Service of out-of-warranty Leica Trinovid 10x42 BA (1009xxx) (2 Viewers)

[geastrum]

I recently picked up a pair of Trinovid 10x42 BA. Very heavily used. Both eyecups were broken and taped in place, and the focus wheel was a bit stiff at near and far focus. But the optics were exquisite, and I've always loved this model.

As I had read on here about Leica's recent shift towards a more generous warranty policy toward binoculars bought second hand, I was curious to see if there was any chance this could be fixed under warranty. Unfortunately, the serial number turned out to be 1009xxx, which dates it to 1990 and 32 years of age, making it just a little bit too old. But the price was extremely good (€240), so I am definitely happy to spend a bit on fixing them. They were actually totally usable, but I'm guessing that this is as good time as any to get them fixed and ready for 30 more years of heavy use.

After a brief exchange of emails with Leica, the binoculars are now on their way to Portugal. I'm really curious to see what they will suggest, and I'll report back here what the outcome will be.

Sadly I forgot to take "before photos", so this is all I have:

 

[geastrum]

I also asked them to adjust the focus travel for better close focusing, as on the BN, if possible. Will be interesting to see what they say.

 

[tenex]

Congratulations. A modest degree of adjustment in that direction should be possible (at the expense of travel beyond infinity if not needed), though not to the extent the BN mechanism allows. They should also calibrate the diopter while at it, and may still have rainguard/case/strap if yours are missing.

Swarovski often seem to update glass/coatings when refurbishing older models. As yours is one of the first BAs and there were improvements later in the run, I wonder whether Leica may propose this.

 

[dries1]

They will charge you, the eye cups and armor will be replaced, not sure about the optics though, if they are in good shape, they will remain. Let us know what they say about the closer focus request. Be prepared to shed some euros.

 

[geastrum]

Glad to hear you think they'll be able to adjust the close focus a bit. Any improvement in that regard would be worth a lot to me, as I feel that it is one of the few things lacking in this model.

I don't care much about how my binoculars look, but I doubt that Leica's repair technicians will let them go without putting on new armoring. I also think they will clean the prisms, I could see some light spotting on a prism surface, but otherwise I don't think they'll do anything about the optics.

I sent them in with a mismatched Zeiss rain guard and a very tattered strap - definitely think they will replace that.

 

[Hikerboy]

The trinovid BA/BN's are truly special instruments, and were IMO ahead of their time. Though I have more up-to-date options, I find myself using my 8x42 BN most often because of its unique and rugged qualities. I often think about replacing it with a noctivid, yet I'm just not ready to let it go.

Hoping it all works out!

 

[Tim S]

The trinovid BA/BN's are truly special instruments, and were IMO ahead of their time. Though I have more up-to-date options, I find myself using my 8x42 BN most often because of its unique and rugged qualities. I often think about replacing it with a noctivid, yet I'm just not ready to let it go.

Hoping it all works out!

Friend got a cheap pair of 8x32 BN's with a missing strap bracket (£200) and sent them to Portugal for repair. Came back after c4/5 weeks looking like brand new, just superb. No charge.

 

[geastrum]

Friend got a cheap pair of 8x32 BN's with a missing strap bracket (£200) and sent them to Portugal for repair. Came back after c4/5 weeks looking like brand new, just superb. No charge.

Congrats to your friend. Before I found out the serial number, I was dreaming of such a scenario, as the person I bought them from thought they were much newer than they actually were. The BN 's were produced between 2001 and 2007, so your friend's pair must have been significantly younger than my 1990 BA. With customer service like that, buying a damaged pair of BNs or late BAs could be a fantastic deal.

I expect I may have to pay several hundred euros to get mine fixed. But I agree with Hikerboy that these were really ahead of their time, and deliver a fantastic view, and superb handling. So if they send them back to me looking and feeling like new, I'll happily pay for that.

 

[Hikerboy]

Congrats to your friend. Before I found out the serial number, I was dreaming of such a scenario, as the person I bought them from thought they were much newer than they actually were. The BN 's were produced between 2001 and 2007, so your friend's pair must have been significantly younger than my 1990 BA. With customer service like that, buying a damaged pair of BNs or late BAs could be a fantastic deal.

I expect I may have to pay several hundred euros to get mine fixed. But I agree with Hikerboy that these were really ahead of their time, and deliver a fantastic view, and superb handling. So if they send them back to me looking and feeling like new, I'll happily pay for that.

About 10 years ago I noticed what appeared to be dust on internal lenses and leaking grease in the barrels. At this point I had already owned mine for 7 years and had not registered them. After emailing Leica's North America customer service about my options, they said that I'd have to cough up over a grand to have them repaired as I also lost the original receipt. A year later, a friend bought a Geovid from a local camera shop and mentioned to the store owner about my situation, and the gentleman said that he'd be able to convince Leica to repair them at no charge, so I immediately brought them in and he personally shipped them off. About a month later I received my BN's fully repaired and I only paid for shipping!! To say I was happy would be an understatement.

It's my understanding that Leica's CS has greatly improved as of late, however, I admit that I would've eventually paid the bill to have them repaired, as their qualities are well worth it to me.

 

[geastrum]

Leica confirmed receiving the bins this morning, and a couple of hours later they sent me the repair estimate, attached below.

I'm a little surprised they don't mention the broken eyecups. In other quotes I've seen, they have specified this as spare parts + added labor for engraving the serial number on the new eyecup. Or maybe that's what "fix sliding sleeve" means?

It seems like the focusing mechanism didn't only need cleaning and lubricating, but actually needed a new worm gear and axis. Wonder if they know this for sure, or if they may find out it's not necessary when they open it up?

