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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

New Ultravids coming (1 Viewer)

fair comment robert , but given the choice i think i would like the latest model. how much differance in price are the new line going to be compared to the price now for the ultravid ? . no wonder leica were offering a 100 months free passport instead of the usual 5 years , trying to get rid of some stock , before the new line comes in . i myself was about to get a 10x42 br , glad i didn't now.
 
ingle1970 said:
seems a funny reply from someone whom you would expect to lavish praise on their new product ? . If that is the case why bother with the improvements if your not going to be able to see any improvement at all ?...
Click to expand...

If your eyes are not able to see it, who would want to pay for it.

I find it very interesting that leica has not said a word on the hunting
optics part of their website.

I also heard they would have new line of rifle scopes next year who
knows in Leica years.

one would think they would really be pushing sales for the stock holders
 
number6 said:
I tried them too , in particular the 8 x 32. It was Wow for me too . Much more significant was the 'Wow! ' from my wife . We looked through lots of other bino's from other makers, she was hoping we would find an alternative .We didn't, we'll be saving up for a pair of HD's.
Click to expand...

It must be me.

I also tried the Ultravid 10x42HD at the Birdfair.

I had with me my own Ultravid 10x42 as I wanted some advice from the Leica Techie.

Having tried both bins one after the other - I'm sorry, I couldn't tell the difference!

I left quite content.

John
 
ingle1970 said:
fair comment robert , but given the choice i think i would like the latest model. how much differance in price are the new line going to be compared to the price now for the ultravid ? . no wonder leica were offering a 100 months free passport instead of the usual 5 years , trying to get rid of some stock , before the new line comes in . i myself was about to get a 10x42 br , glad i didn't now.
Click to expand...
Yes, in essence people will want the latest model with all the improvements as stated by the manufacturer ........whether or not the user will be able to see or indeed notice the "optical" difference is something to consider as is whether the difference in price is also cost effective, ie can you see £200 worth of difference?

ALSO - Have they changed the shape of the 32s as suggested by the WOW person? His/her comments suggests the feel, weight etc. As far as I can determine, there are no changes - the body and ergonomics are the same as when first launched, only the focusing sytem and lenses have been tweaked
 
If one cannot see the difference, what is the point of buying the latest model? My experience with FL glass, a specific type of glass, is not that I see less chromatic aberration but rather that colors are more vibrant and show greater gradations. The exact nature of HD is not really specified but it is presumably glass with a lower dispersion, how much lower is not revealed.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur
 
This is the first case I'm aware of since Swift introduced the 804ED about 1990 for a company to market two versions of the same model.

As in the case of the Swifts (not the current 820 vs. 820ED), it would be very unlikely for the HD versions to have no positive effect on the view, and the ease of focus, maybe, but it will be subtle and probably show up as Arthur indicated. I doubt that "WOW, the difference is as clear as the nose on your face..." will be said very often or with much credibility.

Keep in mind that to get these subtle features a considerable investment will be required, which may be dubious if you already enjoy what you have. For example, I recently got a mint standard HR/5 804 Audubon tuned up to perfection. Yes, I can see a difference from the 804ED, but the standard model is fantastic and provides 95% of the view, and if I owned one I wouldn't rush out to buy the other. I have both because I'm a collector — and BTW my whole Swift collection costs less than one Ultravid. ;)

Ed
 
elkcub said:
As in the case of the Swifts (not the current 820 vs. 820ED), it would be very unlikely for the HD versions to have no positive effect on the view, and the ease of focus, maybe, but it will be subtle and probably show up as Arthur indicated. I doubt that "WOW, the difference is as clear as the nose on your face..." will be said very often or with much credibility.


Ed
Click to expand...


Ed,

Quite so. I tried a swift 820ED in a shop and was completely unimpressed. I had my first encounter with Zeiss FL when using a 10x32. In the shop, the view was not overwhelming, but in Central Park, looking at the spring flowers, I thought that something significant was going on. It took a short while to realize that it was the color quality and a bit longer see the increased gradations of color, but I knew, subconsciously, that I was on to something.
:t:

Happy bird watching,
Arthur
 
For what its worth I checked out the 8x32, 10x32 and 8x42 HD at the birdfair and thought the image may very well be the "best" image I’ve ever seen through a binocular and the fact that the feel of the focus (a huge prob with the standard ultravid for me) seems to have been addressed is another plus.

