Leica Ultravid 8x20, Nikon 8x30 E II or 8x30 Habicht? (1 Viewer)

[dorubird]

[email protected],​

If you are afraid of small AFOV, Habicht 7x42 is not your territory, simple like that. This is a spartan territory, this is a "insane territory"
Habicht 8x30 is a pair of binoculars that I looked through and even made sacrifices to look through it, because I like it. But it is not a shame to admit that the Habicht 8x30's eye relief of 12mm is very small even without glasses. Even the Leica Ultravid 8x32 has the larger eye relief (13.3mm vs 12mm!!!). Habicht 7x42 has 14mm vs 12mm Habicht 8x30. These 2 mm make a big difference because the 7x42 has a smaller FOV and does not need an eye relief greater than 14 mm. Again it is not a shame to admit that Habicht 8x30 has a glare issue. I know this 8x30 very well! But I like 7x42 more!
What I notice about you is indecisiveness, you lack the courage to admire a pair of binoculars to the end! If you give me a Habicht 8x30 I will really learn to fall in love with it!!!! but, in a same time accepting his weaknesses, not denying them. I will not sell it and after denigrate him! For example I sold the fantastic Nikon E2 8x30, a king when it comes to FOV and smooth focus wheel, for this "insane Habicht 7x42" with very stiff focus and very small FOV. Why? Because it is fantastically convenient to see the entire FOV at a glance. And what you see inside of this extremely small FOV it is best definition, contrast and brightness! But that doesn't stop me from strongly stating that the Nikon E2 8x30 is more better when it comes to FOV and focus wheel! By the way, the Nikon E2 8x30, although it has a much larger field of view than the Habicht 8x30 (8.8 vs 7.8), has a much more comfortable eye placement than the 8x30 Habicht, but still uncomfortable compared to the more comfy Habicht 7x42 eye placement

 

[Patudo]

The fact that d***o was able to find "tons of warblers" in February in Colorado tells you everything you need to know about his birding "knowledge".

 

[John A Roberts]

Habicht Eyecup Options

As hopster indicates in post #105, there are alternative eyecups for the Habicht
(as there are for other binoculars).

See some Habicht options at: Eye cups Swarovski Habicht 10x40 GA


John


p.s. And another is the Baader medium size winged eyecups that fit over the original leatherette ones:


Cropped and adjusted image and details from Andy at: Habicht 7x42 eyecups


. . . Or you can go DIY with bicycle tyre tubing:


Cropped and adjusted image from oetzi at: Unboxing the Habicht 8x30

 

[Paultricounty]

I turned the winged rubber cups around and keep the straight side as the eyepiece. I can adjust the eye relief to my preference. I also have the green ones from the GA, but I like the black rubber , more pleasing and better aesthetically.

 

[Paultricounty]

But it is even better to have a good DOF and at least an 8 degree FOV like in a 7x35. When I bird in the rain, I use my Habicht 8x30 W. That is what I have it for.

Lol, you’re certainly not using them in the daytime, because you said they are unusable because they are glare monsters.

 

[Trinovid]

Don't forget the Curio! It is awesome.

Wore both my 8x20 Ultravid and 7x21 Curio for a couple days straight last week!

 

[Trinovid]

...each individuals use must be more important than other people's opinions...

Very quotable, so I did...

 

[Dyrlege]

Wore both my 8x20 Ultravid and 7x21 Curio for a couple days straight last week!

😃 How did they compare?
Per

 

[ReinierB]

I turned the winged rubber cups around and keep the straight side as the eyepiece. I can adjust the eye relief to my preference. I also have the green ones from the GA, but I like the black rubber , more pleasing and better aesthetically.

Looks great! Now you have convinced me buying a Habicht 8x30 in the future. The narrow eyecups where my only concern (okay, the glare as well)

 

[Paultricounty]

Looks great! Now you have convinced me buying a Habicht 8x30 in the future. The narrow eyecups where my only concern (okay, the glare as well)

Yes the rubber eye cups make a huge difference in comfort. Glare is overblown and effects more people are already sensitive to glare. Wednesday I had these out with the Nikon E2, SE and a Nikon MHG. Sun was relatively low and there were glare issues due to the lighting environment , but all of the bins exhibited some amount of glare and we had to make angle adjustments to reduce enough to continue observing. The interesting thing is that while all of them exhibited some amount of glare, they did not exhibit the same amount of glare in the same position. If that makes sense, what I’m saying is the 30 Habicht had less glare with certain angles than some of the others, but others performed better on different angles. The moral of the story, don’t listen to what people are saying and go try for yourself.

