I recently won a pair of 8x50s from the auction site for cheap. They were dirty and stinky with smudged lenses.
I cleaned up the exterior with soap and water, compressed air, and wet wipes. They had fine sand in the focuser and in the eyecups which made their operation somewhat rough. I've managed to completely restore smoothness to the focus wheel, which now is about as light and smooth as any Leica focus wheel I have used. The eyecups are still a bit rough, but have improved considerably and are now fully functional. The rubber armor is now apparently almost new with very little signs of wear.
They've been out of their original case for about a week, and their musty odor is almost totally gone. The case is still very stinky and I doubt I'll ever be able to use it again. I've ordered a new Ultravid case for them, so they will live in that from now on. It is a shame though, the old leather case is so nice - I may try to restore it if I can find the time.
I used Zeiss's pre-packaged lens wipes to clean the lenses. The ocular lenses have cleaned up very nicely and are free of scratches. The objective lenses had some strange residue on them that has mostly been removed after several cleanings. There are a couple of minor scratches and blemishes in the coating on the objective lenses, but nothing that I can see while using them.
Now, onto the good stuff. These binoculars are wonderful. A real pleasure to use.
These have my favorite color of any pair of binoculars I have used. If the saturation dial was turned up to 10 on my 7x42 Ultravid HD+s then the its cranked to 11 on my 8x50 BNs. When viewing through them the world takes on that dream-like quality that makes Leicas so special.
In full daylight (both sunny and overcast conditions) they are not the absolute brightest binoculars that I have used, but still they are very bright with excellent contrast. I haven't tested them out much in the twilight hours yet when the 6.25mm exit pupil could really flex its muscles.
There is a great three dimensionality to the image - I can perceive which objects are in front and which objects are behind. Also, the field is quite deep.
The field of view is on the narrow side, as is often a demerit when talking about Leica's 8x50s. I don't mind too much though. The Trinovids make up for it with some other qualities, and the view is big in its own way.
The ergonomics are very good. I really like holding them and looking through them. I went on two hikes with them this weekend, each about 7 hours. They did get too heavy on my neck half way through the second day, so I took the strap off and carried them in my hands - switching left to right if I got tired. They fit my hands well and are a pleasure to carry.
A pleasant surprise: the original ocular lens cover came with them and it is the best one I've seen. Thick, soft rubber with a lot of coverage. Higher quality than I've found these days.
Eye relief is generous, and I haven't had any problems whatsoever using them while wearing my sunglasses. I am getting to be a real baby about it so I wear sunglasses on most days, but I do not require corrective lenses, so I may not be a reliable source on this if you are someone who actually needs glasses.
These are a contender for being one of my favorite binoculars ever, only time will tell. And I got them for a great price. I'm very happy. I'll share some photos of them next to some others in the style of chill6x6 when I have some time.
I cleaned up the exterior with soap and water, compressed air, and wet wipes. They had fine sand in the focuser and in the eyecups which made their operation somewhat rough. I've managed to completely restore smoothness to the focus wheel, which now is about as light and smooth as any Leica focus wheel I have used. The eyecups are still a bit rough, but have improved considerably and are now fully functional. The rubber armor is now apparently almost new with very little signs of wear.
They've been out of their original case for about a week, and their musty odor is almost totally gone. The case is still very stinky and I doubt I'll ever be able to use it again. I've ordered a new Ultravid case for them, so they will live in that from now on. It is a shame though, the old leather case is so nice - I may try to restore it if I can find the time.
I used Zeiss's pre-packaged lens wipes to clean the lenses. The ocular lenses have cleaned up very nicely and are free of scratches. The objective lenses had some strange residue on them that has mostly been removed after several cleanings. There are a couple of minor scratches and blemishes in the coating on the objective lenses, but nothing that I can see while using them.
Now, onto the good stuff. These binoculars are wonderful. A real pleasure to use.
These have my favorite color of any pair of binoculars I have used. If the saturation dial was turned up to 10 on my 7x42 Ultravid HD+s then the its cranked to 11 on my 8x50 BNs. When viewing through them the world takes on that dream-like quality that makes Leicas so special.
In full daylight (both sunny and overcast conditions) they are not the absolute brightest binoculars that I have used, but still they are very bright with excellent contrast. I haven't tested them out much in the twilight hours yet when the 6.25mm exit pupil could really flex its muscles.
There is a great three dimensionality to the image - I can perceive which objects are in front and which objects are behind. Also, the field is quite deep.
The field of view is on the narrow side, as is often a demerit when talking about Leica's 8x50s. I don't mind too much though. The Trinovids make up for it with some other qualities, and the view is big in its own way.
The ergonomics are very good. I really like holding them and looking through them. I went on two hikes with them this weekend, each about 7 hours. They did get too heavy on my neck half way through the second day, so I took the strap off and carried them in my hands - switching left to right if I got tired. They fit my hands well and are a pleasure to carry.
A pleasant surprise: the original ocular lens cover came with them and it is the best one I've seen. Thick, soft rubber with a lot of coverage. Higher quality than I've found these days.
Eye relief is generous, and I haven't had any problems whatsoever using them while wearing my sunglasses. I am getting to be a real baby about it so I wear sunglasses on most days, but I do not require corrective lenses, so I may not be a reliable source on this if you are someone who actually needs glasses.
These are a contender for being one of my favorite binoculars ever, only time will tell. And I got them for a great price. I'm very happy. I'll share some photos of them next to some others in the style of chill6x6 when I have some time.
