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19/11/2012 New LEICA GEOVID (1 Viewer)

Renze de Vries said:
Steve,

Could you elaborate some more on the subject of porro II prisms allowing wider field of view please?
After the innovations undertaken by Swarovski, Zeiss and Nikon it seems to me that increasing the FoV is THE issue left for Leica in binocular design. And very welcome, I'd say.

Renze
Click to expand...

Renze,

sorry for being late. I cannot participate here frequently these days. Holger explained already the disadvantages of porro I. With the other types of prisms (apart from being roofs ;)) there are other bulk problems, too. An oversized Schmidt-Pechan let the binocular tubes get too thick which is probably not good for ergonomics. An oversized Abbe-König is growing too much in length. So the small offset that comes with porro II is ideal IMO for a big prism construction which is needed for wide angles. Haven't found the time to read the Perger patent in full length, though. As for the vignetting, I would thought it could occur with every type of prism, if undersized.

Steve
 
Prisms have one advantage compared to mirrors. The reflection-angles cannot change. But I think that this problem should be solvable. With two-parted prisms like e.g. the Schmidt-Pechan the two components are put and fixated into a frame. Why shouldn't this work with a mirror as well? A lightweight 80° AFOV bin - this could be the next alpha.

Steve
 
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It did occur to me that manufacturing methods and tolerances have improved massively since the original Trinovid was made. As Steve says, why should a supporting frame not work well.
 
There's another advantage to mirrors which I don't think has been mentioned.

When a converging (focusing) beam enters a flat piece of glass, like the front surface of a prism, its rate of convergence becomes smaller, moving the focal point farther away from the objective. So prisms require a longer binocular than would mirrors which performed the same task.

The weight saving of the mirrors themselves, compared to solid glass, would be enhanced by the more compact body.
Ron
 
ronh said:
There's another advantage to mirrors which I don't think has been mentioned.

When a converging (focusing) beam enters a flat piece of glass, like the front surface of a prism, its rate of convergence becomes smaller, moving the focal point farther away from the objective. So prisms require a longer binocular than would mirrors which performed the same task.

The weight saving of the mirrors themselves, compared to solid glass, would be enhanced by the more compact body.
Ron
Click to expand...

You mean like this 17* WALL-e bin?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=481520&is=REG&A=details&Q=#Specification

<B>
 
I attend the Spacecoast Bird Festival in Titusville, FL yesterday and today. They didn't have the new rangefinder bins, but I talked to the Leica rep about them.

He said that the new prism design allows for a huge FOV and doesn't required phase coatings. He says that they are working on other designs using them, but nothing that they can talk about now.

He said to look for something exciting from Leica in the next two or three years.

The festival continues through Monday. Any questions that you would like me to ask him?

The new Trinovids are quite impressive.

Mark
 
BinoBoy said:
I attend the Spacecoast Bird Festival in Titusville, FL yesterday and today. They didn't have the new rangefinder bins, but I talked to the Leica rep about them.

He said that the new prism design allows for a huge FOV and doesn't required phase coatings. He says that they are working on other designs using them, but nothing that they can talk about now.

He said to look for something exciting from Leica in the next two or three years.

The festival continues through Monday. Any questions that you would like me to ask him?

The new Trinovids are quite impressive.

Mark
Click to expand...

Thanks for that update. It looks like Leica will be the last of the Big Three to upgrade its top birding bins, and we will have to wait another two to three years to find out what they come up with, but that's okay, because it would take me at least that long to save for one plus selling my porros @ the spiraling rate of inflation of alpha prices. I'm expecting the next gen Ubervids to be around $2,600-$2,700 in three years.

<B>
 
I saw the new Leica rangefinder binoculars at Safari Club International convention in Reno, NV a couple of weeks ago. Very nice binoculars with somewhat odd but comfortable shape. Nothing fancy or spectacular about them though. The optics was fine and on par with other high-end binoculars.
 
Omid said:
I saw the new Leica rangefinder binoculars at Safari Club International convention in Reno, NV a couple of weeks ago. Very nice binoculars with somewhat odd but comfortable shape. Nothing fancy or spectacular about them though. The optics was fine and on par with other high-end binoculars.
Click to expand...

Omid,

I would think that for jungle safaris they would offer the new Geovids in YELLOW.. It would blend well with the surroundings, keep you safe from wild animals except monkeys who might try to take away your banana. :smoke:

You don't sound impressed. Do you own or have you used the previous generation Geovid? I'm wondering how these new ones compare, in particular if the image still has a blue tint.

Brock
 
brocknroller said:
Omid,

I would think that for jungle safaris they would offer the new Geovids in YELLOW.. It would blend well with the surroundings, keep you safe from wild animals except monkeys who might try to take away your banana. :smoke:

You don't sound impressed. Do you own or have you used the previous generation Geovid? I'm wondering how these new ones compare, in particular if the image still has a blue tint.

Brock
Click to expand...

Hi Brock! ha ha!! yeah, a mello yello one would be really nice jungle toll! ;) These are great binoculars but how exactly was I supposed to be impressed? They are super nice like everything else that Leica has brought out in the past 10 or 15 years (ecept for their riflescopes, I don't like them).

I had never used previous Geovids but had looked through them at various shows or optics shop.

