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Leica binoculars poor eye relief issue (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter plc22
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hgalbraith
Well-known member
Interesting. I have both the 7x42 and 10x42 Ultraivid plus bins. I wear contact lenses mostly and, therefore, do not have ER problems. However, on occasion, I wear my glasses and have been impressed with how effective the ultravids have been. No problem at all. Could this problem be to do with the eyeglass design, rather than the binocular design?
I wear glasses. SOMETIMES I wear them when using binoculars…sometimes not. The Leica Ultravid HD Plus 8X42 have a reputation for not having sufficient eye relief for eyeglass wearers. In my opinion….non-issue so far.
GLOBETROTTER
Well-known member
what is good for some it is not so good for others.........
I've never had problems with eye relief with leica binoculars, sometimes i wear glasses some times contact lenses.
Leicas Eye relief is a good compromise for people using and not using glasses, why because due to Long eye relief on my bothers SV 10X42 or my SF 8X42 even with glasses i have to extract one stop the eyecup otherwise the view is full of blackouts, and when i use contact lenses the eyecups are fully extended for a confort view and this produces tunnel vision instead of a nice immersive round window view.
I think that SV and SF has even too much eye relief.....but it is just my opinion.
I've never had problems with eye relief with leica binoculars, sometimes i wear glasses some times contact lenses.
Leicas Eye relief is a good compromise for people using and not using glasses, why because due to Long eye relief on my bothers SV 10X42 or my SF 8X42 even with glasses i have to extract one stop the eyecup otherwise the view is full of blackouts, and when i use contact lenses the eyecups are fully extended for a confort view and this produces tunnel vision instead of a nice immersive round window view.
I think that SV and SF has even too much eye relief.....but it is just my opinion.
PeterPS
Well-Known Member
I have tried several Leica bins but never bought one owing to ER issues....funny enough although the ER was rather small, as said by the OP, the eyecups did not extend enough for me to avoid blackouts. In the case of SV mentioned by the last poster, I have the same problem like him with too much ER but nothing serious. Peter
Hermann
Well-known member
I've got several family member who are using the 8x32 with its small eyerelief with glasses. No complaints at all. Sounds like you might want to look at the kind of glasses you're using. Large frames are often not really a good idea.
Also, a really long eyerelief doesn't come without a price. The binoculars need a longer focal length, for instance, leading to bigger binoculars. And it's far more difficult to avoid ghost images in difficult lighting conditions.
Finally, I use my binculars without glasses. I'd actually prefer to have a few more binoculars on the market that use simple, small wideangle eyepieces like the Erfle a lot of the old wideangle porros used to such good effect in the 1960s. Why should I have to suffer the disadvantages of highly complex eyepieces, larger bincolars and so on just because so many people are asking for more and more eyerelief?
Hermann
Hermann
Also, a really long eyerelief doesn't come without a price. The binoculars need a longer focal length, for instance, leading to bigger binoculars. And it's far more difficult to avoid ghost images in difficult lighting conditions.
Finally, I use my binculars without glasses. I'd actually prefer to have a few more binoculars on the market that use simple, small wideangle eyepieces like the Erfle a lot of the old wideangle porros used to such good effect in the 1960s. Why should I have to suffer the disadvantages of highly complex eyepieces, larger bincolars and so on just because so many people are asking for more and more eyerelief?
Hermann
Hermann
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Probably because some spectacle wearers are willing to pay the price for the long ER.
Most of the Swarovski EL Swarovision binoculars which includes all but one of the 32mm, 42mm and 50mm binoculars have 20mm ER. The only one with less is the 12x50 which has 19mm. To design and manufacture all these various eye pieces which have different focal lengths and give them all 20mm ER must be very expensive.
Less expensive alternatives were available for the SW to use. For example, Swarovski's SLC line has 3 binoculars and 2 of them the 10x42 and the 15x56 have 16mm ER, the 8x42 has 18.5mm.
Bob
I have eliminated more bins due to IPD (56mm) and eye relief than anything else. The Leica Ultravid 8X42 & 8X32 didn't make the cut; the 7X42 barely did. Next on my list was edge sharpness and chromatic aberration. Swarovisions resolved ALL issues to my/our satisfaction. Contrary to popular belief, some of us become loyal customers for very simple reasons.
Strange...
I tried the ultravid 8x32 and despite squashing the binoculars against my (thin) glasses I could not see the full FOV. The Swarovision 8x32 is so much better in that respect (and in others) it is ridiculous!
Shame on Leica!
The 15mm ER of the Leica is actually optimistic.
perterra
Well-known member
Different glasses, facial shapes and eyes I guess. My eye glasses are a 1.74 index, frameless.
The bright side is, there are plenty of others out there that have adequate eye relief.
If Leica were to increase the eye relief, the bins would have to be longer. Being compact is one of Leica's selling points. I chose the UV HD 10x42 for its compactness, toughness, good looks and ultra sharp center field image and I don't wear glasses. The ER is just perfect for me.
I had problems with the ER of Zeiss SF to be too long. The eye cups didn't extend long enough to be comfortable and I experienced blackouts. Also my lowly Kowa YF 6x30 ($79) has better finish than the SF and I still considered the SF due to the advancement in optical design. It just didn't work for my IPD and ER. If Leica doesn't fit your face buy Zeiss or Swarovski.
I had problems with the ER of Zeiss SF to be too long. The eye cups didn't extend long enough to be comfortable and I experienced blackouts. Also my lowly Kowa YF 6x30 ($79) has better finish than the SF and I still considered the SF due to the advancement in optical design. It just didn't work for my IPD and ER. If Leica doesn't fit your face buy Zeiss or Swarovski.
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