What price for used Televid? (1 Viewer)

scampo · Feb 2, 2004

I'm as neurotic and am now feeling some relief that I might be doing it right (I take great care over the cloth) - IPA is the only thing I know (or methanol / ethanol) that really does "do the job" - I think Pentax recommend it.

I was wondering about the receipt for the Leica scope. It's very odd indeed that someone would lose their receipt for something that cost >£1000, don't you think? Even if they have, they could easily get a relacement from where they bought the scope and this would be proof of purchase required for Leica's warranty. With the receipt in your mit you also would be able to have the remainder of the warranty - which I think you really should have if the scope is really so knew and a relatively unknown quantity; in fact, I can't think of a single reason why this should not be a part of the deal.

About the quality, I'd trust my eyes (especially eyes like yours!) after a good test if I had the Leica warranty behind me just in case.

If the seller won't produce a receipt or tell you where it was from, well - I'd start to think that its provenance was a touch dubious (which means it sure ain't worth £5-600!!).

Leif · Feb 2, 2004

scampo said:
If the seller won't produce a receipt or tell you where it was from, well - I'd start to think that its provenance was a touch dubious (which means it sure ain't worth £5-600!!).

Steve: Yes that was exactly my feeling. Who in their right mind spends that sort of money and then loses the proof of purchase. I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one with doubts. I really think I would rather spend a few hundred more than risk a stolen item, or alternatively one that is perhaps 5 or more years old.

deboo · Feb 2, 2004

scampo said:
I'm as neurotic and am now feeling some relief that I might be doing it right (I take great care over the cloth) - IPA is the only thing I know (or methanol / ethanol) that really does "do the job" - I think Pentax recommend it.

I was wondering about the receipt for the Leica scope. It's very odd indeed that someone would lose their receipt for something that cost >£1000, don't you think? Even if they have, they could easily get a relacement from where they bought the scope and this would be proof of purchase required for Leica's warranty. With the receipt in your mit you also would be able to have the remainder of the warranty - which I think you really should have if the scope is really so knew and a relatively unknown quantity; in fact, I can't think of a single reason why this should not be a part of the deal.

About the quality, I'd trust my eyes (especially eyes like yours!) after a good test if I had the Leica warranty behind me just in case.

If the seller won't produce a receipt or tell you where it was from, well - I'd start to think that its provenance was a touch dubious (which means it sure ain't worth £5-600!!).

Steve,

I'm vindicated at last.....I doubted this scope in the 2nd post!!!

My leica scope is secondhand....and like my bins, I still have the receipts.

As for cleaning the eyepiece lens' I use a cloth provided by FocusOptics....
I use lots of water and the cloth to clean the objective(s)....As you, I'm becoming paranoid..Am I doing this correctly?!!!

Dave.

Leif · Feb 2, 2004

iporali said:
You can use ...erm... chromatic aberration I guess you would have done this instinctively.

Ilkka: Thanks for the very useful information. Yes I would have looked for CA, amongst other things, but I never realised it could be used to diagnose lack of collimation. (In binoculars a lack of depth of field is one symptom, but the presence of two optical assemblies gives something to compare against.)

Leif · Feb 22, 2004

deboo said:
Steve,
As for cleaning the eyepiece lens' I use a cloth provided by FocusOptics....
I use lots of water and the cloth to clean the objective(s)....As you, I'm becoming paranoid..Am I doing this correctly?!!!

Dave.

Dave: The thing to watch when cleaning optics is fine grit. This will scratch the surface of the optics, and over time will lead to a loss of image contrast. The problem is that even grit that is invisible to the naked eye is enough to do damage. This means that simply washing a cloth is not sufficient to prepare it for cleaning optics. Bear in mind that the coatings on optics tend to be a few molecular layers thick. Hence it is advisable to use sterile lens cleaning tissues that are thrown away after one or two WIPES. Sterile cotton wool is also good. It also pays not to apply pressure when cleaning, but wet the pad, and pull it across the surface. A bit neurotic perhaps, but IMO worth it. Cheap and easy too!

However, Leica have a hard coating on the external surfaces of their scopes optics - on the objective and presumably the eyepiece. So it might be okay to use a cloth on your scope. You could ask Leica?

Rob Smallwood · Feb 22, 2004

Afetr all this talk of lens cleaning - what do the neurotics do in the field, say when salt water is blown on the scope - do you give up and go home or use an old hanky?

Leif · Feb 22, 2004

Rob Smallwood said:
Afetr all this talk of lens cleaning - what do the neurotics do in the field, say when salt water is blown on the scope - do you give up and go home or use an old hanky?

I take along a cleaning kit: blower to remove grit, sterile cotton wool, and lens cleaning fluid in a small cigarette packet sized box. It's not rocket science.