I am still working on my optics patents and the (pathetic ?) idea that I might somehow be able to take the sports optics out of the current stalemate. How is everything with you? How do you cope with the cold and snow?
 
Omid said:
Hi Brock! ha ha!! yeah, a mello yello one would be really nice jungle toll! ;) These are great binoculars but how exactly was I supposed to be impressed? They are super nice like everything else that Leica has brought out in the past 10 or 15 years (ecept for their riflescopes, I don't like them).

I had never used previous Geovids but had looked through them at various shows or optics shop.

I am still working on my optics patents and the (pathetic ?) idea that I might somehow be able to take the sports optics out of the current stalemate. How is everything with you? How do you cope with the cold and snow?
Click to expand...

It was 48* today! Apparently, the chipmunks heard that Punxatawny Phil predicted an early spring, but we'll be back in the doldrums later this week with temps dipping below 30* and some snow flurries. But it was nice respite from winter if only for a couple days.

I think you were supposed to be impressed with the new Geovid's new features such that it's programmable with an integrated micro-SD memory card that gives you ability to customize an on board ballistic calculation from 100 to 1,000 yards. So you can match it to your gun. This, they say, "allows hunters navigating steep terrain, with difficult shooting inclines or declines, to make those long-distance shots much more accurately, and makes shots that were nearly impossible before a reality."

The total range has been extended to 2,000 yards. It also has quaDura coatings.

So it definitely had gadget upgrades compared to the old version, but not being a hunter, I was more interested in the optics, since for my big hands, bigger is better, and Leica's birding bins tended to be rather smallish, but if they adopt this design to their birding line, that could be good news for the big handed. It might also add some depth perception due to the offset of the Perger prisms.

Here's the spiel from the Leica rep at SHOT:

http://www.americanrifleman.org/blogs/leica-geovid-hdb-binocular/

All and all an interesting development to watch, I only wish that Nikon had bought the patent so this new porro technology would trickle down to budget of mere mortal men.

License your patents to Nikon or Bushnell so hunters on a budget can enjoy your exit pupiless riflescopes.

<B>
 
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Dear all,
There are rumors that the new Leica rangefinder with Perger prisms has to be discontinued because it has violated patents of another manufacturer or other manufacturers and this violation claim seemed to be confirmed by a court case. Does anybody know more about it?
Gijs
 
Gijs van Ginkel said:
Dear all,
There are rumors that the new Leica rangefinder with Perger prisms has to be discontinued because it has violated patents of another manufacturer or other manufacturers and this violation claim seemed to be confirmed by a court case. Does anybody know more about it?
Gijs
Click to expand...

Really? But the Perger-Prism has a patent as well. Whoever approved that patent has not done a good job if this rumor is true. Now I am curious - who else would possibly want make binoculars with these prisms?

Cheers,
Holger
 
Perhaps it's not the prisms but the open bridge design that's involved in the patent infringement.

Swarovski's lawyers issued Nikon a "cease and desist" order from continuing to make its first open bridge roof, the EDG I. Why Nikon and not Bushnell, Vortex, and a host of other companies that make open bridge roofs was never fully explained.

My guess was that the EDG was singled out because it was the only open bridge roof that could have competed head to head with the SV EL. Leica's rangefinder would also fall into that category in that it would compete head to head with Swarovski's open bridge EL Range roofs.

<B>
 
brocknroller said:
Perhaps it's not the prisms but the open bridge design that's involved in the patent infringement.

Swarovski's lawyers issued Nikon a "cease and desist" order from continuing to make its first open bridge roof, the EDG I. Why Nikon and not Bushnell, Vortex, and a host of other companies that make open bridge roofs was never fully explained.

My guess was that the EDG was singled out because it was the only open bridge roof that could have competed head to head with the SV EL. Leica's rangefinder would also fall into that category in that it would compete head to head with Swarovski's open bridge EL Range roofs.

<B>
Click to expand...

I suggest another possibility. They were singled out because they can be sued and they are not located in a country which can and will retaliate outside the courts. Bushnell, Vortex and the host of other companies have their binoculars made in China.

Bob
 
Gijs van Ginkel said:
Dear all,
There are rumors that the new Leica rangefinder with Perger prisms has to be discontinued because it has violated patents of another manufacturer or other manufacturers and this violation claim seemed to be confirmed by a court case. Does anybody know more about it?
Gijs
Click to expand...

It may be just rumor, the new Geovid is still up and proudly acclaimed on the
Leica website. Time will tell.

Jerry
 
The Leica rifle scope and the new Leica Rangefinder perger binocuar were designed to communicate, so if the Leica rifle scope is struck by the court case and Leica can not continue to produce it on legal grounds, there is not much sense for hunters to buy the new Rangefinder Geovid.
Gijs
 
Gijs van Ginkel said:
The Leica rifle scope and the new Leica Rangefinder perger binocuar were designed to communicate, so if the Leica rifle scope is struck by the court case and Leica can not continue to produce it on legal grounds, there is not much sense for hunters to buy the new Rangefinder Geovid.
Gijs
Click to expand...

Gijs,

Excuse me, but I don't understand. Is there some strict relation to the rifle scope and the rangefinder? Why would it be senseless to buy the new rangefinder?

Renze
 
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