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New Leupold Yosemite 6x30 (1 Viewer)

dozercsx

Active member
Greetings,

I just saw that Leupold introduced a new small, lower powered (by birding standards) 6x30 porro prism binocular, ostensibly for use with beginning birders, children, folks with small hands, etc. They appear to have high quality components, and they list for around a hundred bucks, but I've yet to see one in the field.

I was wondering if anyone had any early experiences with these which they could share, or perhaps further thoughts on the intriguing possibility of 6x birders for the beginning crowd.
 
dozercsx said:
Greetings,
They appear to have high quality components, and they list for around a hundred bucks, but I've yet to see one in the field.
Dear Dozercsx,

At that price point, I wonder if they are plastic. The description reads rubber armored, but I wonder about the body.
Like you, I have not seen one.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood :egggead:
 
The idea is excellent. Long time I have stated that it's hard to find real binoculars suitable for children at the market. A full size binocular is too heavy and has often too high magnification. The pocket versions also usually have too high magnification and don't allow the children to make use of their large pupil size. Theater-glasses provide just a tremendous boring view...
The interpupillary distance is what I understand mostoften too large.

The Leupold Yosemite 6x30 seems to be a perfect configuration of size, weight and magnification for children and everyone who appreciate a stable and comfortable image. The ER is also very good. I would like to have one...

Patric
 
Anacortes Telescope and WildBird has them. $87.00. They are waterproof and have rubber armor and a choice of 3 colors.

www.BuyTelescopes.com.

I think I'm going to order a pair and compare them with my Eagle Ranger Platinum 6 x 32 roof prisms which are, IMHO, one of the finest binoculars I have ever used! Anyone who has any doubts on how good a 6x can be should try them out for a day!

Bob
 
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I too have been wondering about this binocular. Not just for kids, but for me. 6x binoculars have an inherently wide true FOV, they have (or can have) great resolution because of the low power, and 6x will show less small movements or shaking in holding the binocular. Plus I just can't resist the idea of a good binocular for less than a 100 bucks. I look forward to hearing Bob's impressions of this model.

I have a feeling that Leupold might be taking less profit on the Yosemite than their larger binoculars. Leupold sells mainly to hunters, and getting the kids and family into the Leupold brand may be a good away of building brand loyalty.
 
Bob,

I look forward to read your comparison between them! I ordered a 6x32 last year of a lower quality and price than your Eagle Ranger Platinum. I loved it; very compact format, good ER and stable image. Unfortunately, I got too much eyestrain and had to send it back. After that I long for some 6x32 of similar shape but of better optical performance.

Patric
 
As per quality, these are "Green Ring" Leupolds, which I believe means BaK-4 prisms, and multi-coating, with a limited lifetime warranty - the website also says waterproof/fogproof/nitrogen purged, but I don't know whether that actually applies to their porro prisms...
 
ceasar said:
Anacortes Telescope and WildBird has them. $87.00. They are waterproof and have rubber armor and a choice of 3 colors.

www.BuyTelescopes.com.

I think I'm going to order a pair and compare them with my Eagle Ranger Platinum 6 x 32 roof prisms which are, IMHO, one of the finest binoculars I have ever used! Anyone who has any doubts on how good a 6x can be should try them out for a day!

Bob
Did you ever order (or try) a pair? I agree completely about the appeal of 6 power binoculars, especially the EO 6 x 32 Platinum Ranger, I presently own a 6 x 30 Zuiko IF porro from the early 50's with startlingly good performance (a copy, I think, of the Zeiss Silvamar but far better), and have long been a fan of Leupold and their products. Tom
 
chartwell99 said:
Did you ever order (or try) a pair? I agree completely about the appeal of 6 power binoculars, especially the EO 6 x 32 Platinum Ranger, I presently own a 6 x 30 Zuiko IF porro from the early 50's with startlingly good performance (a copy, I think, of the Zeiss Silvamar but far better), and have long been a fan of Leupold and their products. Tom

Tom,
You must have been reading my mind. I was just sitting down to make my report when your post popped up! :scribe:

I purchased them from Eagle Optics and have had them about 10 days. Total cost with shipping was $99.00. I'm very impressed with them because they meet and surpass Leupold's stated goal of making them the "ideal family binocular." First the specifics:

They are very solid and handsome 6 x 30 porro prisms. They have Bak4 prisms as witnessed by their circular exit pupil. They weigh 17 ounces but have a surprisingly solid feel to them. They are rubber covered over what I suspect is a high impact plastic. The cover is especially comfortable and attractive and comes in 3 colors: Basic Black, Dark Red and Natural, which I got and is more like Ivory with a very slight green tinge to it. Really quite attractive! A person with artistic talent could decorate it easily. They are 4.5 inches long, almost an inch longer than my Nikon 8 x 30 EII's and they are about an inch narrower than the EII's. (For comparison, the Nikon 8 x 30 EII has a much larger prism housing.) Their size is a nice compromise: A child would have no problem using them and they aren't too small for my big hands.

