• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Please compare the 2012-2015 Trinovid to the new Trinovid HD (1 Viewer)

ceasar said:
Lee,

I have a Leica R3 dating back to the 1980s with a 90mm F2 Summicron lens. I haven't used it in ages. If my memory is correct one was made in Portugal and the other in Canada but I can't remember which. I must dig it up and see.

I have a Leitz 7x42 Trinovid BA that says "Germany" on it and a Leica 7x42 Trinovid BN made in Germany and a Leica 8x42 Ultravid Blackline made in Portugal and a Leica 8x20 BCA Trinovid that does not identify anywhere on it where it was made.

Bob
Click to expand...

The Leitz facility in Canada made the first generation of the excellent Panavision Primo lenses. We have all seen countless films shot with them over the years.
The factory is now called Elcan and make military optics.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ELCAN_Optical_Technologies
 
There are quite a few Elcan cameras and lenses, fairly old some of them.
65mm f/0.75 and 90mm f/1 also.

I had some Elcan lenses for Vinten, maybe 3inch There are also, from memory, 6inch and 12 inch available as well as shorter focal lengths, where the camera had to be modified for the small back focus.

P.S.
Yes Elcan 6 inch f/2.8 was one.
Elcan 1.75 inch f/2.8 for modified film path Vinten using 70mm film.
The latter was difficult to use, but with new mirrorless cameras it would probably work, say Sony A7 series and even the new medium format mirrorless, Hasselblad, Fuji?

P.P.S.
Maybe it was the even wider 1.5 inch Elcan that needed the modified Vinten and the 1.75 inch maybe works on a standard Vinten. My memory is slipping sometimes.
 
Last edited:
Binastro said:
There are quite a few Elcan cameras and lenses, fairly old some of them.
65mm f/0.75 and 90mm f/1 also.

I had some Elcan lenses for Vinten, maybe 3inch There are also, from memory, 6inch and 12 inch available as well as shorter focal lengths, where the camera had to be modified for the small back focus.
Click to expand...

Vinten were aerial reconnassaince cameras weren't they Binny?

Lee
 
Yes, Lee.
A great British success from 1950s onwards. Very reliable.
Even ancient ones work when plugged into the correct 28 volt supply with correct connectors, even ones not used for decades. Up to 8 and then 12 fps I think. Fascinating to watch them work. You need lots of film.
 
Troubador said:
Alex that is very interesting. Thank you for posting.

Are able to give us an idea of your impression of the quality of construction of a top alpha compared with a middle price Kamakura-made compared with a typical chinese bin?

Lee
Click to expand...

Lee.
Let's share of binoculars into four segments - Alpha binoculars (Swar, Zeiss, Leica, Minox, Nikon and etc.), KAMAKURA KOKI CO., LTD (Tama, CEO Toshiya Kamakura ) binoculars and other small japanese factories, China binoculars from big factories (UO, KOI, KKO, KSO, KB, KR, Sichuan and etc.) and Chinese binoculars from small factories.
What models of binoculars?
What test? At the level of the 3rd to 5th orders wavefront aberrations?
 
Last edited:
Who is going to test 3rd and 5th order aberrations?

And in the real world each binocular is different.
Also only rarely are the two tubes optically 'perfect'.
Prisms seem to deteriorate images because of the skewed light path.

Any binocular supplied for test is likely to be cherry picked.
Only buying independently are you likely to see a real product, and these will all vary.

Anyway, binocular star images are pretty poor compared to top telescopes.
The only possible near perfect normal binocular may be the 22x60 Takahashi.
 
Last edited:
Troubador said:
My wife has a 1976 Leitz Trinovid with a black logo. At some point not so long after this the logo was changed to red although I can't remember if at this point it also changed from Leitz to Leica. We were told by our bins dealer at the time that the change to a red logo signified the move of production to Portugal. The Portuguese factory opened in 1973 and Leica has recently opened a new one there.

Lee
Click to expand...

Lee,

My Leitz Trinovid 7x42 BA has a red dot logo. It was made in 1982 according to GaryMH.

Bob
 
jan van daalen said:
This discussion pops up once in a while.

AFAIK the EG rule is: The object must to be made functional in the country of origine.

The eyecups story, regarding the Conquest, came from the former Dutch Zeiss rep.

From several sides we heard that the new Trinnie was oriental made, but (when asked) Leica states it is Made in Portugal. So we had one opened to look at the used parts and how it was put together and (at least) the parts are the same as used in Japanese high level bins.

