Those Underappreciated 10x25 Binoculars (1 Viewer)

Rich N said:

You're very welcome, Elkcub.

I was planning on buying a new Swarovski 8x32EL last week but when I tried the Leica 10x42 Ultravid and Zeiss 10x42 FL I was so happy their eye relief and image quality I bought the 10x FL. With the FLs 7 diopter focuser run past infinity I can use it without my eye glasses. But, likely won't be using the FL that way.

The focuser on my 8.5x42EL is a little slow but the focuser on my 10x42 FL is a little fast. The focuser on the 8x32EL felt fine. I didn't spend a lot of time playing with it but nothing odd about hit me. At this point I feel like I'm really nit picking small problems when the binocular as a whole is so well made.

I still want a new light weight 32mm binocular. The Swarovski EL is outstanding but now I want to wait and try the new Leica and Zeiss 32s.

Rich

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Rich,

What was your personal evaluation of the Ultravid 10x42? I almost got a BL (leather covered) last week, but had to return it because of bad eyecups right out of the box. I thought it was fantastic otherwise. Hard on the hands though. Somewhat larger than I like for everyday use, but it was superb. I sold my Swaro 8x30s and got caught in a bind. The Trinovid 10x32 or 8x32 BNs seem like what I need for the long term, altho the rubber ribbing is, well, what can I say, unforgiving?

Unfortunately, I have to buy this week before starting a month's vacaion on the 27th. Otherwise, I'll fall back on my 10x25s, which just came back from Swarovski in perfect condition. (Swaro maintenance service really is GREAT). Maybe fate is lending a hand. Less weight to handle, and I'm still nearly convinced that the pocket binocs give me 95% of what I need, absent the psychological factor of carrying puny equipment among serious birders.

elkcub

elkcub said:

Rich,

What was your personal evaluation of the Ultravid 10x42? I almost got a BL (leather covered) last week, but had to return it because of bad eyecups right out of the box. I thought it was fantastic otherwise. Hard on the hands though. Somewhat larger than I like for everyday use, but it was superb. I sold my Swaro 8x30s and got caught in a bind. The Trinovid 10x32 or 8x32 BNs seem like what I need for the long term, altho the rubber ribbing is, well, what can I say, unforgiving?

Unfortunately, I have to buy this week before starting a month's vacaion on the 27th. Otherwise, I'll fall back on my 10x25s, which just came back from Swarovski in perfect condition. (Swaro maintenance service really is GREAT). Maybe fate is lending a hand. Less weight to handle, and I'm still nearly convinced that the pocket binocs give me 95% of what I need, absent the psychological factor of carrying puny equipment among serious birders.

elkcub

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Hi Elkclub,

When something meets 95% of your needs it is hard to argue agains it.

Looking at things in town and homes across a small cove outside a binocular store, I found the image quality between the Leica 10x42 Ultravid and Zeiss 10x42 FL so similar I really could not be sure which had "the" best image. The Leica felt better in my hands. The Zeiss could focus closer and had enough focusing room to let me focus at infinity without my glasses. In the end I went with the Zeiss. After having the Zeiss for a week I'm still very happy with them.

I've looked through the Swaorvski 8x32EL. It is very nice. I would like to look at the current Leica and Zeiss 32mm models.

Good luck,
Rich

More 10x power to everybody. Unless they are already 8x converts.

Tero,

Why limit yourself to one power?

My "dream collection" of binoculars would include a pair of everything from 7x to 12x... different binoculars for different tasks and viewing environments. The only "do everything" binocular around seems to be the Leica Duovid - but it's just to heavy for everyday use.

For everyday, common use I grab my Nikon HG 8X32's. For low light, I grab the Pentax SP 10X50's. For unexpected birding opportunities or spur of the moment hikes, I have my Zeiss Victory 8X20 Compacts in the car. I'm hoping to add a pair of Leica 8-12x42 Duovids, Leica 10X42 Geovids, and Zeiss FL 7X42 binoculars to the collection by the end of next year. Expensive? Yes.... but SO much fun! I guess everyone needs a hobby...

Best wishes,
Bawko

Atomic Chicken said:

Tero,

Why limit yourself to one power?

My "dream collection" of binoculars would include a pair of everything from 7x to 12x... different binoculars for different tasks and viewing environments. The only "do everything" binocular around seems to be the Leica Duovid - but it's just to heavy for everyday use.

For everyday, common use I grab my Nikon HG 8X32's. For low light, I grab the Pentax SP 10X50's. For unexpected birding opportunities or spur of the moment hikes, I have my Zeiss Victory 8X20 Compacts in the car. I'm hoping to add a pair of Leica 8-12x42 Duovids, Leica 10X42 Geovids, and Zeiss FL 7X42 binoculars to the collection by the end of next year. Expensive? Yes.... but SO much fun! I guess everyone needs a hobby...

Best wishes,
Bawko

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So, naturally I impulsively bought a second RED Leica 8x32 BN that will arrive next week (probably). This will be the fifth (5th, 1,2,3,4,5) try at buying over the Internet. Earlier choices were Zeiss ClassiC 10x40 (twice), Leica 10x42 BL (once), and Leica (red) 8x32 Bn (twice). Having sold my Swaro 8x30 Mk II SLCs in the process I had to get back to a good compromise binoc that's small with excellent short focusing, and will not get lost in a shadow. 10x buying will occur in the future (with your help).

Many thanks,
-elkcub

Alan M. said:

Since not everyone notices it, I think it may be a quality control problem. Or Zeiss has fixed the problem since I noticed it about ten months ago. In television servicing, the curvature would be called pin cushion distortion. The outer sides of the view had the curvature.

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Alan,
It is not necessarily a quality control problem after all. The terms pincushion/barrel distortion are the same in optics and they are actually different from the "field curvature". I guess what Leif meant was that you cannot focus the edges and the center at the same time. The perception of this can be very personal because the focus accommodation of the eyes varies quite a lot. I agree that the distortion in some Zeiss optics may be "off-putting" for some - but again, some people are not disturbed by it at all.

Tero et al: 10x rules!

Ilkka

Atomic Chicken, I actually do have 7x, 8x and 10x. I also have a cheap 16x pair, which was really a mistake. But I wanted to check out what you can see at 16x. With Bushnell quality, not much more than my 10x Nikons.

I would like to have some really good zooms, to give you good FOV at 7x and go up to 20x. But zooms seem to come with some limitations, and there are then 3 knobs to adjust. My eyes are not the same, and with each zoom setting a new eye correction is needed.

Tero,

Thanks for the clarification... I was thinking for a minute that you were promoting the idea that people had to be EITHER 8x or 10x fans, and switch sides sometimes!

I also would like to see an excellent zoom binocular, a waterproof roof prism design of maybe 7x-12x, or thereabouts. This would be a VERY nice instrument, especially if it were lightweight. The closest I've found so far is the Duovid 8-12x42... but it's just plain too heavy. Maybe a 7x-12x with 32mm objective lenses weighing in at 16-20 ounces? One can always dream...

Best wishes,
Bawko

P.S. I also have a cheap 16X pair, made by Barska. They have 32mm objectives, and they really aren't too bad for what they are and what I paid ($20). However, I rarely ever use them, and sometimes I think as you do that I might have made a mistake buying them. Much better was my recent purchase of a pair of Rugged Exposure 10X25 waterproof BAK4 chinese roof prism binoculars, they at least have a higher light/fog ratio! Unfortunately they have a bad internal reflection problem when the ambient light source is in certain positions...
But hey... what can you expect for $25!