Leupold BX-3 Mojave 8x32 (1 Viewer)

Steve, Frank, sorry, I hadn't read that thread at all, with your fine posts. In its title there's no inkling of how good this bin is! Cottoned on to it only on reading Frank's thread on it vs Nikon M7 8x30, whic did catch my eye because the latter is already well known to be outstanding. These threads and others, with, e.g., M7 vs "Conquest HD class" comparisons, give all the info. I'm seeking on the new Mojave.

stereotruckdriver said:

This is what I was wondering, sample variation.
I purchased one of gcole's so when they arrive I can see if there's any differences.

Frank care to elaborate a little more between the 2 samples?

Is the focus faster? Or just smoother? Any difference between barrels, sweet spot size?

Thanks, Bryce...

Click to expand...

I sent a pm to Gwen and asked if there was any sample variation between the two samples.

No, was the answer so I'm anxious to find out first hand but, I'm going to be away for a few days so my comparison between samples will have to wait.

Bryce...

Well Bryce I bought Gwen's other pair so I'll be joining the club too!

Really looking forward to these. I've really gravitated to 8x32 but haven't found a pair I am really keen on in my budget range. Still regret selling the 8x32 Viper HD a couple of years back. I've tried pretty much every sub $500 optic it seems and they all had some little niggle that caused me to sell them, so these days I'm happily using a 6x30 Yosemite most of the time that was a meager $50 investment. Also have a Minox BD BR 8x32 Asph which is quite nice and built like a tank although not quite as bright as some newer models with more modern coatings, although what I love is the huge sweet spot and very clean relaxed view (probably a sign of good build and low aberrations). I'm expecting the Mojave to be my new fave and for the $200 Gwen asked I figure I can't go wrong!

Eitanaltman, I think you will like them.

Nothing really to not like, except a few of the nits that me and others have posted.

Bryce...

pompadour said:

Steve C, others, how does the new Leup. Mojave 8x32 compare in optical quality with 8x32/33 glasses of the Kowa Genesis, Meopta (Euro) HD and Zeiss Conquest HD class - in specific aspects like sharpness? Appreciate comments even from memory, not necess. from a "side by side" test. Thanks.

Click to expand...

I still had the (2) pair of 8x32 Mojave's when I received a new 8x33 Kowa Genesis from Eagle Optics last week. Having said this, the reason I purchased the 8x32 Mojave's & some other 8x32 brands this past 18 months ..... I have been trying to find a high quality 8x32 that would provide me with the same outstanding view optically as my Leupold 8x32 HD but in a smaller/lighter package. I took the Mojave's to a local gun shop & compared them side by side to the current Zeiss 8x32 FL, a Meopta 8x32, a 8x32 Swarovski SV & since I just received the Kowa 8x33 they also went up against the 8x32 Mojave's. As you all might have guessed they all were better optically but for a binocular with a price tag of only a fraction of the cost of the others , they(Mojave's) did not give up much & if you can not or will not spend what the others will cost I think most will like the Mojave's very much. Without hijacking the original post, I am keeping the Kowa Genesis. As many know here its just not the optic's but the overall packackage & I find the Kowa 8x33 to be one very nice binocular well worth the $$$$. spent ..... gwen

stereotruckdriver said:

I sent a pm to Gwen and asked if there was any sample variation between the two samples.

No, was the answer so I'm anxious to find out first hand but, I'm going to be away for a few days so my comparison between samples will have to wait.

Bryce...

Click to expand...

The mail man arrived just as we were leaving this morning.

So tossed the box in the car and we were off.

Thank you Gwen for the excellent care in packaging the binoculars, I aappreciated it.

I don't have the other Mojave with me just my 8x32 SV.

To no fault of gcole's this samples focus is not good.

My other Mojave the focus is smooth, just a touch heavy on the resistance.

This one will have to go to Leupold.

To much stiction wouldn't work for birding, at least for me.

No backlash just very uneven with rough spots which in turn makes it hard to stay on objects when ffocusing.

Diopter adjustment is almost in exact spot, will have to verify that when we get back.

Hinge tension is good no difference.

Optically seems about the same don't have them side by side so will have to wait.

For the money I'm not going to ccomplain.

Bryce...

Before I send these into Leupold I would like to hear more user input on the focus.

Like I said the other sample I have is fine.

I remember ,will have to go back and check on Steve's original review that his sample had some roughness that worked itself out.

I have been racking the focus on this one, it has smoothed out a little but there are still a couple small areas where its catching making fine focus difficult.

Bryce...

stereotruckdriver said:

Before I send these into Leupold I would like to hear more user input on the focus.

