[Chas4045]

I am still waiting for the 10x50 Ultravids I ordered Oct. 10th, Today I noticed the price went up from 1425.00 to 1495.00. Any thoughts why the price went up before they hit the market?

[scampo]

Exchange rate? We'll soon be getting $2-00 for our pound!

[Sleeper]

Worth emailing leica I would say.

If you have pre-ordered them surely they will have to honour the price which was initially agreed.

Anybody found any good prices on the Ultravids?? I have found it quite difficult to get them at a better rate than most shops advertised at.

http://www.hiltonphoto.co.uk/products/details/370.html

This seems to be a good price. Anyone else any bargain finds?

[dogfish]

I bought a pair of 8x42 BR Ultravids at Kay Optical, Morden on Saturday. I traded in a two and a half year-old pair of Leica 8x32 BNs (a much overrated binocular) and had to pay £420. I think the price of the ULtravids was less than the advertised price of £898 but I don't think dealers are allowed to advertise discount prices

[scampo]

Why do you say the 8x32 are over-rated, I wonder? And, the big question... what are the ultravids like?

[Leif]

Originally Posted by scampo

Why do you say the 8x32 are over-rated, I wonder? And, the big question... what are the ultravids like?

I'm sure that Dogfish will give you a more informed answer, but whenever I tried the Leica 8x32 BN, the eye relief seemed too small (I wear glasses so it does matter to me) and there always seemed to be more chromatic aberration than I like. Otherwise very nice. I have never understood why this bin gets such rave reviews in certain quarters.

[dogfish]

I think the 8x32 Leicas got such good reviews because they came after the 42mm Trinovids, which had good optics but were heavy and bulky. So people thought the smaller bins were the ideal combination of performance and user-friendliness, and perhaps a throwback to the highly regarded Leitz Trinovids. I think Lief has more or less answered the question for me. I don't wear glasses but still found the shallow (I think 13mm) eye relief very uncomfortable. They just didn't fit my face. Look at bright light and there is a fair bit of colour fringing. Optically obviously poorer (resolution and brightness) than my Nikon 8x32SEs. I've got fairly big hands and they didn't feel right in them.

I'm not saying they're bad binoculars and much of this is subjective of course (though not the comparison with Nikon). People with different-shaped hands and face might love them

I've used the Ultravids only once, on Sunday, when the light was remarkably good so testing conditions were not ideal. But I was very impressed; they are clearly brighter and with much better contrast than the BN/BAs. (I compared them with a pair of 8x50 BAs in overcast conditions, and they looked brighter and with clearly better contrast. Although I suppose the 50mm version would have had the edge at dusk).

Above all though, they were the best-handling bins I've used. They just feel superb in the hand and to the eye (although you can't push them hard into your eye sockets like you can with, say, Swarovski, or you get a bit of blacking out). Leica have got the ergonomics right at last. They also feel lighter than they are.

Focus is good too, one reason I didn't buy Swarovski. Not only is focusing very slow on the ELs but the mechanism is prone to drying out (Kay Optical are sending lots back to the makers for free servicing, if anyone has this problem). My 10x42 ELs are already becoming stiff.

[Chas4045]

Originally Posted by Sleeper

Worth emailing leica I would say.

If you have pre-ordered them surely they will have to honour the price which was initially agreed.

Anybody found any good prices on the Ultravids?? I have found it quite difficult to get them at a better rate than most shops advertised at.

http://www.hiltonphoto.co.uk/products/details/370.html

This seems to be a good price. Anyone else any bargain finds?

Well after waiting over 3 months for Adorama to send me my 10x50 Ultravids(back ordered) Eagle optics is sending me a pair 2nd day air at a great price! I called Leica again and they told me that Adorama would not have any for 2 or 3 weeks so I called them and cancelled my order.The sales people at Eagle optics are first class so give them a try!

[Leif]

Originally Posted by dogfish

Focus is good too, one reason I didn't buy Swarovski. Not only is focusing very slow on the ELs but the mechanism is prone to drying out (Kay Optical are sending lots back to the makers for free servicing, if anyone has this problem). My 10x42 ELs are already becoming stiff.

That's curious. A year ago Kay Optical were enthusing about how good the ELs were. I have my thoughts on why but I think I'd better keep them to myself!