Paul

 

[Scott98]

Very quotable, so I did...

In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual.

Galileo Galilei

 

[dries1]

In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual.

Galileo Galilei

We are running put of those humble individuals in this day and age.

 

[Scott98]

I recognize the 7x42 Habicht is something I need to stay away from if I want to keep my collection from expanding I love the 7x35 Nikon E, it's AFOV is only 51 degrees. I often lament the fact they stopped making them 25 years ago. I'd probably be OK with 46 degrees, I love high contrast and 7x magnification. For now, I tell myself the 7x42 EDG is enough! I will enjoy the smooth focuser and try to think that outweighs any optical advantage of the Habicht porro.

It seems there used to be a niche of 7x binos with simple eyepiece and small AFOV. The 7x42 Habicht and 7x35E both have smaller FOV compared to the 8x and 10x versions. IMO the 3-element eyepiece in the 7x35E's is one of its advantages, it provides higher contrast than a 5 or 6 element wide-field eyepiece, which was more important when coatings weren't as good. I wish Nikon had kept going with their 7x E porro like Swarovski has with the Habicht series.

 

[Paultricounty]

I recognize the 7x42 Habicht is something I need to stay away from if I want to keep my collection from expanding I love the 7x35 Nikon E, it's AFOV is only 51 degrees. I often lament the fact they stopped making them 25 years ago. I'd probably be OK with 46 degrees, I love high contrast and 7x magnification. For now, I tell myself the 7x42 EDG is enough! I will enjoy the smooth focuser and try to think that outweighs any optical advantage of the Habicht porro.

It seems there used to be a niche of 7x binos with simple eyepiece and small AFOV. The 7x42 Habicht and 7x35E both have smaller FOV compared to the 8x and 10x versions. IMO the 3-element eyepiece in the 7x35E's is one of its advantages, it provides higher contrast than a 5 or 6 element wide-field eyepiece, which was more important when coatings weren't as good. I wish Nikon had kept going with their 7x E porro like Swarovski has with the Habicht series.

I think optically the EDG in some ways is superior glass, but they have different characteristics optically and mechanically. Mechanically the EDG has one of the best, if not the best focuser in the business. They are also very solidly built and have that heavy, kind of military rubber exterior. That being said the Habichts are more elegant and retro in style with a stiff but smooth focuser ( which can be lightened up on request).

Optically they have a different personalities. The Nikon image is warmer with more contrast and sharp almost to the edge with field flatteners. The Habichts are much more neutral and shaper than EDG , and have a more three dimensional image feel very different from the EDG’s.

Both are fantastic binoculars , quite different and with their own pros and cons.

Paul

 

[Scott98]

Both are fantastic binoculars , quite different and with their own pros and cons.

Paul

It's almost like yesterday and today. Undoubtedly the EDG is a big glass stack compared to 7x42 Habicht, I'll bet there are several more lenses in the EDG to get the flatter and wider field. Once you use nice porros it almost feels like "selling out" with a modern roof but the benefits are nice

 

[Severin]

Hi there!
The habicht has landed!
I chose the Swaro. It arrived today from Austria and is made in 2023. The latest model have black eyecups instead of the old grey ones.
Excellent sharpness and contrast

 

[Scott98]

Hi there!
The habicht has landed!
I chose the Swaro. It arrived today from Austria and is made in 2023. The latest model have black eyecups instead of the old grey ones.
Excellent sharpness and contrast

8x30?? picture needed.....

 

[[email protected]]

Hi there!
The habicht has landed!
I chose the Swaro. It arrived today from Austria and is made in 2023. The latest model have black eyecups instead of the old grey ones.
Excellent sharpness and contrast

What is the S/N? I just ordered one also.

 

[Thotmosis]

That's a very tough looking little binocular, minimal big swarro logo's too - what are the markings on the Prism casings?

 

[William Lewis]

Thanks Thotmosis! I didn't know if the O GA would be on there too.