They have solid, twisting rubber covered eyecups which stay in place firmly when extended. The right eye diopter is appropriately stiff and remains in place once set. The focus wheel is an inch wide and focuses from what I estimate to be about 10 feet (specs say 16.1') to infinity in 3/4 of a complete rotation. (I note here that my bin reaches infinity before a complete turn.) The oculars are large, 21mm in diameter, the same as my Nikon 8 x32 LXL's and EII's and my Eagle Platinum 6 x 32 Roof Prisms. They did not skrimp here. Their FOV is 8 degrees or 420' at 1000 yards and the view is very sharp over 85 to 90% of the field. With their 5mm exit pupil, I found them remarkably bright under excellent, good, fair, poor and horrible conditions and, believe me, we had all of that this past 10 days. I was able to positively ID Northern Mockingbirds and Blue Jays over 100 feet away in a gloomy, rainy early twilight situation while birding in a nearby cemetary. They have surprisingly low Chromatic Aberation at the edges under bright conditions. Their pincushion distortion is also less than that of my EII's which admittedly have alot. They are stated as being "multicoated" rather than fully multicoated. The oculars have a green color with a magenta undertone. The objective lenses appear to be magenta toned only.

When compared head to head with my Eagle Platinum 6 x 32 roof prisms, which cost $250.00 more and which I love, I must admit they held their own.
My impression is that the Leupolds were a hint brighter and the Eagles slightly sharper.

Now for a report on it's IPD: It goes from 50 mm to a bit more than 70 mm. The good news is that it should be no problem for a young child to use. The bad news is that an adult with a narrow IPD and a high arched bridged nose might not have enough room between the eyecups to fit his or her nose if the IPD is really narrow. Now I have an IPD of 68mm so it's no problem for me but I also have a "schnozzola romanus." I believe I could get away with 58mm here if my IPD were that narrow. Some might be able to use less. You'll have to try it out. Once this bin gets established you should be able to find it in any large sporting goods store.

In my book this bin is a winner! I'd have no complaints if had to use these all day for birding. They are great for walking around in the woods. Keeping in your car. Taking on a picnic with the kids. Giving as a gift to a child. Keeping on your kitchen table to look at the feeders with. Within reason, you name it.

Another thing: I suspect all the bugs were long ago worked out of the 6 x 30 Porro Prism format. Millions must have been made for the Militaries of the world over the last 70 years. The 30mm objective is inexpensive to make and quality control is probably everything in their manufacture. The box did not say where these were made.

Buy one confidently!
Bob
Addendum: I forgot to add that they are waterproof, (not water resistant) and they have thick, substantial bridges, thicker than the bridges on the Nikon 8 x 30 EII.
 
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Nicely done Bob..and thank you for the card. My wife thought it was a nice surprise.

One question on the bins though, you mentioned the combination of a high arched nose and a narrow IPD. This sounds like me and which is why I removed the eyecups on the EIIs. Do you believe I would have a problem with the Yosemites?
 
Thanks for the review, Bob. The Yosemites sound great. It's interesting you mentioned the common 6x30 porro configuration for the military. My guess is that the 6x30 is used for wide-field scanning (imagine Rommel using one in the North African desert). Nice wide field and less image shaking after long periods of scanning.

I think I sense a purchase coming on. Help.
 
FrankD said:
Nicely done Bob..and thank you for the card. My wife thought it was a nice surprise.

One question on the bins though, you mentioned the combination of a high arched nose and a narrow IPD. This sounds like me and which is why I removed the eyecups on the EIIs. Do you believe I would have a problem with the Yosemites?

Thanks for the kind word Frank.
I carefully compared the IPD range of these bins with those of my EII. The EII shows 60 mm through 70 mm but in reality goes from about 56 to 72. The Leupold actually goes from 50 to about 72. As for myself, If my IPD were 60, I probably could use both of them but it would be a tight fit even though my nose is rather thin. The Leupolds eyecups are firm, unlike the Nikons, so there is no "give" there. I'll hazard a guess and say that you might have a problem. Cabela's should be getting them soon and you can try them. Some Hunting and Fishing Stores in the area that carry Leupold products might have some now. With a little bit of sales effort, these bins should sell very well at under 100 bucks.
Bob
 