Kahles bins are "Made in Austria" but are 100% made in Japan and assembled (read: made functional) in Austria.

It is clear that there is nothing wrong with these (Japanese) bins but Made in Austria/Germany/Portugal still gives more trust to the customer than Made in Japan and assembled in...... in the price segment round 1.000,00 euro.

It's all about perception.

Jan
Click to expand...

Did you take a photographs of the disassembled Trinovid HD you could post ?

Poor saps like me have to hunt out cutaway models if and when available...
 

Attachments

  • 25574126_5_x.jpg
    25574126_5_x.jpg
    127.8 KB · Views: 236
  • 25574126_1_x.jpg
    25574126_1_x.jpg
    70 KB · Views: 230
I took my Trinovid 10x42 out locally this weekend to a local park. I hadn't been using them recently as I had been time with a new 8x32 EL SV.

I caught a great egret close by in the riverbank. The plumage was brilliantly white. The bird was busy hunting fish in the shallows. I noticed a streak of brown mud/dirt vertically down the birds neck from the work in the muddy shallows.

Later I viewed some ibis scurrying through the mangroves diligently searching for crabs while tide was out.

I really enjoy these binoculars.

A note to some that Leica does have a 10% off at many dealers. I think the new HD model was $850-900 depending on 8 or 10x. Eurooptic.com still has a few of the previous models for sale.
 
I have had the Trinovid 10 x 42 (version 2012-2015 ) and "new" Trinovid 10 x 42 HD side by side. And they are complete different. The Trinovid HD is optically but also mechanically, inferior to the Trinovid 2012-2015. The Trinovid HD is like a "common Chinese binocular" like the Zeiss Terra, which You can buy for about 400 euro. But the price for the HD in Europe is about 1.000 euro. Too much.

The Trinovid 2012-2105 has the same quality as the Ultravid HD or HD+. For about half the money of the HD (+).
 
Last edited:
Kees Boer said:
I have had the Trinovid 10 x 42 (version 2012-2015 ) and "new" Trinovid 10 x 42 HD side by side. And they are complete different. The Trinovid HD is optically but also mechanically, inferior to the Trinovid 2012-2015. The Trinovid HD is like a "common Chinese binocular" like the Zeiss Terra, which You can buy for about 400 euro. But the price for the HD in Europe is about 1.000 euro. Too much.

The Trinovid 2012-2105 has the same quality as the Ultravid HD or HD+. For about half the money of the HD (+).
Click to expand...

Thanks, I haven't seen the new Trinovid HD, but bought the 2012-2015 model 8x42 for my buddy. It compares very favorably to my beloved 8x42 Ultravid BRs.
 
Very good choice, John. And, according to some specialists, the Trinovid 2012-2015 has the same optics as the Ultravid BR. The Ultravid BR (141,8), Ultravid HD (142,6) and Ultravid HD Plus (142,1) are tested nearly the same at "Allbinos.com". I couldn't notice any difference between my Trinovid 2012-2015 and the Ultravid HD. They are optically, but also mechanically the same.

http://www.allbinos.com/index.html?...ca=0&pryzmat=0&sort=&szukaj=Search&przetest=1
 
Thank You, Ceasar. Ik know this thread. But it doesn't change much. The new Trinovid HD is a clone of the original Trinovid. The Trinovid HD looks like a hundred other Chinese or Japanese binoculars. It hasn't "got it" like the old and original Leica Trinovid's.

And, so I heard: the Trinovid is made in Japan and not in Germany or Portugal...... Just like the Carl Zeiss Conquest.
 
Kees,

I have a Leica 7x42 Trinovid BN. It is built like a brick with Aluminum body construction and it weighs much more than the Ultravids which replaced it with lighter magnesium bodies and titanium focusing rods. The coatings also are much more modern on the Ultravids. My 8x42 Ultravid BL is brighter than my 7x42 Trinovid.

I don't know where the new Trinovid HD is made, but according to Leica it has magnesium body construction like the Ultravid has. I think that the major cost savings came in removing the diopter from the focus wheel and placing it on the right eyepiece.

Bob
 
Bob,

The Trinovid BN was made until 2007. At the same time Leica introduced the Ultravid HD. In 2012 the new Trinovid appeared. Another binocular than the Trinovid BN. The Trinovid 2012-2015 weights much less than the Triovid BN, because it has a magnesium body. Also the Trinovid 2012-2015 has modern coatings and a better transmission.