Like Scampo/Steve, I too would be interested in your impression of your new bins once you have had a bit of time to get used to them. I have noticed an awful lot of used Leica 8x42 BA/BN on the market. Coincidence?

[dogfish]

Kay Optical do seem to push Swarovski more than Leica. But they told me that they send half of the ELs they take in part exchange back to the manufacturer to sort out the focusing.

Mind you, infocus, the giants of British optical retailing, don't even sell Leica, which means they can no longer be taken seriously by birders. If you were buying top of the range bins or scopes, I think you'd at least want a look at what Leica has to offer.

Does anyone know if infocus still has a monopoly at the Bird Fair? I thought maybe someone else was selling a few bins last year but may be wrong.

[scampo]

An optics' retailer selling Leica told me that their after sales service was very slow compared to Swarovski. I'm sure In Focus have their good reasons for not selling Leica.

[Sleeper]

Originally Posted by Leif

That's curious. A year ago Kay Optical were enthusing about how good the ELs were. I have my thoughts on why but I think I'd better keep them to myself!

Like Scampo/Steve, I too would be interested in your impression of your new bins once you have had a bit of time to get used to them. I have noticed an awful lot of used Leica 8x42 BA/BN on the market. Coincidence?

I really do think that all reviews of equipment are down to the individual so my personal thoughts are only given from my view. I don't really know the finer points of optics but i did try to buy the binoculars i felt most comfortable with.

I purchased the 10X42 ultravid which I have used quite a lot now. I have read articles and opinions on the forum and tried and tested the bins (several pairs and several days) at the BBF at rutland.

I seem to get on better with Leica optics in general including the scopes.

First up my opinon of the good bits, as best i can explain them.

Balance, This was my biggest surprise and probably the vote winner. They are balanced spot on as it seems the weight factor becomes even less when you are holding them upto your eyes.

Size. They are relativly small in the hand with a good grippy feel. The thumb guides seem to be in the right place for me, which i am sure others will find not to be the case.

Weight. I went with the 10x as the weight is less than 8x without much loss in field of view. The overall weight of the binoculars is very good too.

Depth of field. I find this just right for me as it seems to be neither to deep or shallow.

Image. Very crisp and bright, but I was expecting this anyway hence the other features taking quite a significant roll.

Other. Reasonably close focus which is a lot closer focus than Leica sates. I get down to 2m. Good neoprene strap and two year accidental damage warranty. Eye relief is very good as I wear specs. You can adjust the twist up eyecups to stop at different levels to suit different eyes. They are also very comfy against my face with soft cups of some slightly flexible material.

Niggles.

The eyecup material does tend to ride up off the actual solid structure below which has to be put back in position now and again. As posted in previous posts the wheel DOES have slight play. This does not bother me one bit though as I don't find it a hinderance. The rain cover that is supplied is possibly the worst I have ever come accross( and I can't emphasise this enough). I use a spare one that I kept from my Ace Avian Bins which fits superbly.

I do get a little colour now and again (fringing i think you call it) around birds when bright backgrounds are apparent. But this again is only noticable when looking for it.

My father uses the BN series and after much deliberation we feel that the optics are in "general" of the same high quality but the Ultras win on design and weight.

If the BNs are good for you and the size and weight are not an issue i would say snap up some of the bargains that Leif says are about.

[scampo]

A good report - thanks - lucky you having a pair of those!

I think all bins will give some colour-fringing near the edges of the vision in certain conditions.

[Jeff Bouton]

Stephen,

Out of curiosity did you compare the Ultravids & BN's in low light as well as typical daylight conditions. I'm certain you'd see more dramatic differences in image quality in lower lighting conditions. The Ultravids perform notably better here.

Best,

Jeff Bouton
Birder/Naturalist Rep
Leica Sport Optics, USA

[Sleeper]

Wow Jeff you have dug this thread up!

It's funny you ask this as it was only the other day that I was trying out my fathers BNs and it struck me straight away that the Bns felt "old". The image was still fine though but I can say I never really tested them in really testing conditions as you mention. The image is slightly dimmer in the BNs and the play in my Ultravids is exactly the same as my fathers BNs.

Thanks Jeff it reminded me that although I have had to have my Ultravids repaired I would not swap them for anything including my fathers BNs.