Definition of "waterproof" (1 Viewer)

The Leica Trinovids and Ultravids have O-ring seals at the points where the focussing shafts enter the optical tubes. It is not possible for moisture to travel from the centre focus mechanism into the optics or for nitrogen to leak out.

Waterproof?

Just remember, there's a big difference between waterproof in Omaha and waterproof in the Gulf of Alaska.

Cheers,

Bill

Do you mean at the surface of the Gulf of Alaska?

There's a big difference between "weather resistant" in Omaha and in the Gulf of Alaska but waterproof is waterproof for any given depth and time.

Kevin Purcell said:

Do you mean at the surface of the Gulf of Alaska?

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I DID mean the surface. Those Ballardites are harty folks, put hypothermia can get them to.

Bill

Even on the Gulf of alaska an IPX7 or JIS7 speced bin shouldn't leak any water.

How stiff the focuser is in Omaha in January may be another matter.

Happy 1-year thread anniversary!

A "waterproofness" datapoint: I lost my 825R in the rainforest on Christmas Day, and finally rediscovered them today. They were on the "leaf litter", so constantly in rain and high humidity for 3 months. I observed heavy fogging on the interior elements as I cleaned them and they slowly warmed up, indicating a lot of humidity and/or water made its way inside. When I finish cleaning them I'm going to pack them in dessicant while I inquire with Swift whether it makes sense to get them cleaned internally and rebuilt.

RJM said:

The #820 is defintely nitrogen purged.

Rick

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I hate to be the one to bust the bubble, but, factually, neither the original 820 nor the 820ED were nitrogen filled. The 804ED that preceded them was not nitrogen filled either. I'm not sure about the new 820s, which have a different construction and may or may not be nitrogen purged.

While rumor busting, the original 820ED also did not have air-spaced objectives like its predecessor the 804ED.

This has all been confirmed by Nicolas Crista, and apparently resulted from a bit of faulty advertising, which I've seen evidence for in several catalogs and fliers.

For these models, then, "waterproof" simply meant that o-rings were used at various locations to prevent water flooding into the innards. Its effectiveness has been questioned by many, and it's not comparable to the waterproofing given to internally focusing roof designs.

Regards,
Ed

Bkrownd,
I'd suggest contacting Nicolas Crista about repairing your soggy binoculars. http://www.nrcoptics.com/

Ref the comment earlier about washing binos - my main hobby is sea kayaking, and wanting something I could keep to hand all the time bought the waterproof Opticron 8x21 DBA Oasis.

These often live either in a non-waterproof deck bag, or hang round my neck, and inevitably get splashed with salt water, and on one occassion, totally immersed when I managed to capsize - -

At the end of every trip they get put into a bowl of lukewarm water (together with a couple of other items like a VHF marine radio and a w/proof camera), mainly just to clear the salt residue, any grit etc. Often I use a shaving brush and shower gel to clean any marks off the lenses.

This has been done now for about 6 years with no ill effect. Mike.