Leica Store in Washington DC report (1 Viewer)

Went to the Leica store, only one in US owned by Leica to see the elusive new Perger Geovid in 8x42. They sell them quickly at the Cabelas near Hawk Mnt and in Leica store. It is large/tall but fit perfectly in my hand, the weight was balanced, the tubes were small in diameter so easy to grasp. ergonomics home run. Finally excellent eye releif from Leica, no blackout. View was at lunch time so hard to judge low light level but magical, addictive, and had WOW factor. Looked like individual rings by ocular to adjust for each eye, but store clerk did not know, asked what was 'plasticity' mentioned in brochure, Clerk not sure. More of a camera shop with seminars but clerk said they might do a bin/ scope optics seminar in future. Pressing button generated range readout in nano seconds and was fun, easy. BIG news was smooth focus in both directions no back lash, very precise. The store has everything and I was able to pass along the rumors of poor warranty service as feedback to Leica rep. I never have needed Leica service but at 3 grand it would be a worry. Of course I want these, would accept the weight and length, wish for a 7x42 version.

Yeah, but Swarovski stores are full of gleaming crystal figurines! Really though, what fun that must have been. It's certainly great news that the binocular is so good. It seems like the rangefinding hardware is bound to compromise the view in principle, but it sounds like they have about conquered it. I wish they'd make a plain Perger prism binocular, because I like the idea of a "Porro" but don't need rangefinding.

Thanks for your report.

Ron