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Ultruavid HD Plus: Slight slack in the focusing mechanism - do I care? (1 Viewer)

Back in 2005, I purchased an UV 10x42. Within months the focussing system started to loosen up. The freeplay got so bad that when I went to set the diopter, I had to make sure I turned the knob in the same direction when setting the second barrel so as not to introduce an error the size of the freeplay. Birders focus constantly and the sloppiness was annoying as hell. I had a no-fault passport warranty so I sent it to Leica. It came back with less freeplay, but the problem returned to its prior magnitude soon thereafter. In addition, they set the diopter a whole two points off. Very sloppy work. Someone at Leica was incompetent or didn't care. I started to hear of other Leica horror stories with this and other issues, so I dumped the Ultravids, purchased a Zeiss FL 8x42 and didn't look back. The freeplay defect was supposed to have been fixed in the second generation of Ultravids... It appears that beauty is still only skin deep....Draw your own conclusions...
 
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Back in 2005, I purchased an UV 10x42. Within months the focussing system started to loosen up. The freeplay got so bad that when I went to set the diopter, I had to make sure I turned the knob in the same direction when setting the second barrel so as not to introduce an error the size of the freeplay. Birders focus constantly and the sloppiness was annoying as hell. I had a no-fault passport warranty so I sent it to Leica. It came back with less freeplay, but the problem returned to its prior magnitude soon thereafter. In addition, they set the diopter a whole two points off. Very sloppy work. Someone at Leica was incompetent or didn't care. I started to hear of other Leica horror stories with this and other issues, so I dumped the Ultravids, purchased a Zeiss FL 8x42 and didn't look back. The freeplay defect was supposed to have been fixed in the second generation of Ultravids... It appears that beauty is still only skin deep....Draw your own conclusions...

I came to the conclusion a long time ago from reading accounts on this forum that even the top optics companies produce lemons here and there.
User accounts of Leica's CA and sloppy focus , Swaros gritty focus and horrible glare, Zeiss' terrible eye cups and putrid green color cast...these experiences made some consumers switch brand loyalty. Many don't notice or ever experience any of these issues. I also take it with a grain of salt when anyone claims they experience this or that with a particular bin, whether it be negative or positive. it's all so subjective, as has been said here many times, so it's important for people to try for themselves and make up their own mind. I had a Swaro CL and loved it. It had a little grit in the focus which didn't bother me. Others would send it back for this and some have said the CL is basically a waste of money for other reasons...not to me.
 
Back in 2005, I purchased an UV 10x42. Within months the focussing system started to loosen up. The freeplay got so bad that when I went to set the diopter, I had to make sure I turned the knob in the same direction when setting the second barrel so as not to introduce an error the size of the freeplay. ........................................The freeplay defect was supposed to have been fixed in the second generation of Ultravids... It appears that beauty is still only skin deep....Draw your own conclusions...



That was 10 years ago. I conclude from my own personal experience and other comments here that the focusing problem you describe in your UV, if it was endemic in all the Ultravids made around 2005, must have been fixed by now. If not, Leica's reputation as a binocular manufacturer would have been in serious trouble for years.

If a focusing problem crops up in my Demo 8x42 during the next 8 years left in its warranty period I will send it back to Leica to be fixed. Focusing problems can come about in any binocular.

Bob
 
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That was 10 years ago. I conclude from my own personal experience and other comments here that the focusing problem you describe in your UV, if it was endemic in all the Ultravids made around 2005, must have been fixed by now. If not, Leica's reputation as a binocular manufacturer would have been in serious trouble for years.

If a focusing problem crops up in my Demo 8x42 during the next 8 years left in its warranty period I will send it back to Leica to be fixed. Focusing problems can come about in any binocular.

Bob

Maybe not. Swaro bins have had many claims of poor / shoddy / defective focusing for years [real or not] and it seems to have affected them in no way whatsoever.

In fact, if you just used this place as a reference, you would have thought that almost all Swaros had this defect, when [in reality] it might be just a tiny number.
 
Guy and gals.... the focus freeplay in the first generation of Ultravids was experienced by a lot of purchasers... It became known as the "null spot" problem. When the HD's came out, my Leica dealer went so far to say (without prompting) that the freeplay problems that plagued the first generation of UV's were fixed. So, I guess it was a design problem... The point of all this is that there was a flaw, I gave Leica a chance to fix it. They didn't and they didn't check the product before it went out the door. The freeplay was a built in flaw... okay, most bins have something that could be better (nothing's perfect), but the audacity of Leica to return it to me not fixed and with more wrong than when they received it was too much for me.... take from this what your may. I share it not to bury Leica, but to praise Zeiss (and to state my surprise that the problem has arisen again).
 
Look, the play as I said was approx 1/8 to 1/16 of an inch, that is all; but being alphas I didn't end up accepting that on the advice of Leica CS.

Forums are a reality distortion field by nature as people are notorious for particularly showing up when there's a bad experience, so general perception to the readers is skewed to put it gently. Nothing wrong with showing up at that point, you can get some major help sometimes, but it is part of the skew.

Whether it is a high end firearm or premium binoculars, if you want to know every bad sample a company has shipped of their product, or intermittently see people freaking out over nothing because they do not understand their expensive purchase, find the companies' most prominent independent forum and you may be tempted to say, "how does that company possibly stay in business?"
 
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Look, the play as I said was approx 1/8 to 1/16 of an inch, that is all; but being alphas I didn't end up accepting that on the advice of Leica CS.

Forums are a reality distortion fields by nature as people are notorious for particularly showing up when there's a bad experience, so general perception to the readers is skewed to put it gently. Nothing wrong with showing up at that point, you can get some major help sometimes, but it is part of the skew.

