Leica’s weather sealing issues persist (1 Viewer)

Mark Batten said:

You are very lucky then. Those birders who had APO 77 telescopes have different experiences.

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Now, that was how many years ago? 20? 25?

Hermann

I appreciate a person's brand loyalty. We all have them in various products if we were to be honest about it. I bought a Leica Geovid last Fall from a sponsor of many forums. I called Leica customer service so i could get the binoculars registered for warranty purposes, and was told the protocol was to do that online so that's what I attempted to do. Turned out there was a glitch in the online portal, so I called and spoke to a customer service rep named B Olesin and told her the problem. She said she would get the product registered for me, and I was pleased to hear that. A couple of weeks went by and I heard nothing, so I contacted her again and asked for the status. She said it had slipped through the cracks but she would take care of it. Another couple of weeks passed, nothing. I attempted to call her again several times, sent her and the rest of Leica USA customer service several emails on the subject, and never heard a word from any of them, zero. As far as I know the binoculars never did get registered. So in my actual experience with Leica USA, I rate them as pathetic, substandard, and shameful given what they charge for their products.

Leica is now dead last on my list of companies to buy optics from.

I experienced the same glitch in the on-line registration system. I called Leica and they said that they would register the bins for me. I didn't hear anything for a month, so I called back to check and was told that it had been done.

--AP

My Nocts 10x42 are superb in all areas, if i've been out, or on holiday, Turkey x2, i always clean the glass with the power of running water, dislodges dirts easily, and never have had a problem.
If posters want to voice their concerns about the product, so be it, no Dramas......

Martin Smyth said:

My Nocts 10x42 are superb in all areas, if i've been out, or on holiday, Turkey x2, i always clean the glass with the power of running water, dislodges dirts easily, and never have had a problem.
If posters want to voice their concerns about the product, so be it, no Dramas......

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The experience of users of the same products can actually be quite different from one to the next, something that has surprised me time and again, esp. if we talk about expensive binos.

I happen to own a substantial number of what is sometimes called „premium“ binoculars, and if I had to „measure“ the reliability of products by counting the number of times I had to send an instrument in for service or repair during the last 10 years (note: I am NOT abusing my instruments, quite the contrary), then Zeiss and Nikon would be the best (1 count each: replacement of grey SF due to focuser problems; fixing collimation in EDG), Leica would be second (2 counts, decollimation of compact 8x20 and malfunction of Geovid), Swarovski would be third (3 counts, 1 fixing collimation in SLC 15x56, 2 fixing focuser in EL and SLC).

Luckily, the responsiveness and service quality has been good for all four producers and their service centers (including Nikon Switzerland).

The above is true for binoculars currently on the market. If I try to figure out how this is different to the experience with binoculars 30 years ago (yes, I happen to be what they call „of advanced age“), then it seems to me that reasons for service have been shifting. If I had to send in binoculars like Habicht or Zeiss 8x30 (roof) for service, that was mostly due to „internal fogging“ and the like, an issue that I have not encountered with the more recent sealed (and nitrogen purged) binos. On the other hand, focuser problems were not an issue at the time, and I find it somewhat annyoing that it is apparently not easy even for the „best“ in the market to assure 100% reliability with today‘s sophisticated internal focusing mechanisms (judging just that aspect, Leica would come out first for me, esp. their Ultravids have never let me down in this respect).

Maybe one or the other forum colleague will understand why I still hold the good, old external focus porro design in high esteem ...

I do know from my esteemed Optics retailer that Leica had to, and did up their after market service inline with Swarovski, im my experience leica are superb at after sale care

Mark Batten said:

You are very lucky then. Those birders who had APO 77 telescopes have different experiences.

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IIRC the Leica APO-Televid 62 and 77 were actually manufactured by Meopta, so Leica would have had to hand them over to another company for servicing. Not that it exonerates them of their responsibility as the badge holder, but it may explain different experiences.

I've never had to call on Leica support for anything serious beyond torn objective caps or broken straps, but their response was excellent. The only major overhaul I needed was with a pair of Zeiss Victory HT 8x42 with a loose screw rattling in the barrel, and found Zeiss' 10 week lead time excessive (I ended up buying Swarovski EL SV 8.5x42 in the meantime and the Zeiss were relegated to car duty).