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Bob,
Those IPD numbers that you're looking at are actually distances in millimeters, not degrees. The Nikon 8x30 EII has a minimum IPD of 52 or 53 mm (same goes for the Nikon 8x32 SE). Actually, there are quite a few full and mid-sized porro-prism models that have a minimum IPD down to 51-53 mm--it is not a special feature of this Leupold model, though their advertising suggests that it is. As for wide diameter oculars, my big nose fits under them, so I have no issues, but I have noticed that this is a problem for some. Few of the new bino models have the small diameter oculars that were once so common (like on the previous version of the Swift Ultralite porro line, or the Celestron Ultima porros).
--AP
 
Alexis Powell said:
Bob,
Those IPD numbers that you're looking at are actually distances in millimeters, not degrees. The Nikon 8x30 EII has a minimum IPD of 52 or 53 mm (same goes for the Nikon 8x32 SE). Actually, there are quite a few full and mid-sized porro-prism models that have a minimum IPD down to 51-53 mm--it is not a special feature of this Leupold model, though their advertising suggests that it is. As for wide diameter oculars, my big nose fits under them, so I have no issues, but I have noticed that this is a problem for some. Few of the new bino models have the small diameter oculars that were once so common (like on the previous version of the Swift Ultralite porro line, or the Celestron Ultima porros).
--AP
Thanks, I knew that, my fault! I wasn't thinking when I entered it (in a couple of places) and forgot to edit it out (which I will correct forthwith.) I actually measured my IPD on my EII's with a steel tape: 68mm from center of EP to center of other EP at my best viewing point. Because of the thickness of the Eye Cups on the Leupolds I don't think they could get any narrower than 50mm. Even there, you would have to have a nose with no arch to use them, like a childs nose. As you note, the large oculars are the cause of the problem.
Bob :h?:
 
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Alexis Powell said:
Bob,
Those IPD numbers that you're looking at are actually distances in millimeters, not degrees. The Nikon 8x30 EII has a minimum IPD of 52 or 53 mm (same goes for the Nikon 8x32 SE). Actually, there are quite a few full and mid-sized porro-prism models that have a minimum IPD down to 51-53 mm--it is not a special feature of this Leupold model, though their advertising suggests that it is. As for wide diameter oculars, my big nose fits under them, so I have no issues, but I have noticed that this is a problem for some. Few of the new bino models have the small diameter oculars that were once so common (like on the previous version of the Swift Ultralite porro line, or the Celestron Ultima porros).
--AP
Thanks, I knew that, my fault! I wasn't thinking when I entered it (in a couple of places) and forgot to edit it out. (which I will correct forthwith) I actually measured my IPD on my EII's with a steel tape: 68mm from center of EP to center of other EP at my best viewing point. Because of the thickness of the Eye Cups on the Leupolds I don't think they could get any narrower than 50mm. Even there, you would have to have a nose with no arch to use them, like a childs nose. As you note, the large oculars are the cause of the problem.
Bob :h?:
 
Leupold 6x30

My wife just ordered a pair of these binocs and loves them.
I compared them to my Pentax ones and they are certainly a good buy for $99. They are small and light weight and the optics are very bright. I would not hesitate recommending a pair to someone.
GR
 
Has anyone compared these to the Fujinon Nautilus 6x30s? I've been hoping to test some of those for a long time (the worry is the 12mm eye relief, but sometimes that's all right).

I'm interested in the 6x30 format because I like to go kayaking. There aren't that many really waterproof 6x30s around. Has anyone taken the Yosemite out on the ocean yet? They say "waterproof", but there are different grades of that, and most marine binoculars are individual focus.
 
I believe Fujinon discontinued the 6 x 30's. They also had Individual focus rather than center focus and would have been much more inconvenient to use from a canoe than the Leupolds.

The box my 6 x 30 Yosemites came in states unequivocally that they are "100% waterproof." I take that to mean that Leupold will replace or repair them if they suffer water damage from submersion. For 99 Bucks, that's a good deal.
Bob
 
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Reply to inquiry re. Leupold Yosemite

I have had som experience with the new Yosemite and I love it. It is a small, light weight poro which is incredibly bright, is very sharp, very light weight, and allows a small enough interpupilary distance for a child's face. It also has a wide field of view.

I lent them to a 7 year old who found them quite easy to use, but had trouble reaching the focus knob -- a problem with poros for people with small hands. I have given a pair to a friend who, because of extensive damage from surgery, cannot carry any weight around his neck, and he finds that he is able to enjoy birding again.

This is a great family or beginning binocular. The only serious optic for children.

Wayne Mones
Better View Desired

dozercsx said:
Greetings,

I just saw that Leupold introduced a new small, lower powered (by birding standards) 6x30 porro prism binocular, ostensibly for use with beginning birders, children, folks with small hands, etc. They appear to have high quality components, and they list for around a hundred bucks, but I've yet to see one in the field.

I was wondering if anyone had any early experiences with these which they could share, or perhaps further thoughts on the intriguing possibility of 6x birders for the beginning crowd.
 
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