Whether it is a high end firearm or premium binoculars, if you want to know every bad sample a company has shipped of their product, or intermittently see people freaking out over nothing because they do not understand their expensive purchase, find the companies' most prominent independent forum and you will often say, "how does that company possibly stay in business?"

Sensible comment.

Lee
 
a little play is no problem , so long it doesn't get wors over time,
You have to have a little play in the wheels , because other wise the friction between the parts is getting to high and when its warm or cold that is also a a different case .
 
If something is bothersome to someone then it's a real issue to that person, so I don't want to suggest that
St Elmo's experience with Leica focus wasn't valid. It wasn't satisfactory to him and Leica customer service also
was not satisfactory.

Everyone has different tolerance levels. When I received my Swaro CL and noticed the little bit of gritty feel in one spot of the focus I thought...ok, others have mentioned this very thing with Swaro on the forum. I decided it wasn't bothersome enough to warrant fixing or an exchange. It didn't affect my bird watching and after a while I didn't think much of it anymore.

One time I was interested in the Alpen Rainier 8x32 and a few had commented about a yellow cast to the image. Some couldn't abide it and another member told me not to worry; that it's really not yellow, but a subtle cream color. I ordered the bin and checked for myself and could barely just detect a very subtle cream color when looking at white objects. Still a very nice image and the cream color barely there and certainly not bothersome to me in any way. I returned it for being bulky and heavy however.
This is why I don't take the 'putrid green ' color cast (if it even exists) of the SF seriously.

In both of these examples, some would react as I did, some wouldn't notice and some would not be able tolerate
these issues at all.
 
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I also had an experience with Leupold Katmai 6x32 binocular. The focus was super stiff in cold weather, so I sent it in to their service center with a note explaining the problem. They sent it back stating the focus was in good working condition. I wonder if they put it in a freezer to test it. Anyway I subsequently sold it , as I felt it was essentially not usable in cold weather. Another person may have been ok with the level of stiffness in the cold, but I wasn't.
So, obviously the focus was not designed to be fluid in the cold like top binos. I would still buy from Leupold again , but I would take into consideration the bino may not be best option in cold weather.
 
I checked my older model 10x32 UV's, and they do indeed have a tiny bit of play in the focus knob, something I vaguely remember worrying about when I first bought them, although I hadn't noticed it in years until I read this post. It's not mushy the way it is in cheap binoculars, its a precise feel of gears connecting, it only occurs right after moving the focus knob, and it disappears in a matter of seconds. It's most noticeable when changing the direction of focus. There is probably a certain amount of tension reduction when focusing, which then resets when focusing stops. When the knob hasn't been moved, there is no play at all. It sounds like the tension setting on the OP's binocular was a tiny bit off, if he was noticing play all the time.
 
The predecessors of the current Leica binoculars, the Trinovid BA and BN, all had some play. At least the ones I handled. I remember worrying about the play my 8x32 BA had when I got it in 1993, but I got used to it pretty quickly. Interestingly the amount of play never changed during all those years, and seems the same today like it was over 20 years ago.

And the focusing works just fine in all sorts of weather, which is something I can't say of many binoculars I've used over the years.

Hermann
 
The OP only noticed play when he changed direction with the focus wheel.

Then it sounds like the binocular is doing what it was designed to do. Other binoculars have smoother focusers which might not be so smooth in extreme conditions. A focus mechanism that doesn't rely on a lubricant is going to have some quirks, but its not going to lock up in the cold or squish in the heat either.
 
Well, I did not know whether the free play was supposed to be there or not. So it was described to a Leica tech in NJ as having 1/8 to 1/16 of an inch of free play when changing direction. And Leica Said send them back. So assuming I did not misrepresent the problem to them, it was Leica's call not mine.

As an aside, I handled three other pair belonging to a forum member and none of them had any play.
 
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ok, 1/8 to 1/16 of an inch (25,4mm) is a "lot" of play, mine (10x42 HD plus) has maybe 1/80 to 1/100 of an inch play in it.
 
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Today I received my pair of Ultravid HD Plus 8X42's.

Stunning in every way. The 'sparkle' we keep hearing about is not myth. Have begun numerous points of reference. For example, the texture of my neighbors roof tiles are actually available to these binoculars, I'll say more later.

However, I don't know whether or not to be concerned about 1/8" but closer perhaps to 1/16" of play in the focusing mechanism?

When changing directions with the focus wheel, there is a very slight turn in the new direction before the focusing re-engages. Slight but distinct.

In automotive gearing this is colloquially known as, “drive line slack.” All the gears are engaged in one direction, then when you go the opposite way, the tolerances in the linkages must be eliminated before the last gear finally turns.

Is a slight amount normal in the Leica Ultravid focusing mechanisms? Do I / Should I care about this?

Thanks!

I've tried a number of Leica bins over the years to see how they were - most of the models (excepting the compacts) have a degree of "slackness" in comparison to, say, Nikons, but never enough to worry about. I reckon about 1/16 slack is reasonably normal. It doesn't affect Leica's fine optical quality in any way though
 
If the Leica rep had told me that last sentence, I would've never exchanged them.

DW,

For what it's worth, I'd have done the exact same thing. There should be No Play in focuser movement for any descent glass, especially for top alpha optics...Period! :cool:

Ted
 
My 8x42 UV's do the same thing. It almost feels like the focus mechanism is tightening up when I test for play, because the play goes away after the focus knob is turned slightly. My Zeiss HT's and Swarovski CL's have very smooth focusers, both of which are too easy to turn for my taste. If there is some kind of tension adjustment mechanism in the Leicas, that might explain the difference.
 
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