It really is a minimal difference to the other top draw bins but its just that bit more of a "punchy" image to me. A tiny amount more contrast and incredible brightness (though I am of course just working from a little time spent with them). Overall though I still prefer the Ziess FL 8x32 in the hand and the image wasn’t far enough removed for me to consider switching.

Still I was very impressed....however...enough of a difference to switch your standard ultravids/el/fls for the HD......Im not sure.
 
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elkcub said:
This is the first case I'm aware of since Swift introduced the 804ED about 1990 for a company to market two versions of the same model.

As in the case of the Swifts (not the current 820 vs. 820ED), it would be very unlikely for the HD versions to have no positive effect on the view, and the ease of focus, maybe, but it will be subtle and probably show up as Arthur indicated. I doubt that "WOW, the difference is as clear as the nose on your face..." will be said very often or with much credibility.

Keep in mind that to get these subtle features a considerable investment will be required, which may be dubious if you already enjoy what you have. For example, I recently got a mint standard HR/5 804 Audubon tuned up to perfection. Yes, I can see a difference from the 804ED, but the standard model is fantastic and provides 95% of the view, and if I owned one I wouldn't rush out to buy the other. I have both because I'm a collector — and BTW my whole Swift collection costs less than one Ultravid. ;)

Ed
Click to expand...
Ed,

It looks like the Duovid remains the same. The Ultravid 32/42/50 lines all have HD (fluoride glass) except for the leather versions.

My best guess is the Trinovid 32/42/50 models are history and that other stocks will determine when changes are made. The bulk of the Ultravids, however, appear to be HD models with no overlap between old and new.

CA was the one thing people mentioned about the Ultravid. I own one and it's the one fault I thought Leica needed to address. CA can be partially controlled by the user, but it would be nice to see an Ultravid with less CA.

I've compared my Ultravid 7X42 to an FL 7X42 and, though I see a bit less CA in the FL, I wouldn't replace my Ultravid with a Zeiss FL on that basis. I expect to see improvements in the Ultravid HD that users will applaud.

John
 
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Does anyone have a clue if Leica has tightened up the close focus on the HD 42 models. At 9+ feet the Ultravids were lagging behind Zeiss and Swarovski in this regard by about 3 feet.
 
elkcub said:
This is the first case I'm aware of since Swift introduced the 804ED about 1990 for a company to market two versions of the same model. .....
Click to expand...

Leica and Swaro have had two versions of their same scopes for a long time. And in many ways the original Ultravids and the corresponding Trinovids are two versions of the same model. With the HD that would make three versions. Clear that at least one has to go!
 
Swissboy said:
... And in many ways the original Ultravids and the corresponding Trinovids are two versions of the same model. With the HD that would make three versions. Clear that at least one has to go!
Click to expand...

I'm going to think about this for a while and see if I can figure it out. |8.|
 
John Traynor said:
The brochure implies that the Ultravid HD replaces both the Trinovid and earlier Ultravids.
Click to expand...

Where do you pick up that implication? If true, why even keep the standard Ultravids in the lineup? I tend to favor Robert's suggestion that they are attempting to impose the telescope marketing model.

Ed
 
elkcub said:
Where do you pick up that implication? If true, why even keep the standard Ultravids in the lineup? I tend to favor Robert's suggestion that they are attempting to impose the telescope marketing model. Ed
Click to expand...

The only non-HD 32,42, and 50 mm Ultravids that will be retained, based on the products listed in the catalog, are the leather-covered ones. Those will also lack the new lens coatings (i.e. are unchanged in design), so it seems they are probably retained based on backstock/parts availability. All the Trinovids are gone except the rubber armored pocket models.

I think having parallel HD and non HD lines would be stocking cost prohibitive for sellers.

--AP
 
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