Paul Godolphin
Member
So most Ultravids are KNOWN to have jerky, stuttering focus wheel actions! Thanks a million to Jim Duffie for drawing my attention to this on NorthEastBirding website, and for attaching several examples from exasperated owners on the BirdForum pages. I had no idea that this was going on! In fact, like several other disappointed writers, I would never have purchased Leica binoculars if I’d known that they have a built-in design problem. After more research I find that the company are well aware of the fault and regularly repair the Ultravid models by dissembling the focus drive in the centre-column and inserting a Teflon washer. Apparently (unlike most other makes, which are assembled with special grease) Ultravids are put-together DRY. The aim was to avoid variations in grease viscosity making the knob too easy in hot temperatures and stiffer/slower on very cold days. Nice idea, but it hasn’t worked, and the service departments are retro-fitting the Teflon washers to smooth out the jerky dry spindles.
But what I’m so bloody angry about after spending over £1100 on a pair of bins is, that the fault has existed since 2003/04 (see various owner reports on the web) BUT LEICA HAVE CONTINUED TO SELL THEM to us, knowing that they are faulty!! They’ve had four years to put it right but are happy to take our money for a known faulty product. I’ve just dumped all my Swarovski gear for the same reason – all their new EL models have a big HOLE in the focus wheel, right through to inside. And yet Swarovski simply deny that it’s a problem, and continue to market them. How can they be waterproof and nitrogen-filled when you can look through a gap in the bridge and see inside the guts of the binoculars through it??
We seem to be getting ‘taken to the cleaners’ by these manufacturers. If only good old Zeiss were still making my beloved Dialyts. I looked through a pair the other day and they were still as good as the best of today’s offering, and half the size. Pity their new top-of-the-range models have optics that look like a Vaseline tube and the handling characteristics of a pineapple….
Cheers Paul Godolphin
But what I’m so bloody angry about after spending over £1100 on a pair of bins is, that the fault has existed since 2003/04 (see various owner reports on the web) BUT LEICA HAVE CONTINUED TO SELL THEM to us, knowing that they are faulty!! They’ve had four years to put it right but are happy to take our money for a known faulty product. I’ve just dumped all my Swarovski gear for the same reason – all their new EL models have a big HOLE in the focus wheel, right through to inside. And yet Swarovski simply deny that it’s a problem, and continue to market them. How can they be waterproof and nitrogen-filled when you can look through a gap in the bridge and see inside the guts of the binoculars through it??
We seem to be getting ‘taken to the cleaners’ by these manufacturers. If only good old Zeiss were still making my beloved Dialyts. I looked through a pair the other day and they were still as good as the best of today’s offering, and half the size. Pity their new top-of-the-range models have optics that look like a Vaseline tube and the handling characteristics of a pineapple….
Cheers Paul Godolphin
I too have paid the expensive prices but I am perfectly happy.