The Trinovid HD has a yellowish/green tone and is less bright than the Trinovid 2012-2015.

According to insiders It is made in Japan. Just like the Zeiss Conquest HD. In Japan the Trinovid HD is disassembled in some parts and is transported to Germany or Portugal. There the Trinovid HD is reassembled and than it may have the trademark "made in Germany or made in Portugal".
 
Kees Boer said:
Bob,

The Trinovid BN was made until 2007. At the same time Leica introduced the Ultravid HD. In 2012 the new Trinovid appeared. Another binocular than the Trinovid BN. The Trinovid 2012-2015 weights much less than the Triovid BN, because it has a magnesium body. Also the Trinovid 2012-2015 has modern coatings and a better transmission.

The Trinovid HD has a yellowish/green tone and is less bright than the Trinovid 2012-2015.

According to insiders It is made in Japan. Just like the Zeiss Conquest HD. In Japan the Trinovid HD is disassembled in some parts and is transported to Germany or Portugal. There the Trinovid HD is reassembled and than it may have the trademark "made in Germany or made in Portugal".
Click to expand...

Kees:

I am wondering about your experience and knowledge about what you
are posting about the Trinovids, both newer and HD.

Have you had first hand experience with these models, and how long
was your examination?

I am thinking the issue is that they are just different, but very similar in transmission and many other ways.

That may mean good things, the newer Trinovid has some CA, and I assume the HD lenses, of the newer model makes an improvement.

Jerry
 
Jerry,


I have had the Trinovid 2012-2015 and the Trinovid HD two weeks to compare. The two binoculars have been
thoroughly tested during day time (cloudy and sunny) and night time (moon, planets, stars, etc.). Just to be clear, I have tested many other binoculars, like the Swarovski 10 x 50 EL, Meopta 10 x 50, Leica HD 10 x 50, etc. See this link to one of my reviews (it's only in Dutch):

http://www.houseofoutdoor.com/testrapporten/test-verrekijkers-10-x-50-en-10-x-56-def.pdf

After two weeks I had to send back one of the two Trinovid's and that was the HD version. The Trinovid HD has "HD lenses", but my experience is that the light transmission of the Trinovid 2012-2015 is better. Also the the Trinovid HD has a distinctly yellowish/green tone.

I have compared both Trinovids with my Swarovski CL 8 x 30, which has a very neutral and almost perfect colour reproduction. The difference between the Swarovski and Trinovid 2012-2015 was very small. The Trinovid has a bit warmer tone. On the other side is the difference in colour tone between the Swarovski and the Trinovid HD much bigger. In disadvantage of the Trinovid HD. And the rubber armour of the Trinovid HD is at more places slightly loose.
 
Thanks for the comparison Kees. I've been reading reviews of the Trin HD online for the 10x, but I haven't seen any mention a color cast yet. I think it's hard to see color cast on its own. But, if the bin is compared to a neutral bin as you did here then it could be detected. Before I sold the Cabela's Meopta HD 8x32 I was comparing to my Ultravid HD+ 7x42 and I was able to detect a very slight yellow cast in the Meopta which I hadn't seen before until I compared it to another bino. It was really a cream color and wouldn't have been a deal breaker for me. I sold it for the small ER, as I wasn't seeing the full fov.

I used to own the Trinovid 8x42 previous version (same one you have now) and thought it was nice with typical Leica view. The only issue was strong CA off axis. Ca was controlled well in the center, but at times CA was real bad just outside and towards the edges. It's a heavy binocular too.

The 7x42 UVid+ has drastically reduced CA in comparison. I think that's in part to new Schott HT glass perhaps, but maybe more the reduced magnification.
I also find the UVid+ to be closer to neutral colors (less warm) than the old Trinovid , but still Leica type view with nice colors and great contrast and of course it's nice and bright as well.
 
Last edited:
Warning! This thread is more than 7 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Similar threads

M
Leica Trinovid 10x32 BN vs HD
Replies
5
Views
642
tenex
tenex
M
Is new Trinovid coming soon?
Replies
0
Views
850
mhasman
M
mgp13
Leica Trinovid HD appreciation thread
Replies
12
Views
2K
Rg548
R
S
IPD and folks who own the Trinovid HD in 8x32...
Replies
0
Views
671
sope0018
S
N
Ultravid 7x42 HD+ vs Noctivid 8x42
2 3 4
Replies
65
Views
8K
Scott98
S

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top