Anyway, €371 seems totally reasonable for this amount of work. As in other quotes I've seen, the cost for spare parts are quite low, and the 3.2h time estimate seem very reasonable. In advance, I was thinking that it might range from maybe €300 to €450, so this is quite in line with my expectations.

I'm going to accept this, for sure.

 

[tenex]

Or maybe that's what "fix sliding sleeve" means?

Yes, I expect so... it's very nice to be able to restore a 32-yr-old instrument in this way. Enjoy it!
(VAT is charged on labor in the EU also? Amazing.)

 

[geastrum]

Indeed - it feels fantastic to be able to repair an instrument as old as this.

I have a bit of a special relationship with the Trinovid BA/BN series, actually.

In 2005, I went of a 2-month expedition to Chukotka with the late Evgeny Syroechkovskiy, Pavel Tomkovich, Christoph Zoeckler and others to survey spoon-billed sandpipers. I joined as a paying volunteer (best money ever spent!), and before the trip Evgeny asked me if I would be able to bring any high-quality second-hand binoculars from Sweden (he explained that the market for used Zeiss, Swarovski and Leica binoculars were non-existant in Russia). I found two that appealed to him, even though they were a bit more expensive than originally planned: a Trinovid 10x42 BN (780€ in 2005) and a Trinovid 8x32 BA (667 € in 2005). Both pristine. I believe that both were originally intended for some of Evgeny's collegues back in Moscow, but I remember vividly how he carefully tried them out at the beginning of the trip, "to make sure they were good", and then started using the 10x42 every day for the entire trip, frequently praising its optical qualities. We spent a lot of time comparing it to other binoculars that were with us on the trip, and we both agreed that its view was simply delicious. The longer the trip went on, and the more the 10x42 got covered in lard (salo) and mud, the more I started to suspect that Evgeny wasn't going to be able to pass it on to someone else at the end of the trip. I do not know what happened with it.

I hadn't thought of this memory for a good long while, but I am sure it factored into my decision to take on this pair.

 

[Elpha8888]

Great stories and interesting reading.
I have never owned one of the older Trinovids but at some point I acquired the latest HD model and the view was pretty impressive, beautiful colours.
How do these old boys compare with the newer Leica Trinovids?

 

[geastrum]

I've been reading quite a lot of threads on this, and the overall impression seems to be that the top offerings from Leica has optically been remarkably similar over the last 30 years since the launch of the Trinovid BA series in 1990. Allbino's review of the Ultravid HD+ is sums it up quite well:

"Firstly, the results show unanimously that, within the margin of measurement error, the HD-Plus model is practically the same as the HD model. [...] So we have a situation where the Ultravid HD doesn’t differ markedly from the Ultravid BR and the Ultravid BR is an almost identical copy of the Trinovid but closed in a lighter casing. It seems that for almost 25 years, Leica haven’t introduced any innovative optical solutions to its key series of binoculars. Of course, the weight reduction and hydrophobic coatings are appreciated, along with a slight transmission increase or a tad wider field of view. Still, such a reputable company should have done better, especially if you take into account the length of the period of time we are talking about. [...] To sum up, the Leica Ultravid 10x42 HD-Plus is a very good set of binoculars - almost exactly as good as its direct predecessors and the predecessors of its predecessors too. We hope the next model of this series will be truly different, not a merely refreshed version of the same device with just a few cosmetic changes."

It's an interesting read:

Leica Ultravid HD-Plus 10x42 - binoculars review - AllBinos.com

The best binocular tests on the net. The comprehensive database of binoculars with their parameters and users opinions. Interesting articles and comparisons.

www.allbinos.com

So my very early model will have worse closing focus distance, a bit lower transmission, a little bit lower contrast, very slightly smaller fov, and less durable coatings than your model. But still produce an image that's remarkably similar in terms of resolution, flatness, color etc.

Allbino's seem to be pretty critical of Leica because of this lack of innovation, but the other interpretation is of course that Leica really nailed the optical design of the Trinovid BA already in 1990, to the extent that they have only really needed to make small tweaks to stay competitive with other makers all the way until very recently.

But you will also find reports on this forum of people that have used Trinovid BA/BNs for many years that have finally bought a more recent top model and feel that the newer model is a marked improvement in terms of brightness and contrast.

 

[Elpha8888]

Excellent read geastrum, good reasoning of these fine Leica binoculars. I would like to try a BN one day, the reports seem generally positive with these models.
Leicas incremental steps with their optics over the years I have little knowledge, I'm just happy to have had the chance to buy and use their wonderful glass.

 

[Zappa]

Hello, the Noctivid is very different, the optical improvements are noticeable, more flat edges, contraste, sharpness.

 

[geastrum]

Hello, the Noctivid is very different, the optical improvements are noticeable, more flat edges, contaste, sharpness.

Oh yeah, that seems to have been a more distinct step forward. Totally out of my price range, though! Maybe in 32 years...

 

[Thotmosis]

Anyway, €371 seems totally reasonable for this amount of work. As in other quotes I've seen, the cost for spare parts are quite low, and the 3.2h time estimate seem very reasonable. In advance, I was thinking that it might range from maybe €300 to €450, so this is quite in line with my expectations.

Sounds very reasonable indeed. I bought a used Trinovid 7x42 BN yesterday and it will arrive this week. Probably needs service, so will definitely send it to Leica so they can make it like new.

 

[geastrum]

Still no further updates from Leica. I've emailed them and asked if they know approximately how long it'll take. I kind of thought it would take a month or so, but maybe that was too optimistic.

 

[geastrum]

Leica just replied, saying it is now with a technician and they expect it to be finished this week. Very happy about that!