silver inlay. The eye cups carved from black onyx. Impractical for general use, the binocular was kept among the Czars treasures. Following the revolution, when he was exiled to Tobolsk, the Romanov ruler was allowed to take some of the family treasures with him, including the Romanov Optik, However, upon reaching Tobolsk and sensing the tragic fate that was to befall him, the czar divided the treasure three ways and entrusted it to his loyal servants. The valuables were then smuggled out of the house where the czar and his family were being held. Later on the Soviets discovered a part of the Romanov treasure and it was confiscated. However the Romanov Optik was not among the items discovered and despite being sought by treasure hunters, it has not been seen since. No photographs, specifications or diagrams of it still exist, either lost or most likely destroyed. It’s most likely fate is that it was dismantled for the valuable gems and the remains discarded.

True or false?

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Great story! Even if this piece is lost there should still exist some photos of the tsar and his treassures somewhere. Anyway, great story.