I am told that salt water can cause damage to coatings so should be removed ASAP. If I was caught without a cleaning kit and got salt water on the lens, yes I would use a clean tissue, or even an old hanky. Snot is less corrosive than salt.

Rob Smallwood · Feb 22, 2004

....and so beautifully put!!

Leif · Feb 22, 2004

Rob Smallwood said:
....and so beautifully put!!

One tries to maintain Bird Forum's high standards ...

scampo · Feb 22, 2004

Leif said:
One tries to maintain Bird Forum's high standards ...

Wearing specs, I always keep a clean hankie at the ready in case my lens cloth is not about. A blower-brush is a good idea, Leif - it's very easy to forget the importance of this. Salt water always seems slightly greasy, too, and is tough to remove.

iporali · Feb 23, 2004

Leif said:
I am told that salt water can cause damage to coatings so should be removed ASAP. If I was caught without a cleaning kit and got salt water on the lens, yes I would use a clean tissue, or even an old hanky. Snot is less corrosive than salt.

This may have been (excessively) discussed elsewhere, but I find it very hard to understand, why salt would be corrosive to coatings. I do know that acids (eg. acid rain) can dissolve soft coatings, but I think modern harder coatings are so resistant against corrosion that it would probably be better not to clean the lenses before coming home. To remove salt crystals from lenses it is important to use a solution containing enough water (at least 30%) - salt dissolves in water, not ethanol/isopropanol/methanol. Some cleaning fluids are pure solvents (95-100%), so beware. Strong alcohol solutions are good for the final treatment to prevent drying spots.

I'd recommend avoiding excessive lens cleaning and do it only indoors in very good and clean conditions, with proper equipment (plenty of disposable stuff available, like Q-tips). It is amazing how dirty the lenses can be before you start to see any effect on image quality. :t:

Ilkka

mak · Feb 23, 2004

deboo said:
As for cleaning the eyepiece lens' I use a cloth provided by FocusOptics....
I use lots of water and the cloth to clean the objective(s)....As you, I'm becoming paranoid..Am I doing this correctly?!!!
Dave.

Distilled water would be better. Tap water used over a long period might not be the best idea for lenses.

Leif · Feb 23, 2004

Ilkka: That's a very good point about salt not being soluble in isopropyl alcohol and one I had not thought about. Looks like I need some water - distilled as indicated by Mak. I am not at all sure about the hardness of the outer coatings. (I am not saying you are wrong, just that I am ignorant on this matter.) Leica are the only manufacturer to state explicitly that they apply a hard coat suggesting a degree of scratch resistance. I heard that someone ruined a pair of B&L Elites with repeated cleaning.

iporali · Feb 23, 2004

I found this comment on Birdwatchers Digest: www.birdwatchersdigest.com/how_to/binoc_tips/lens_coatings03.html

"One place where quality in lens coatings does manifest itself is durability. Traditionally, even the finest lens coatings were somewhat fragile and easy to abuse by poor cleaning techniques. Top-quality binoculars now feature much harder coatings, making them more resistant to scratching and scuffing. But this new breed of coating is, at present, reserved for the expensive stuff. Cheaper coatings remain quite soft. "

Ilkka

scampo · Feb 23, 2004

I've been buying lenses for over thirty years and do not think that the coatings are so very different these days, although I could be wrong.

Right back then I think that Pentax were using what they called their SMC coating. I've always cleaned using Leif's technique - blower brush, lens tissue / cloth / cotton buds with water, methanol or ipa as appropriate.

Thankfully, I've never had any problems yet.

tomreid24 · Feb 23, 2004

Does anyone else use a lens pen as sold by jessops amongst others?It has a brush at one end and a dry silicone? type of felt at the other.I've used one for several years without any damage to coatings.

scampo · Feb 23, 2004

I've seen a simlar one for cleaning other things from www.7dayshop.com (well worth a look - bargain prices and I've had exceelent service) - but I'm surprised silicones are a good thing to put onto any optical glass as they are very difficult to remove and can be slightly sticky.

tomreid24 · Feb 23, 2004

It's maybe not silicone,I can't remember the specs' on the packaging,but it seems to work better than a lens cloth.

Ragna · Feb 23, 2004

Thomas i've been using a lens pen for several years,i think they work better on binoculars than scopes,i think the glass on the scope eg. 77 or 80mm to big an area for the lens pen.But works very well on the eyepiece and binoculars. Also get mine from 7dayshop about £3.

scampo · Feb 24, 2004

I looked at that one, Graham - but it's sold for cleaning LCDs rather than lenses. I remember thinking, who would pay that much (although not a lot, I know) just to clean an LCD? So it's useful for cleaning bins, eh? I shall have another look.

What price for used Televid? (1 Viewer)

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