Like I said the other sample I have is fine.

I remember ,will have to go back and check on Steve's original review that his sample had some roughness that worked itself out.

I have been racking the focus on this one, it has smoothed out a little but there are still a couple small areas where its catching making fine focus difficult.

Bryce...

Click to expand...

Beings I have another sample that's fine I don't consider this a deal killer by no means.

Sum it up to variation and QC, hence my question for other users.

Bryce...

stereotruckdriver said:

Before I send these into Leupold I would like to hear more user input on the focus.

Like I said the other sample I have is fine.

I remember ,will have to go back and check on Steve's original review that his sample had some roughness that worked itself out.

I have been racking the focus on this one, it has smoothed out a little but there are still a couple small areas where its catching making fine focus difficult.

Bryce...

Click to expand...

Before you send it to Leupold,. just take it and run the focus back and forth several dozens of times. Do it warm and do it cold. Sometimes the grease seems on some binoculars to have little pockets of air that have prevented the grease from uniformly distributing through the gears. Sometimes it works sometimes not. Mine has pretty well evened out. Maybe the Leupold tech will have to take a file to some casting flaws on the gear. Try to concentrate attention on the spots where it sticks.

Steve C said:

Before you send it to Leupold,. just take it and run the focus back and forth several dozens of times. Do it warm and do it cold. Sometimes the grease seems on some binoculars to have little pockets of air that have prevented the grease from uniformly distributing through the gears. Sometimes it works sometimes not. Mine has pretty well evened out. Maybe the Leupold tech will have to take a file to some casting flaws on the gear. Try to concentrate attention on the spots where it sticks.

Click to expand...

Its working better,probably a years worth of rotations working on the bad spots! : )

Its except able now.

Bryce...

I will get back tomorrow, I still might call Leupold.

I need to compare the focussers on the Mojave's, this one is still scraping pretty good.

I don't remember the other one scraping. It was pretty smooth a little heavy on resistance.

That's OK it will probably loosen up over time.

This sample has my OCD rearing its ugly head! Lol. : )

Bryce...

Bryce,

Sorry for not replying to your question about sample variation earlier. I rarely post on the weekends unless it is something short and sweet.

I think you hit on a key issue with the Mojave 8x32s at this point. The only real notable difference I have found between the two samples I have in my possession is the focusing tension. The speed is the same but the tension is notably different. The first unit has the previously noted "stiction". It feels fine overall but when you try to adjust minute amounts then it sticks at times (requiring too much force to make fine adjustments). It has smoothed out slightly over the three or four weeks I have had it.

The second unit feels notably different. It is much "looser" in tension. There isn't any play in the knob but there is noticeably less friction to the feel. I am not sure if I really have a preference for one or the other at this point. I enjoy the greater control of the "stiffer" knob but don't like the stiction. I enjoy the looser feel of the second focuser but wish the speed was a bit slower as a result. Hope that makes sense.

I received the pair from Gwen yesterday and initial impression is excellent optics... but echoing above the focus is sub optimal. My sample has pretty loose tension but also has some "stiction" making it kind of a pain to dial in focus and get that "snap". I end up working the focus more than I'd like. Focus knobs are kind of bit and miss at this price point but I was hoping for better from Leupold. It doesn't have nearly the same refined precision feel as the Vortex Viper for example (but that's a higher price point). Nikon (and now Zeiss with the Terra) seems to be the only one that can produce a really smooth and refined focus knob at a sub $500 msrp.

Also the eyepiece rainguard is a joke for a binocular of this price point (the one on the $100 Leupold Yosemite is much better) but I had an extra soft rubber one sitting around so no big deal.

The one I got from B&H has a decent focus. Smooth no backlash a little heavy feeling on the dampening.
Very usable.

My other sample from gcole isn't near as nice although with steady work has become usable with just a little bit of sticktion.

Optically near identical not seeing any differences as far as sharpness, sweet spot, diopter setting is within a hair of each other.

Beyond focus issues this is a good sign to me as far as QC. Granted its only 2 samples.

Its sounds better than the Nikon issue to me.

But I do like the look of the Nikon, specially the eyecups.

Bryce...

I posted about the uneven tension on mine a few days after I got them. Since then, I've exercised the focuser probably a hundred times or so. It has loosened up considerably, although there is still some uneveness in a couple of spots. Actually, it is only uneven in one spot, but since the focuser has about 2 full revolutions on it, that same spot comes back up again on the second revolution. It's not a deal breaker for me, so I plan on keeping them. As an aside, this focuser seems just like the one used in the Cascade porros (the internal focuser one), and there were reports of uneven focusers with that bin too.

I spent a lot of time today working the focuser and a lot of the rough spots have evened out now. Much easier now to dial in focus although the overall tension is fairly loose on mine overall. Still lacks the smooth refinement of the Terra or Viper, definitely not "buttery" but acceptable. A small nit to pick but there nonetheless. I can console myself by noting that it feels about as good as a Swarovski focuser now

I wa a bit surprised at how large they were, based on the photos I was expecting more the size of the ZRS 8x32 but they are quite a bit larger. And they feel pretty hefty and substantial, no way that 17oz spec is accurate. Outside of the focus knob the level of build quality feels quite good.

I am also less bothered by the aesthetics in person, the weird pattern is less garish IRL than in the photos. The rubber armor is quite comfortable and I like the feel in the hand, the larger than expected size gives plenty of room for my last two fingers to wrap around the barrel.

While the sweet spot is very large for the price point, I wouldn't call it a "flat field" like some have mentioned. Although pincushion is minimal there is a decent amount of field curvature. With some refocusing to account for that however I can obtain a sharp imagine virtually to the edge so other aberrations seem well controlled.

They remind me quite a bit visually of my Minox BD BR 8x32 with its aspheric lenses -- wide sweet spot, minimal pincushion with a fair amount of field curvature but no other obvious defects. But the Mojave has both a wider FOV and a wider sweet spot, and is obviously brighter and more color neutral (much more modern coatings). In fact they seem almost perfectly neutral to me. The Mojave is also a bit better at controlling CA and quite a bit better with glare (I can't induce any veiling as of yet, just some light flare spots towards the edge). But they seem to be equally sharp.

The Mojave is feeling very close to perfect at the price point. If I could take the exact package but swap in the buttery focus knob and softer tapered eyecups of the Vortex Viper it would be basically perfect. Maybe that means I'd prefer the Monarch 8x30, although I wouldn't trade if it meant worse glare handling.

Eitan,

Thank you for posting the follow-up comments. Glad the focusing issue has resolved itself to some extent (yours too Peatmoss). Your comments about the Minox reminded me of thoughts I had of another similar model. Though I haven't owned it in several years, the Leupold Mojave reminds me very much of the Pentax DCF SP 8x32...in terms of overall performance and handling. The focusing knob feel is a bit different but in terms of size and general optical characteristics they seem to both be cut of the same mold. As Eitan referenced though, the Mojave has a notably wider field of view (30 feet more) and more updated coatings. So, the optical designs aren't exactly the same.

As for the Swaro comment, I "ain't" gettin' in that argument. I have owned several Swaros in the past and didn't find any noticeable focusing "feel" issues. Yes, one of the SLC (Neu) 7x42s had slightly more tension in one direction than the other but I didn't think it was that big of an issue.

Went to the park today and used the Mojave and the FL. The Mojave is definitely a keeper. Is very good, sharp, and handles well. Lateral light is just a bit on an issue but able to deal with it. The focus is not as refined as the FL. When zooming in closer the edges became fuzzy but is somewhat expected in this range. At longer distance the edges stay clear, no issue. Compared to FL, the Mojave is really close, definitely better than a lot of other binos I tried. I would say for $250 i got them they are very good glass. We should be so lucky these days.
Compared to 10 years ago there has been lots of progress on the optics side at a much lower price.

stereotruckdriver said:

I will get back tomorrow, I still might call Leupold.

I need to compare the focussers on the Mojave's, this one is still scraping pretty good.

I don't remember the other one scraping. It was pretty smooth a little heavy on resistance.

That's OK it will probably loosen up over time.

This sample has my OCD rearing its ugly head! Lol. : )

Bryce...

Click to expand...

When purchasing my 8x32 Mojave I had the chance to handle 2 different samples and some of the Cabelas XT & XT II as well. All have the same focus and all had a little bit of a scrape up to start with, still very usable but just noticeable if you obsess over things (I do). The XT II that I owned as well as my Mojave 8x32 smoothed out quite nicely with a little use. I have realized that even with that little hiccup the focus on the Mojave is still among the best out of the glasses I've owned. It also works well in cold weather which is more important to me that having one that is perfectly smooth from stop to stop.

Anyone who wants the stock plastic low profile eyeguard I figured a solution that seems to work.

Unless somebody already posted this?

I'm using a Vortex rainguard on my wife's binocular was using a rubber one on these but, thought I would try it.

I might go a little larger but any smaller and it doesn't work as well.

Bryce...

Just drill some holes around eyeguard, air escapes instead of creating suction.